
This
photo of a black artillery crew somewhere in France was my inspiration
for building the 155 howitzer and the setting of my diorama. (I
opted to crew my gun with white soldiers for several reasons, including
the lack of African American replacement heads and plans for a future
Red Ball Express diorama, which will feature black truck crews.)
You can see how the front perimeter was built up to provide come
protection for the gun and crew; the "spoil" for the parapet
came from digging a slight slope for the gun (either with shovels
or bulldozers) to provide some drainage and from trenches used to
store ammo and offer cover to the gun crew. Note again the silver
appearance of the gun tube.

The
above emplacement is a 2nd Infantry Division position during the
Korean War. Note the covered trenches and ammo pits, the empty charge
propellant canisters and lids on the left and the stack of canisters
on the right. The crates are likely containers for fuzes.

This
is an interesting photo of a battery of four howitzers in the open
near Wiltz during the Battle of the Bulge. They may have just arrived
or were anticipating a short stay since they are not dug in. You
can see an M4 or M5 tractor, perhaps just having supplied the foremost
howitzer. It appears there is another in the background of the upper
right corner.

Finally,
this photo of a 101st Airborne 105mm howitzer at Bastogne provided
the inspiration for the hut in my diorama. Note the chimney at the
rear of the crew's home. It appears the emplacement is sloped down
toward the front of the gun, and there is perhaps a trench in the
background behind the gun tube.
Building
Italeri's 155mm Howitzer
Background on the
155mm Howitzer
Overview
of the Model and References
Building the Howitzer Assembly
Building the
Carriage Assembly
Painting and
Accessories
Pictures
from the Technical Manual
155mm Ammunition
Pictures
of Museum 155mm Howitzer
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