m60 soupcan

[alfa3]

does someone know how they put a beercan or soupcan on the feedingside of the m60 for the ammobelt? are there any pictures of it on the internet , been wanting to put it on the pig but always wondered how to .

[tbanks]

Pop rivets into the receiver rail.I wouldnt want to do it on one just for looks but thats me.

[vtdeucedriver]

I was told that it was a B unit can and that door gunners on Hueys had it safetywired.

[toptiger]

Here is one on a slick of a mounted M-60 with issued ejected shells trap
http://www.68thahc.com/TT_Photo_Pg/Imag ... us_153.jpg

Here is a free gun with bungee cord as used in gunships
http://www.68thahc.com/TT_Photo_Pg/xx%2 ... _J_002.jpg

Here is a fuzzy one showing the C ration can used to help feed the ammo.
http://www.68thahc.com/Photos_Old/P_DH_05.jpg

While browsing the site of my unit, I found this{ 1968}
http://www.68thahc.com/Photos_Old_03/P_Shook_09.jpg

[alfa3]

I will try to make one , thanks for the picts

[WC Matt]

It was a C- Ration can & not a beer can (too long). Wasn't there a spring loaded clip on (that) side of the receiver to hold the 100 round "assault" pack of belted ammo? I was thinking that was what the can was attached with . I have some friends with "pig" experience I'll send out some inquiries.

[alfa3]

that would be great, there are no pics pn the internet on how they did it I use to do it with tape but it didn't look nice

[toptiger]

I emailed my crew chief and asked him

I'll post his reply

[Rainman]

Rainman

[alfa3]

did you get an answer from your crewchief?

[toptiger]

Thanks for reminding me about it.
I ask him again

[toptiger]

I got a reply from a gunner crew chief I flew with
an interesting point is that those c-ration cans were full!
here is what he had to say about the set up.

Sorry about the delay about getting the info out on the M-60 can; I was in New Zealand for half of December and had 364 E-mails when I returned Jan 3. Your question probably got lost in the shuffle.

The C-can fit perfectly onto the M60; almost (suspiciously) as if by design. As I recall there were two spring loaded clips that were part of the M60 and they happened to exactly mate with the circumferential ledge on each end of the C-rat can. Clipped in place, the can was perfectly positioned to allowed the ammo belt to feed into the M60 over a nice round surface. Kinda like a chute. Without the can, the belt had to make a sharp 90 degree turn to feed into the 60. The 60 only had about 2.5 lbs (as I recall) of pull force available to pull the ammo into the breach, so any little bit of help we could give it to lessen the load helped keep it firing. On the ground, a second person could feed the belt straight into the breach but in the air, that was not possible.

The weak pull from the 60 caused other problems. We could not hold the 60 too far away from the ammo box because if there was too long a stretch of belt flopping in the wind, the resistance would exceed 2.5 lbs and it would stop firing. Sometimes at the most inopportune time. Also, as we yawed the 60 trying to stay on a point target, the belt (between ammo box and breach) would twist. Too much twist and the drag would overpower the 2.5 lbs and the 60 would once again stop. It was always a balancing act to keep the 60 a certain distance from the ammo box. We had to manage the length of the belt between box and breach. Not too long, but not too short with a twist. There was nothing more terrifying than the sound of silence, just when you needed the thing to make noise. Fortunately, we learned to unjam it in seconds. But that's an eternity when there's flickering lights in the jungle and they're pointing at you.

Hope that helps

Frans

PS: One day on stand-by one of the pilots was starving and there was nothing to eat. So he took the can off the crew chief's's M60, opened it with his P38 and shoveled a big spoonful into his mouth. Unbeknownst to him, the two clips had punctured the can and the gunner had immersed the m60 and the can in solvent to clean it. The Ham and Lima beans were soaked in it! He didn't swallow.

[alfa3]

now that's a fine explination , I will try to put one on , just need to know the right measurements of the cans , anyway , I love it when veterans can answer our little questions , many thanks

[toptiger]

I passed your comment on to my crewchief/gunner and he replied:
"You're welcome. It's always been a mystery to me how the can came to fit so well onto the M60. The fit and the radius was just right It just CAN'T be a coincidence. Maybe."

here he is in action!


his last flight in combat


and his ticket home and out of the service. {taken in the hosptial in Japan}


BTW Frans received the DFC {Distinguished Flying Cross} and PH {Purple Heart} for his actions in Vietnam and went on to finish college under the VA bill and is now an top executive with a medical firm in California where he lives with his wife and two lovely daughters. He devotes a lot of free time to Veterans Associations and gives speeches to groups about the War.

[WC Matt]

I passed your comment on to my crewchief/gunner and he replied:
"You're welcome. It's always been a mystery to me how the can came to fit so well onto the M60. The fit and the radius was just right It just CAN'T be a coincidence. Maybe."
.

Well, if it was the ham & M-Fs you know no one was going to eat them so they had to do something with all those cans......... If I'm not mistaken, that spring clip was designed to hold the 100 round "assault" pack of belted ammo in it's waxed cardboard box. Need to talk to some of the former pig men I know to make sure, though.
Matt