Mechanics demonstrate necessity is the mother of invention
Army News Service
Release Date: 10/23/2003
By Pfc. Joshua Hutcheson
MOSUL, Iraq (Army News Service, Oct. 23, 2003) -- Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division have modified the current M-6 gun mount and contracted with local businesses to build 1,392 mounts that will hold the crew-served machine guns the division uses.
"Everything we had to do, we had to really think about soldiers getting up and using (the M6L)" Sgt. 1st Class Samuel Greer said. "Soldiers can tell you best what works for soldiers."
The origins of the new M6L gun mount began shortly after the end of major combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom when there was an Army-wide shortage of gun mounts.
"The Army was having real problems delivering the M6 mount it currently has in production," said Greer, maintenance noncommissioned officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 101st Corps Support Group, 101st Airborne Division.
Using a previously made contact from an earlier mass-production project, the inventors took their prototype and designs to a trade company in Dohuk that was able to handle cranking out the large number of mounts required to satisfy the needs of the 101st and 3rd COSCOM.
"We knew we had a reliable (company) that could handle it, who could make the (mounts) in a short period of time. Our biggest concern was time," Greer said.
The agreement between the mechanics and the trade company was to produce 200 mounts a week. Production began Aug. 5.
"The first week we wound up producing around 100. The second week we produced about 150, and then we got full scale with 200 in the third week,' Greer said.
Setting up the factory and hiring new workers "poured almost three quarters of a million dollars into the local economy," Chief Warrant Officer Wayne Glass, 602nd Maintenance Co., said.
By using local materials and workers, the company was able to build each gun mount for $500, and delivered them to the soldiers for another five dollars, Greer said.
The military-produced M6 gun mount costs $1,460 per unit. Purchasing the M197 adaptor, necessary if a soldier wants to mount his M249 machine gun, is an extra $480. The total cost can be rounded out to a little less then $2,000 for each mount.
"We're able to save about $1,500 (a piece) on these things," Greer said.
The 101st wasn't the only unit having problems trying to fill their gun mount quota. Posted in Baghdad, Glass needed gun mounts for the vehicles that ran between Baghdad and Fallujah.
Because the Army supply system couldn't meet his needs Glass decided to make his own mount.
Col. Gerald Dolinish, commander of the 101st CSG, volunteered the services of his soldiers and the Kurdish-populated area in northern Iraq to manufacture the mount, Greer said.
Glass arrived in Mosul with his designs and met with Greer and other senior mechanics. The team went through the design and revised the design six times until they were satisfied with their prototype, Greer said.
The design team of the mount has succeeded in saving the Army approximately $2.1 million, he said.
"The beauty of the mount is that it comes with a SAW adaptor," Greer said. "The mount comes as a complete package. There's no need for special adaptors."
The M6L is capable of supporting the M2HB .50 caliber machine gun, and M240 machine guns.
The mount's base plate is larger then the plate for the M6. A layer of steel covers the entire floor of the vehicle, and bolts to the existing holes in the truck, Greer said.
"The biggest reason we pushed for the large plate is for blast protection," Greer said. "The soldier's now standing on 8 mm-thick steel."
A problem many soldiers found with the original mount is that the constant stress on holes they had to drill to secure the mount caused damage to the body of the vehicles. Using the existing holes makes the mount more secure and stable.
The base can also be moved around depending on the type of humvee, said Greer.
It can also be raised, or lowered, for the gunner's comfort or removed entirely if it's not required for a mission.
"You can remove the seven bolts, (to disconnect the gun mount) in about three or four minutes. The base plate stays on the truck because you can mount any kind of a load right on top of it no problem and your blast protection's still there," Greer said.
An added safety feature is the depression adjustment. It's a portion of the mount's shaft which keeps the muzzle of the weapon from dipping too low so that "a gunner can't accidentally shoot the guys in the front of the vehicle," Glass said.
(Editor's note: Spc. Joshua Hutcheson is a journalist with the 101st Airborne Division's Public Affairs Office in Iraq.)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
