Past Blasts
Whether they blasted a heavily armored Nazi tank, lobbed explosive volleys behind Confederate lines or pierced the silence of a Southeast Asian jungle, the cannons dotting Butler County are reminders of the U.S. military's heritage.
While most county residents speeding past a park, a VFW or American Legion Post can only identify them as cannons, a Middlesex Township man knows the story behind every weapon on display.
Paul Starr, a military historian and cannon enthusiast, said the county has a wide range of well-maintained cannons.
“I'm proud to say I think we're a more patriotic county,” Starr said.
He said there are two cannons and a mortar in Diamond Park in downtown Butler and two at the Mars VFW Post, plus single cannons in Doughboy Park at the bottom of the New Castle Street hill in Butler, the State Police Troop D Barracks on New Castle Road in Butler Township, the Saxonburg VFW, the Lyndora Post Office and the Harrisville and West Sunbury American Legion posts.
He said all are considered “towed guns” that were pulled behind military vehicles with the exception of the Civil War Columbiad cannons in Diamond Park. He said those units were too heavy to be moved around and were “siege and garrison” cannons that were usually installed at forts.
Starr's favorite cannons are the two M3 37-millimeter cannons at the Mars VFW.
A relatively small cannon at 912 pounds, the M3 was pulled behind a Jeep. The template for the M3 was a German gun used during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.
The M3's main purpose was to fire at tanks up to 500 yards away, but it was phased out in 1943 after three years of production because the new German tanks were too heavily armored.
The M3s at the Mars VFW, Starr said, were found several years ago rusting away in a cemetery off Dobson Road in Adams Township. He said a township man paid to have them moved to the VFW and restored.
Starr had the opportunity a few years back to fire a cannon similar to the M3 at a cannon competition in California.
“It brings a whole new meaning to the word 'exhilarating,'” Starr said.He explained the ammunition is loaded from the rear and a handle is pulled to fire the cannon after the soldier positions himself behind a special shield.He said the ultralight M3 had the problem of bouncing when fired and kicking up a cloud of dust that would alert the enemy of the cannon's position. Starr said soldiers began placing wet burlap or tarps under and around the M3 to prevent that revealing situation.He said the three rules of artillery are communicate, shoot and move. These rules were easily followed with the agile M3, which could be pulled by a group of soldiers if necessary.Conversely, the 3-inch M5 heavy anti-tank gun at the Harrisville American Legion weighs in at a hefty 4,875 pounds and was taken to the battlefields of World War II by a half-track.He said while the 823rd Towed Tank Destroyer Battalion took heavy losses at the Battle of the Bulge when it was flanked by German troops and could not easily escape with the heavy cannon, the impressive beast is still used today for ceremonial firing by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Salute Gun Patrol.Motorists who drive the West End of Butler barely notice the cannon at Doughboy Park at the bottom of New Castle Street hill as they traverse the triangular intersection.But the 15-centimeter small SFH heavy field howitzer was somewhat of a gift from the defeated Kaiser since the cannon was brought back from Germany after World War I.“This was the Great War, so these were essentially war trophies,” Starr said.He explained that many World War I cannons were cut up and melted down to make artillery for World War II.“For that gun to survive is a miracle,” Starr said.Manufactured by the Krupp steel company in 1917, it was the 1,070th of 3,409 made by the Germans.Starr said the Doughboy Park cannon was a short-barreled version of the weapon, which initially had problems with a severe recoil and exploding barrels.Starr said the SFH howitzer fired three rounds per minute of 150-millimeter shells that measured six inches across at the base. Starr said the gun fired at the “limited” range of 9,400 feet.Just up New Castle Street hill, the 4.7-inch field gun at the state police barracks is another cannon that gets Starr fired up.The cannon is the 49th of just 69 of the World War I guns manufactured at Bethlehem Steel. He said the 8,870 pound monster was pulled by a five-ton artillery track tractor.He said the big gun, which fired a high-explosive round at its hapless target, had a 70-inch recoil.
“It's a very, very rare gun because there were so few made,” Starr said.The most versatile cannon ever made, in Starr's estimation, is the 75-millimeter Pack howitzer M8 situated beside the Lyndora Post Office on Whitestown Road.He said the World War II Pack howitzer M8 was an airborne gun, meaning it could be moved to a combat zone by a glider or airplane and then towed by troops or disassembled and dropped into a battle on a parachute. A crew of seven or eight would then reassemble it.“It was a field gun more than an anti-tank weapon,” Starr said. “Ski resorts still use them for avalanche control.”Kit Watson, adjutant for the Pennsylvania American Legion in Harrisburg, said that American Legion posts obtain “static displays” like cannons, tanks, helicopters, or boats by sending a request to the American Legion National Headquarters in Washington D.C.He said headquarters then sends the request to the U.S. Department of Defense for approval. If approved, the Defense Department gets in touch with the post to list the items available in the national inventory, and the post's membership votes on a selection.“The process takes a couple of years,” Watson said.He said stringent requirements come with a static display regarding its setup and maintenance. The Defense Department also retains ownership of the display.He said about one-third of the state's 758 American Legion posts have a static display.“Any static display, be it a cannon or helicopter or tank, lets people know that this is a military organization, or a veterans' organization,” Watson said. “It gives them a little more pride in their post.”As for Starr, he hopes those driving past a cannon in the county will stop to consider the sacrifices of the brave men who fired them in the interest of continued liberty.“The cannons keep their memory alive,” he said.
