Like the title says bit of a long shot but i have been searching to try and find out abit more of my nans twin brother who died age 23 in normandy,. His name was james o'brien , from ireland, royal artillary , 7 meduim ( dont know what this means) i have this number of 1115806 is this his enrolment number ? My nan and all her brothers and sisters have since passed and there is no one to ask , she did say he died because of his gun back firing, would this have gone into any records ? i know it may never happen but it would be nice if maybe somone on here knew of him or maybe just to see another picture of him as i only have the one, sorry to babble on but you never know .
I've edited thread title to attract the gunner nuts Casualty 7 Medium Regiment Royal Artillery. Used 5.5 " guns like this. AEC Matador artillery tractor and 5.5-inch gun near Siqueville-en-Bessin, 1 July 1944.
Thanks , thats where i got the details from, but it does not say if it was the gun that back fired, Would there be any other records to say if this was the case ? and thanks for the picture .
It might be mentioned in the war diary. I can't find one for July 44. Only one for 7 Med Regt is Jan - June 44. WO 171/1046 then Aug-Dec 44 WO 171/1047 Have you got a photo of his grave?
From 7th Medium Regiment RA: A tragic accident on one of 'D' Troop guns caused several fatal casualties on 22nd July. In the course of loading, a shell hit the the breach, and, due to a faulty fuze, exploded outside the chamber. The Number One and three of the detachment were killed and two others seriously wounded. nb 'breach' is the spelling in the book. Strictly speaking, the gun didn't backfire but that's little consolation. The incident ought to have been investigated, so there may just be a report later on in the war diary (a bit that's not missing) or in the parent formation's war diary: 5 AGRA
Here's all 4 who died. Sgt James being the Number One 001 JAMES GA 1068349 7 MEDIUM REGT 22/07/1944 ROYAL ARTILLERY 002 O''BRIEN J 1115806 7 MEDIUM REGT 22/07/1944 ROYAL ARTILLERY 003 PALMER W 2023112 7 MEDIUM REGT 22/07/1944 ROYAL ARTILLERY 004 YOUNG WG 966503 7 MEDIUM REGT 22/07/1944 ROYAL ARTILLERY
Harcort Hello & welcome I see your being well looked after by the chaps. As Idler has said 7th Med were part of 5AGRA with my dads Regt the 10th Med at this time. They were firing in support of the Americans moving into position for Op Cobra. The war-diaries will probably only tell you the same as the Regt history that idler has quoted,(also have) I do have the 5AGRA Diaries but not for July 44, I would not think there would be an inquiry as this sort of thing happened all the time with Med & Heavy Arty during WW2. PS. The day before the 21st, Winston Churchill was at HQ 5AGRA witnessing shooting by the Regts. Rob
Thank you for the help, If this type of thing happened quite often why was it not looked into? Im glad you lot have helped but also feel quite sad at what i have found out, if i was to send away for his records would all this information be in it ?
Inquiry may have been too strong a word, sorry. I imagine it would be fairly obvious whether a shell had exploded outside or inside the chamber so any investigation may simply have been to check or withdraw the suspect batch of fuzes. It's worth knowing that a 5.5" shell weighed 100lbs and was a two-man lift:
Thank you for the help, If this type of thing happened quite often why was it not looked into? Im glad you lot have helped but also feel quite sad at what i have found out, if i was to send away for his records would all this information be in it ? It was. A Premature Investigations Party was set up to investigate such incidents late1944 and to vist Regts and advise on proper fusing and cleaning of ammunition before firing, but with the rates of fire needed during battle conditions these measures went out the door i'am afraid. Rob PS the 5.5 also fired an 80lbs (82lbs) shell when longer range was needed, but 100lbs was the norm.
Hogg's British and American Artillery of World War 2 refers to a 'rash of prematures' in Italy that were found to be caused by a combination of worn guns and dirty ammunition. Those particular faults were effectively dealt with but it isn't clear if that was before Normandy.
Hogg's British and American Artillery of World War 2 refers to a 'rash of prematures' in Italy that were found to be caused by a combination of worn guns and dirty ammunition. Those particular faults were effectively dealt with but it isn't clear if that was before Normandy. They were never dealt with, these incidents were still happening and men dying in May 1945. The 10th Medium Regt (R/Fus) RA, between- 1942-1946 had 14 men killed or injured by Prematures. Rob
My father served with 1 Med Regt RA. They too where equipped with 5.5's. I can remember father saying they fired them using a double length lanyard for they did 'Blow Up.' In one book I read it stated that a temporary solution was to reduce the length of the barrel. john
I dont know if I can help but my late father was with the Regiment from 1934 until he was de-mobed in 1945 and I do have some of the photographs of mebers of his Battery and I know that 2 of them where Irish
Finally got over to the bayuex war grave to vist my nans twins brothers grave. It was emotional but brilliant. Also went to gold beach which was breath taking in its own sad way. We only had two days over there but are planing to go back and spend longer so I can take more of the historic place in .
