PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-707
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 707
OCTOBER 2011
38
PS 707
OCT 11
•
If you have an M298 cannon with serial number 11729,
you need to report it ASAP to the TACOM POC at the end of
this article. TACOM Safety of Use Messages 10-21 and 10-27
identiFed several M298s that may be unsafe and only the one
marked 11729 has not been accounted for.
•
The M298 cannon
breech cap and cannon
tube are a matched-for-
life set and shouldn’t be
switched between cannons.
The breech cap’s Fring pin
and the cannon’s white line
must align for the cannon
assembly to lock into the
baseplate securely. That’s
why they’re matched for
life. The serial numbers are
stamped on both the breech
cap and cannon tube to
help you keep track.
•
According to TB 9-1000-247-34,
Standards for Overseas
Shipment of Small Arms Equipment,
the M298 tube can’t
exceed a bore diameter of 4.757 inches for unit deployment or
overseas shipment. You can Fnd other info and requirements
on 60-, 81- and 120-mm mortars on Pages 48-49 of TB 9-1000-
247-34. The TB is on the ETM site:
•
The 120-mm mortar systems with LINs M68405 and
M68326 and their M120-mm cannons, NSN 1015-01-522-
2630, now require Property Book Unit Supply Enhanced
(PBUSE) reporting/Unique Item Tracking (UIT). Check with
your property book ofFcer for help.
Dear Half-Mast,
There is no
requirement in the
M249 machine
gun TMs for both
barrels to be ID’ed
for the receiver they
are headspaced for.
Shouldn’t this be an
official requirement
since it’s critical
that Soldiers
not
use a barrel
that hasn’t been
headspaced for that
receiver?
CW4 J.F.
Dear Chief J.F.,
Yes, barrel marking
should
be an of±cial requirement.
This will be added in the next change to TM 9-1005-
201-23&P. The best way to ID the barrels for both the
M240 and M249 machine guns is to safety-wire a dog
tag underneath the barrel’s heatshield. Make sure the
wire ends don’t stick out where they can poke someone.
You can also paint the number on the barrel.
What you
don’t
want to do is engrave
the number on the barrel. That ruinsv
the barrel’s ±nish, which leads
to corrosion and a
ruined barrel.
Breech cap and cannon tube
must stay together. Check serial
numbers to make sure you’ve
got the right ones
M120/M120Al,
M121 Mortars…
Mortar
Matters
that
Matter
M249 Machine Gun…
Should
Both
Barrels Be ID’ed?
Here are a
few rules
all
mortar
men need to
remember
about their
M120/M120A1
and M121
mortars…
•
All
mortar
cannons
must
have
current
Weapons Record Data
cards,
DA
±orm
2408-4,
prior
to
Fring.
Soldiers
authorized
to
Fll
out
the
card
should
make
sure
their
Unit
IdentiFcation Codes (UICs) are current
and show only those UICs that they
support or are assigned to. ±or more
information on mortars and UICs, see
PS 700:
archives/PS2011/700/700-19-20.pdf
if you have
mortar
questions
like these
guys, contact
TACOM’s Joe
Schmidt at
DSN
7
86-1216,
(586) 282-1216,
or email:
I’m not SURE I
UNDERSTAND ALL THis.
guess I’d better
calL
Joe SChmiDT.
always A
GOod idea
for MortaRs.
sorry!
you
can’t
fire Me
until
you
update
my
2408-4!
ah-ha!
you’re the
infamous
11
7
29. I need
to report
you.
707 38-39.indd
1-2
joe.schmidt@
us.army.mil
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