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| IJA 14 Area Army 4th Independent Heavy Artillery Battalion   Carl R. Thien Jan 1945 |
Gun History Delivered to the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) as 305mm Howitzer Type 7 (1918) short barrel serial number unknown. One of ten 305mm Howitzers disassembled and shipped to Luzon in the Philippines. Wartime History During late 1944, the 4th Independent Heavy Artillery Battalion emplaced this Howitzer at Damortis and was cited to fire on the beaches and coastal areas bordering Lingayen Gulf. This gun was emplaced in a 33' circular position 8' deep. To disguise the gun, banana trees planted as camouflage and a Filipino style nipa hut on narrow gauge rail road tracks placed over the gun to hide it from observation that could be moved on the rails when it went into action. On January 9, 1945 after the U.S. landings at Lingayen Gulf the 305mm Howitzers went into action and were nicknamed "Pistol Pete" by Americans. On January 10, 1945 shortly after midnight, the 305mm howitzers fired twenty shells at San Fabian over a five hour period. By January 23, 1945, both guns were captured by the U.S. Army 158th Regimental Combat Team (158th RCT) "Bushmasters". For their role capturing the howitzers, G Company earned a Presidential Unit Citation (PUC). Wreckage This howitzer was captured largely intact and later photographed for intelligence purposes. The position was photographed by SSgt Carl R. Thien, 201st Counter Intelligence Corps (201st CIC). Later, photographs of the Howitzer and technical information appeared in several wartime publications on enemy artillery and ordnance. Ultimate fate unknown, likely scrapped or otherwise disappeared. Carl R. Thien recalls: "it was setup near the beach at Lingayen. I was sent there as part of my CIC job to photograph and locate the Japanese defenses. That is the only one we found. It seemed to be abandoned, not damaged." References U.S. Army in World War II Triumph in the Philippines Chapter VI Expanding the Hold pages 104 U.S. Army in World War II Triumph in the Philippines Chapter IX Securing the Sixth Army's Base Area page 148 (Page 148) "Throughout the area the Japanese had well-established, sometimes elaborate defenses. They had enlarged natural caves, dug new ones, and constructed tunnels to connect caves. Some artillery pieces were mounted on rails for easy withdrawal into caves; others were hidden in specially constructed nipa huts. Well-conceived camouflage and tactically sound emplacement of all weapons were hallmarks of the defense." Reports of General MacArthur Chapter IX The Mindoro and Luzon Operations pages 261 (Page 261) "This line of defense, built along a series of ridges beginning at Damortis, ran eastward and then southward through Rosario... Again the Japanese had skillfully utilized the advantages of the terrain to protect the strategic passes and roadways with heavily fortified and mutually supporting cave and tunnel systems, fully supplied with all types of automatic weapons, mortars, and artillery. Most of these caves were self-sufficient strong holds containing enough materiel and food to withstand a protracted siege. Although artillery fire could be directed against positions located in the hillsides and ravines, it accomplished little toward neutralizing the powerful guns which were installed within the caves themselves." The Ordnance Department: On Beachhead and Battlefront: Chapter XXI The Philippines: Luzon pages 414, 415, 416 (Page 414) They came from "Pistol Pete," a Japanese 305-mm. howitzer hidden in a ravine (Page 415) about eight miles inland between the towns of Damortis and Rosario. Pistol Pete had "introduced himself with appropriate gusto," according to an Engineer historian, at San Fabian shortly after midnight on S-day [January 9, 1945]. After the first "awe-inspiring" burst, "the society for the improvement of foxholes sprang full-blown into life." The men of the 288th dived into their foxholes and, though several casualties were reported in the area during the 5-hour barrage, escaped damage except to their nerves. They had their revenge on 4 February when a detail consisting of Technician 3 Primo Degli-Uomini and Technician 3 Earl V. Larsen was sent forward to strip one of the howitzers which had just been captured. For doing so under enemy sniper fire, both men received Bronze Stars. Pistol Pete had been hard to locate, for the Japanese were adept at hiding the few big howitzers they had. During the Luzon campaign one was found [this gun] cleverly camouflaged by a house on rails that could be rolled back when the howitzer was fired, and to add to the effect a small grove of banana trees had been planted around the emplacement (footnote 25). (Page 416) With the regimental combat team came the 4th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company, whose advance detachment on the first night ashore received a visit from Pistol Pete— eight of the twenty rounds that fell that night landed within a 100-yard radius of the Ordnance men's bivouac area." History 288th Ord Medium Maint Co, Jan-Jun 45 page 141 CINCPAC Bulletin 152-45 Japanese Artillery Weapons July 1, 1945 pages 63 (photos), 64 Catalog Of Enemy Ordnance Materiel August 1, 1945 [PDF] page 116e3 (photos) The Field Artillery Journal January 1946 [PDF] pages 20, 22, 23 (photo) (Page 20) "The only heavy artillery fire received was from two 30-cm naval howitzers thoroughly dug in and camouflaged north of the Damortis—Rosario road. The 30-cm naval howitzer position north of the Damortis—Rosario road had its heavily timbered pit concealed by a house mounted on rails which allowed the house to be moved to one side while the howitzer was firing. Slopes of the emplacement were planted as a garden to complete deception. (Page 22) "No shelling was received during the landing except for a little on the eastern beach from the 30-cm naval howitzers." (Page 23) "North of the Rosario—Damortis road the Jap had emplaced two 30-cm naval howitzers which fired on the eastern landing beaches. They were "Type 7th year" model of 1918. These howitzers were in deep, heavily timbered pits and were well camouflaged. One had a Filipino house mounted on a track which was run over the pit when the piece was not firing. Around the house the ground had been planted as a garden, to complete the deception. Ammunition was stored in widely dispersed dugouts and was brought to the position on narrow gauge track. By the time they were overrun these positions had been so very thoroughly shelled and bombed that nothing but the howitzers and pits were left." Department of Emergency and Military Affairs - Bushmasters always stand tall "On the morning of Jan. 14, 1945, Lupe and the Soldiers of the 158th moved out of Damortis along the Damortis-Rosario Road. The terrain to the north and south of the roadway was paralleled by a network of ridges with an adjoining series of spurs and draws. Enemy tunnels had been constructed to allow artillery pieces to be run through the ridge from the reverse slope. Fortified defensive positions had zeroed in on every possible approach by the assaulting elements." The Bushmasters: Arizona's Fighting Guardsmen by Joe Patrick "Among the first dangers the Bushmasters encountered was a 320mm howitzer with a 16-foot barrel that the Japanese had mounted on railroad tracks, firing on the beachhead from a dug-in position between the towns of Damortis and Rosario. The big gun was so well camouflaged that aircraft could not find it." Thanks to Carl R. Thien and Tony Feredo for additional information Contribute
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