Iconic gun marking YPG entrance removed, will be restored
An M65 “Atomic Cannon” has been on static display at the intersection of Highway 95 and Imperial Dam Road for 55 years, marking the way for all those who pass by to the Yuma Proving Ground’s two main front gates.
Sitting on the north side of Imperial Dam Road, the iconic cannon — which is one of eight still in existence — has always been in clear view and accessible to motorists, many of whom frequently pull over to photograph it, or have their picture taken alongside it.
On Friday, however, it grabbed the attention of motorists in a different way, as YPG employees were removing the cannon from the site. The removal is in preparation for its transport to a facility on base, where it will be refurbished to its former glory. The barrel is so large and heavy that it took a crane to lift it from its carriage.
“The site looks really odd and empty right now,” said Bill Heidner, curator of YPG’s Heritage Center Museum. “We are going to put something there in the meantime.”
Since YPG has become
associated with two huge field cannons sitting at the spot in photographs for years, and partly because people are so used to seeing them when they drive by, Heidner said the plan is to put a 175mm self-propelled howitzer in its place in order to maintain that wellknown appearance of the site.
According to Heidner, all of the equipment on static display at YPG belong to the U.S. Army’s Center of Military History and are part of a national collection of artifacts. As such, he added, by law, part of his job is to make sure they are maintained and conserved.
Historic restoration, he explained, generally involves repairing any damage and returning it back to its original likeness — which entails removing dents, scratches and corrosion, before priming and repainting them with their original colors and, finally, restoring any decals.
“The Atomic Cannon has been siting at the site in an upright position since 1963, so we didn’t really know what to expect,” Heidner said. “We were actually quite surprised about how easy it actually came apart.”
Now in a maintenance facility, workers will do a complete assessment on it and make any repairs that are needed. Most, if not all, of the work can be done at YPG.
However, it might require some repairs that can’t be done at the base. If that is the case, then the cannon will be sent to Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, where it was made, so work can be completed there.
Nicknamed “Atomic Annie,” the gun wound up being the largest road-mobile artillery gun the U.S. ever put into production at some 84 feet long, with a total weight of 83 tons. Built to fire atomic projectiles, the 38.5-foot long barrel had a 280mm bore, some 11 inches across.
Because the restoration work is only being done when money is available and employees have the available time to do, Heidner said there is no timeline on when the “Atomic Cannon” will be returned, adding it could be years.
“Active test programs take priority, so my restoration programs often get bumped,” Heidner explained. “Everything I do for restoration depends on two things, resources and assets.”
There are more than 30 vehicles and other pieces of equipment spread out across YPG that must be maintained, including the 21 on display in Brooks Park in front of the visitor center, and six or seven more around the base that Heidner said are being used as memorials for the testers.
That number also includes several items out on the Kofa Firing Range, such as the HARP gun, which the public generally does not have access to.
In recent years Heidner has been able to get the Cobra AH-1S helicopter mounted at the front gate restored, as well as a post World War II M-47 Patton tank and an M-551 Sheridan tank, from in front of the visitor center.
YPG also has one of the only two XM2001 Crusader self-propelled howitzers prototypes ever built and Heidner says there are plans to eventually have it refurbished, especially since the only supply vehicle built to accompany it is also at YPG and has already been restored to its original condition.
“The supply vehicle has been restored and almost ready for display,” Heidner said. “Since both of those vehicles belong together, I don’t want to put them out on display until they are both done.”
Scheduled for fielding by 2008, and undergoing testing at YPG, the XM2001 Crusader was to be the United States Army’s nextgeneration self-propelled howitzer. However, the $11 billion program was cancelled in 2002.