Hysterical Journey to Historic Places

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YUMA PROVING GROUND



YPG, as it is commonly known among the denizens of the river country, is the largest employer in Yuma County. It is an Army facility but most of the employees who work there are civilians. Among a multitude of other duties what they do out there is test every weapon system in the ground combat arsenal and all of its munitions. The proving grounds are closed to the public and if you are caught snooping around out there you might well be shot. They do have a little armor museum that is open to the public and is an amusing place to spend a little time if your interests bend in that direction. The facility began in 1943 as Camp Laguna for ground combat training. The Army Corps of Engineers had a separate facility for testing bridges, boats, and amphibious vehicles. After the war ended Camp Laguna shut down but the test facility continued to grow and prosper. A broad overview of its capabilities can be found in Wikipedia. To get to the museum go east from Yuma out Highway 95 like you were heading to Quartzite. When you come to those two long range artillery pieces, one on each side of the entry road, turn left. Watch for the open air museum on the south side of the road. Those long range artillery pieces were designed to fire nuclear projectiles. What could possibly go wrong with that idea? They tested a few more systems out there that did not meet with much success.

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Photos

DUSTER
This vehicle featured twin 40 mm cannons as a mobile anti aircraft gun system. It became obsolete soon as it went into production because the new fangled jet aircraft were too fast for it. It did however see some valuable use in Vietnam in a ground support role..

MOBILE LAUNCHER
What a goofy looking contraption this is. The Russians had a few of them too. They appeared in parades and were seen magazine articles. Would not want to be one of the poor devils who had to aim and fire it from that firing console in the back.