If you have ever wondered what it would look like if a freight train crashed into an artillery piece, that’s been answered. On Thursday Sept. 12, a M109 Paladin was being transported on a low semi truck when the vehicle seemingly got stuck at a railroad crossing in Goose Creek, South Carolina. A CSX freight train, unable to stop in time, plowed directly into it, sending the Paladin’s turret spinning from the impact. Though the truck and its trailer were smashed in the collision, the M109 Paladin, a 155mm Howitzer self-propelled artillery piece, seemed relatively unscathed.
The M109 Paladin, weighing over 30 tons, was photographed sitting off to the side of the road after the train crash, looking mostly intact. Bystander’s videos posted to social media showed the Paladin’s turret swinging round and round after the train demolished the semi and trailer. Watch for yourself:
The semi truck’s driver was able to escape before the train hit and no one was injured in the collision, which took place around 12:40 p.m. The train stopped soon after impact. Local police quickly responded to the crash, the Post and Courier reported, as did several trucks trying to collect debris from the crash. The collision is under investigation.
It’s unclear who the Paladin belongs to. The Paladin has the identifier of A13, although no specific unit is named. Joint Base Charleston is approximately 10 miles away from Goose Creek. The 18th Field Artillery Brigade, based out of Fort Liberty, told Task & Purpose that it did not have any Paladins in transit at the time. Task & Purpose contacted the Goose Creek Police Department about the incident and who owns the artillery piece and recovered it after the collision but as of press time has not received a response.
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What is clear is that the Paladin took a pretty hard hit. It’s hard to determine just how much force the train hit it with — the exact amount of mass onboard the train is unknown as is the speed it was traveling at — but it was significant.
1st Lt. Kyle Carr, a field a with the Louisiana Army National Guard, noted it could have been much different if the artillery piece had not been mounted on a trailer. Carr, who has trained with Paladin units, said that if the Paladin had been on the ground, with its tracks digging into the ground, there is a good chance that the train could have derailed in a direct crash.
If the chassis was intact, there is a good chance the Paladin is salvageable, Carr said. He noted that the back of the Paladin took most of the impact, but the chassis wasn’t totaled. However, it’s clear that the turret and cannon were damaged from the impact, Carr noted.
A retired Army soldier who served as a Howitzer chief, told Task & Purpose that the cannon is “the life of the whole piece.” Damage to the cannon, from the barrel to the turret, could leave it unable to handle the pressure of a 155mm round being fired, essentially taking it out of commission without extensive repairs. Beyond getting snagged by the train — which had freight containers double stacked on it — the barrel noticeably wobbles in videos of the crash and the muzzle takes clear damage.
The Paladin was eventually moved off of the damaged trailer and onto another one, leaving the site of the collision roughly three hours afterward. Within four hours train service resumed through the crossing.
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