American soldiers in the Ardennes (Belgium; Battle of the Bulge, December 1944) are taking a moment away from the rigors of combat to relax. One of the standing soldiers is holding a 2.36 inch (60mm) Rocket Launcher M1. The jeep has snow chains on for better traction and looks to have a parachute on its hood.

Time to relax

 The M45 was driven by a 12-volt electric motor connected to two variable speed belt-drives, one for traversing and the other for elevating the turret.  Power was supplied by two 6-volt batteries connected in series.  The batteries were charged by a 300-watt generator connected to a single cylinder, 4-cycle Briggs and Stratton gasoline engine, equipped with a self-starter.  The generator never powered the turret directly.
    A nonlinear speed control system was incorporated with the belt drives in order to provide precise control of the turret at slower speeds.  This aided the gunner in tracking his target. 

     The M45 traversed a complete 360° circle, elevated to a fully vertical 90°, and depressed 10° below horizontal.  Solenoids fired all four M2 HB machine guns simultaneously
 If the batteries went dead, the M45 turret could still be elevated and traversed by hand 

by attaching these manual control rods to the trunnions, as demonstrated by this M51 crew.
 



M45 turret

An American M1 155mm towed artillery piece, nicknamed &quot;Long Tom&quot;, is being set up for firing in the Ardennes - Battle of the Bulge, December 1944.