Anarchist Bomb?

[ArtySgt]

BLUEHAWK, sharpnel comes from the shell caseing, the fuze is set on SQ ( super quick ) sets off the shell when it hits the ground. I have had to fire two fire missions where the infantry commander called down fire on his own positon. This is the call of the infantry officer in the situation where he feels it necessary to do so. It is my understanding that such a call could not be refused by artillery. I have fired with-in 25 meters of our troops more times then I can remember. This is where Artillery shines.

[BLUEHAWK]

Arty -
So, in most rounds set on SQ the shell which explodes when it hits the ground makes shrapnel, which is the business part of sending that kind of artillery.

- These fleshettes that have been spoken of here in the post, I am guessing that they explode in the air (?) somehow, so that the darts are forced forward in flight? Or, does that kind of round also get active on impact?

- When infantry calls in fire on his position, for the good reasons he would have, how do his guys know the stuff is on its way? Can they hear it coming, wait for the impact, and then jump back up to fire again?

- Do you set a bunch of fuses all at once prior to firing volleys, or do you have to set them individually?

[DMZ-LT]

As a guy who has a;lso RAN into the wire - You done good work - Thank you again Arty SGT. ! Welcome Home to all . One week.

[sfga6970]

What is a SOG? MACV SOG was a special operations recon unit in Vietnam. I ran recon teams for Detachment CCS out of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. We also had CCC in Kontum and CCN in Da Nang. All the American team members were Special Forces and our other team members were either Montagnard tribesmen or Chinese Nungs. We performed "deep penetration" recon and other specialized operations. We loved the artillery and Air Force support when we could get it, but many times it was too far away to help.

When you call in fire support, you start out in front of your position and walk it in to your location and hope that you can call a cease fire before it arrives to you. If not, at least you are prepared for it's arrival and hope for the best. I have great faith in the artillery and would not want to go to the field without them backing me up. "Danger Close" is not fun.

[PHO127]

Ran recon teams from CCS (Command Control South) out of Quan Loi. RT Lighting, I operated a little more south than SFGA and ran Khmer mercenarys with my teams. When you are operating out beyond any real help you really love arty and tac air. We would use your boys for bomb runs and such we prefered marine or navy carrier pilots for close in work simply because they were trained to perform close in troop support. Will talk more later cause got to take the wife and sister in law to the mountains today. AS for how the arty knows where to shoot for you we used maps (no GPS then) and there is a specific set of information in the arty call for fire that tells them when, where and what type of ammo and fuse combo to shoot for you. Since I have to leave maybe colmurph and arty sgt can fill in the holes on call for fire. TTFN

[revwardoc]

I know what you mean when you ask combat related questions. Like you I was never in a combat situation and when I read threads from dogfacesand jarheads I get confused by their terminology. I once asked my brother-in-law, a gyrene grunt in 'Nam, a question and he gave me a ration of shit, virtually calling me a dumbass for not knowing. I then started talking about C-141s using my "language" and he just sat there with a blank expression because it was all "Greek" to him.

So, to all you shoot-'em-up guys out there, be a little patient with us who may not have heard the gunfire, but also served.

[BLUEHAWK]

Thanks Dan -

My experience exactly, as well, obviously. Most of the guys on this post have been unusually patient with my little questions, and I am learning a whole lot, which in turn helps me understand a tiny bit (and explain to non-vets) what battle is like for the person in it, the person supporting the combat troops (like you and me)... and for those civilians who order us all into battle service, or who condone those orders from afar at polling places.

Your point about the "ration of s--t" we get at times is a key thing actually for me too. I believe a lot of vets simply nod their heads in professed understanding and agreement when a true combat vet speaks of his experiences in that certain way they do... I would call it the "far away look" which only they can ever know. My bet is that non-combatants (or most HQ staff) either know zero about it, or that what little they do know has come from the firing range and not from face to face killing under stress, blood and death.

Being a fogey, I sometimes get cut a little (very little) slack because I was on 123s and Goonies, which most combat troops can relate to, in an old-fashioned sense. Nothing in this world like having to fill a fuel tank laying on your belly on top of a 123 wing in minus 20 degree weather wind speed 40 mph in the middle of nowhere, eh Dan? We kept 'em flyin' and I am mighty proud of that.

[BLUEHAWK]

sfga, arty and Pho -

Thanks again and again...

- What does Dmz Lt mean when he says "ran into the wire"?

- I wonder how many americans know that Chinese Nungs fought on your side in VN? I had never once heard that before, in 40 years of paying attention.

- Which member of an artillery gunnery team actually sets the fuse combo?

Mike

[ArtySgt]

BLUEHAWK, the fuze is set be whom ever is working the ammo for the fire mission, it is checked by the section chief and loaded. The same person also " cuts " powder charges of which there are seven in a 105mm canister.
I only used anti-personnal direct fire rounds on one occasion, thank God. Tell you what I remember, the fuze of a Beehive round was set on " Muzzle ". Thats how we fired them, it is thin skinned round that has a charge to break the shell casing and another at the rear to drive the flushettes out into a wide fan directly in front of the gun. The round is indiscriminate, it will kill any one standing in front of the gun so our Infantry security had to be warned, this was done by screaming BEEHIVE. You were safe down in a fox hole, in our situation there were almost no Infantry left out in front of us, those there were killed by the enemy troops. Those VC/NVA got the shock of their lives when those rounds went off, and so did most of us who had never trained on nor fired one before. I hope this answers most of what you asked about.


Frank M

[ArtySgt]

DMZ-LT, Thanks for the kind remarks, really do appreciate it.