artillery support

[catman]

Robert...just damn glad you are here to laugh! Welcome home!

Trav

[39mto39g]

When was you in the 4th?
Bam Me Thout , Must have been before june 67.

Ron

[rotorwash]

When we first took Duc Pho over from the marines (sorry - Marines) our arty support was a destroyer off the coast with two five inch guns - only the aft turret wasn't working - one five inch gun. We took the Co and S-3 of the 2/35 inf to the ship and landed on the dash pad for a conference. While they were talking we took some swabbies for a ride to show them the countryside. At one point we flew over some large bomb craters and they asked, "Did our guns do that?" We showed them some spots where the grass had been flattened and told them, "No, your guns did that."

Here's a question for you cannon cockers. Where we flew we always got "redleg" updates that kept us aware of artillery firing missions. The advisory always told us the location of the firing battery, the target location, which gave us the g-t line, then they gave us the "max ord" or maximum elevation the ordnance would reach before beginning its downward plunge. We would then decide the best way to fly around, over or (heaven forbid) under the g-t line. On one occasion we were told the max ord for a misssion was 42,000 feet. After we got our jaws off the floor, we went low level and scooted under the g-t. What on earth would shoot that high??? New Jersy wasn't there yet.

Rotorwash

[Chas H]

42,000 ft is a bit high. I don't know what the safety margin is for an air advisory, but a 175 firing high angle can put a round up about 35,000 ft IIRC. We shot some that high, as I remember having time to get a cup of coffee before anouncing "splash".

[PHO127]

Would have to be a gun not a howitzer, Most probably a 5/52 or larger Navy gun. One of the jobs of the artillery LNO was to coordinate all fire support for the infantry Bn. If you were engaging with say arty, gunships and fast movers you had to coordinate the strikes give the fast movers an attack and a pullout azimuth, gunships the same and keep them out of the path of incomming arty and each other. Keeping in mind where the good guys and bad guys were while spinning around in a loach over the target drawing groundfire and talking to a FAC an FDC, a lead gunship, the infantry on the ground and a FO if there was one. More than likely you were also having to manuver dustoff ships around the incomming fire. AND if things got really bad you might have shoot an LZ prep bringing in reinforcements.
I bet you guys thought all that stuff just magically appeared.

THEN, AFTER MORNING COFFEE.......

[DMZ-LT]

I knew it was supposed to be there when I called for it and thats about it , and it was. Again I Thank You

[catman]

Sid....remember the old Army slogan?....We do more before 9am than most people do all day? Your post reminded me of that!

Trav

[rotorwash]

I thought 42,000 was a bit high. Could be that redleg was just funnin us poor ignorant flyboys.

Our first firefight at Duc Pho involved the 2/35 exploiting a contact initiated by B/1/9th Cav. Before the day was over we had naval gunfire, Air Force Tac-air, gunships, ARVN artillery directed by US advisors and Guns-a-go-go from the 1st Cav and maybe a kitchen sink. In the middle of all that there was a CA of 2/35th guys lifted by 1/9 Blue team slicks. It was a fun day but for the fact a Cav gunship got shot down and my aircraft got shot up - including a 12.7 hit through the tail rotor.

Rotorwash

[Chas H]

Some days are fun, some are not. I can't put my hand on right now, but there is a photo of a C- 124?(Caribou) shortly after taking a hit from a 155. The pilot apparently ignored warnings that a fire mission at the LZ was in progress and attempted a landing.

I found the article. Not a good day for all of us, particularly the crew.

http://oc-kahuna.com/USAF_1.html