Taking the Crowd Out of Firing 155mm Artillery.

Originally posted by TrueBrit
reply to post by tonycliffs

 

I heard it was some dreadful cancer that did for him. The whole time he was filming for Blood and Sand, the directors were like cramming him with muscle ripping chems because he was getting so thin from the cancer, that without them, he just couldnt maintain the "warrior" physique for the cameras.

I just think that as interesting as this warmachine is, the industry that builds these things is supporting a divergance away from our roots as the most dangerous animals on the face of our planet, and replacing that history, that legacy, with techniques and wartech which do all the real work for us!

What you say about Andy Whitfield may well be true. The steroids and all. Cause he was supposedly in remission, when it all came crashing down around him. He sure did look too healthy to die. But, that is cancer in one of its many forms. And the steroids probably didn't help.

As for waiting to die in the gladiatorial arena being hacked in half or beheaded by an axe or a sword, there is

something benign about dying without warning from a 155mm artillery shell launched from some thirty miles away....I mean, if you are going to die and you have your choices.....

As for waiting with sword in hand to enter the gladiatorial arena to face an opponent with an axe in hand, there is something benign about being able to send an artillery shell 30 miles to kill an unsuspecting enemy.

But, what's to worry. The way technology is going, the unmanned drones will give themselves the orders, while we play golf or tennis?

That, or their drones attack our golf courses and tennis courts.

Anyway, there's the Super Bowl this Sunday. Face it, the players today are so much bigger and stronger than the players of twenty years ago......hey, there we go talking about steroids again!!

Anyway, if you haven't seen the series, I suggest you do so. The graphics are illuminating ....you know, the way a head flies across the arena and the camera lens turns blood red.

Oh, yeah...the sex scenes are very graphic, too.

reply to post by tonycliffs

Traditionally an artillery crew requires anywhere from eight to twelve men per artillery piece, depending on the size to the weapon. A two man crew fires up to ten 155mm artillery shells per minute, to a distance of 31 miles? In any weather? Even 35 below zero? And neither man has to get out of the cab?

I was on a 155 SP Howitzer crew for several years. The crew, including secondary vehicle driver, came to about 6-7... not 8-12

Range for what was termed 'white bag' charge was about 12 miles. Green bag charges were somewhat less. Each bag could be reduced by segment.

The age of artillery is rounding its final corner. The navy has long since ceased relying on powder & shot... but the army is still infatuated with the queen. There have been a number of modernizations and automations to legitimize the continuation of this weapon system... and in some cases, it still does pretty well. But larger, modern mortars and charges can almost match what used to be a 105mm's sole domain.

A single missile artillery launcher today can lay down a far more lethal barrage in far less time than a whole battery of gun tubes.

reply to post by redoubt


Eight to twelve. Six to seven. Ninie to Five (A movie starring Dolly Parton...)

Today's weapons' systems require less man to inflict more damage.

And in my book, that's a good thing for our troops.

Meanwhile, the boys are working on a EMP (Electrical Magnetic Pulse). Which will require massive surge protection of everything electrical, and may prove dangerous to anyone near a metallic surface. Don't just smile. Military aircraft are routinely tested on EMP pads. Usually miles from anywhere, as the EMP can cause disturbances in the immediate area. A car with an old mechanical regulator and generator, if not turned on, will be worth more than a fully computerized, electric powered vehicle. EMP will kill the latter whether it is running or not. Maintaining the EMP security of electronics is dependent upon the full attention and commitment of operators and maintenance personnel. Soon, we may be reduced to bayonets and knives, bows and arrows, because the "modern" equipment will be countered by countermeasures. The ultimate attack will be met by the ultimate defense, etc.

Originally posted by Brandyjack
Meanwhile, the boys are working on a EMP (Electrical Magnetic Pulse). Which will require massive surge protection of everything electrical, and may prove dangerous to anyone near a metallic surface. Don't just smile. Military aircraft are routinely tested on EMP pads. Usually miles from anywhere, as the EMP can cause disturbances in the immediate area. A car with an old mechanical regulator and generator, if not turned on, will be worth more than a fully computerized, electric powered vehicle. EMP will kill the latter whether it is running or not. Maintaining the EMP security of electronics is dependent upon the full attention and commitment of operators and maintenance personnel. Soon, we may be reduced to bayonets and knives, bows and arrows, because the "modern" equipment will be countered by countermeasures. The ultimate attack will be met by the ultimate defense, etc.

I should imagine the best firearm to hold onto for the post-Apocalyptic era of the depopulation wars of the later half of the 21st century would be a flintlock rifle.

You have a better chance of making your own gunpowder and balls.

And you can mount a bayonet on it.

What goes around, comes around.

Imagine the Archer firing eight to nine nuclear tipped artillery shells per minute.

They've created the Archer for arctic warfare. The two man crew doesn't have to get out of the cab out into 36 below weather.

Eight to ten nuclear warhead artillery shells per minute launched some 35 miles, that'd melt some snow.

the problem with fully automated systems is that one defective clevis pin / bolt / oilseal / PCB etc etc can turn your entire artillery peice into ballast - and fixing it with just 2 men - might be hard and slow

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
the problem with fully automated systems is that one defective clevis pin / bolt / oilseal / PCB etc etc can turn your entire artillery peice into ballast - and fixing it with just 2 men - might be hard and slow

Even Sir Lancelot had problems with an occasional sword breaking.

Our military relies more heavily on expert civilian contracting mechanics.

Even a toaster will break down.

So far as I know, there is no perpetual motion machine in use. Everything that moves requires ball bearings, oil, maintenance and an occasional tender loving pat.

This is my rifle. This is my gun. One is for fighting. The other is for fun.

reply to post by Brandyjack


I'll put our bayonets up against their bayonets any day.

The pistol bayonet.

thedarkblade.com...

reply to post by tonycliffs


you miss my point - a conventional towed artillery peice , even though it has an APY and computerised fire control , retains manual controls and hand operated actuaters

a far greater number of failures can be rectified by the 8 man crew of a towed 155mm tube

as it can be trained by hand - fire control done by tables and potical sights / micrometer wheels

fuses can be set by had tools

projectiles and propellant bags loaded and rammed by hand

thats what i meant by one simple component can totally disable a unit like archer

it takes a lot to render a conventional crew served tube inoperative

reply to post by tonycliffs


Hopefully they didn't get any of those faulty federal howitzer shells. They'll be blown to smithereens.
(i kid, i kid)

Originally posted by Brandyjack
Meanwhile, the boys are working on a EMP (Electrical Magnetic Pulse). Soon, we may be reduced to bayonets and knives, bows and arrows, because the "modern" equipment will be countered by countermeasures. The ultimate attack will be met by the ultimate defense, etc.

Everything that we have is NBC. Nuclear, Biological and Chemically safe. Everything that is NBC is hardened for EMP as every nuclear weapon produces it. The only thing that is not is a dam hummer with a canvas roof.

EMP is old news, our military has known about its effects since the 50's.

Originally posted by tonycliffs

Originally posted by theRhenn
Yep.. We've come a long way since I was in the Army in 92. (13B10)
OoooSHAhhhh!

Today's infantryman carries a personal defense weapon that can convert in minutes from 5.56 to 6.8 to .50 in a matter of minutes.

Right, who carry's the other two barrels and the two other types of ammo?

reply to post by ignorant_ape


Okay, let's start again.

The Archer is being tested and used on a Scandanavian test site where the cold reaches extreme temperatures.

Everything is encapsulated and warmed by heaters: men and machines. Protected from the extreme cold.

The Archer is primarily being targeted for warfare in the arctic regions. It moves across ice and snow rather smoothly.

We've been fighting desert warfare for so long that many have forgotten the problems of fighting in the cold. The Archer ostensibly will move across sand dunes rather smoothly too. Turn on the ari conditioner for protection against extremes in heat, for those in the global waming camp.

Now, either something is happening in cold climes.....OR, as meteorologists are predicting, due to the upsurge in solar storms and the like, we may be heading for another Little Ice Age. We may be seeing more snow as far south as the Mexican border. We may be seeing more extreme cold weather in the Mideast.

Ergo, our military is preparing for cold weather fighting, one way or the other.

Hence, The Archer. A moe hermetically sealed weapon's system.

Good. Bad. Ugly and Indifferent. Needs refinement. Whatever a weapon's system needs.....our military is obviously preparing for some ice age changes in the future. Global warming creates ice ages. Global coolilng creates extreme heats. Volcanoes happen. Excessive volcanic activities created the five hundred years of the Little Ice Age that took out Napoleon's Army in Russa, and the Hussein Mercenaries at Valley Forge.

You guesstimate what those changes are. Whatever it is, our military is developing hermetically sealed weapon's systems.

Hey, maybe they plan to take a descendant of The Archer to the moon soem day in the distant future?