Sweet sound of a 20mm Hispano Cannon

[Stealhead]

Hand cranking was also a good alternate in case the primary starter did not want to work or was broken.Especially with a 12 cylinder tank engine which requires a lot of force to start an electrical starter needs lots of battery power and batteries tend to fail or become weak in extreme conditions.Without the hand crank what else would you do when the Russians come over the hill at 0400 hours and it is too cold for your batteries to work?

Imagine having to crank that while the crew is using the turret hand cranks and already engaging the enemy while also having some hot lead and steel headed in your general direction.

Here is how you start a B-29 R3350 in this case they are turning the pistons to a certain position a starter does the rest.


A real man can start a 28 cylinder Wasp Major.

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

Without the hand crank what else would you do when the Russians come over the hill at 0400 hours and it is too cold for your batteries to work?

How about running like hell?

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

How about running like hell?

Then you'd leave my idiot butt behind to crank all of the Tigers.

[Jimbuna]

Jeebus....that 20mm has certainly grown in calibre!!

[CaptainMattJ.]

Its like a symphony of death. Impressive.



However i still think that the a-10's 30 millimeters of ruin-your-whole-damn-day reigns supreme over most if not all other autocannons.

[Stealhead]

I think the worst "dumb" weapon to face would by far be a barrage of rockets be they 70mm Hydra or 80mm Russian air to surface or from a GRAD or an MLRS or HIMARS with flechette war heads.

Depending on the rocket and warhead size several hundred to several thousand steel darts raining onto and right through you at a velocity past the speed of sound.

Modern artillery is also extremely devastating.My brother had his skin saved a few times in Afghanistan by a few well placed 155mm from the M777(a British design though their army dose not use that gun)with standard rounds they can hit you from 15 miles away with rocket assist 18 miles and an Excalibur shell 25 miles.

My dad in Vietnam missed death by minutes when he left a bunker it got hit by just a few moments later an NVA 155mm the guys inside where blown to mist.

Arty dose not get the headlines like JADAMS and the A-10 but with modern technology it is still the king of battle.Another thing about arty is so long as you are in range she will always be there to rain death unlike a airplane or helicopter.

[CaptainMattJ.]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

I think the worst "dumb" weapon to face would by far be a barrage of rockets be they 70mm Hydra or 80mm Russian air to surface or from a GRAD or an MLRS or HIMARS with flechette war heads.

Depending on the rocket and warhead size several hundred to several thousand steel darts raining onto and right through you at a velocity past the speed of sound.

Modern artillery is also extremely devastating.My brother had his skin saved a few times in Afghanistan by a few well placed 155mm from the M777(a British design though their army dose not use that gun)with standard rounds they can hit you from 15 miles away with rocket assist 18 miles and an Excalibur shell 25 miles.

My dad in Vietnam missed death by minutes when he left a bunker it got hit by just a few moments later an NVA 155mm the guys inside where blown to mist.

Arty dose not get the headlines like JADAMS and the A-10 but with modern technology it is still the king of battle.Another thing about arty is so long as you are in range she will always be there to rain death unlike a airplane or helicopter.

Depending on the situation, the A-10 is still more devastating. The A-10 can pop an armored vehicle like a soda can and vaporize any personnel unlucky enough to be a target. Its fast, can be deployed on call, is more precise, and has the benfit of being up close and personal with a pilot behind the trigger. Artillery is still an area of effect weapon, even though we have the capability of putting a round through a window at 20 miles. Its also highly vulnerable, rarely has direct line of sight for the target, relies on spotters, does not have the capability to destroy a moving target precisely, and is much more slowly deployed.

Now again, the situation is what determines the effectiveness of both an A-10 and artillery. An A-10 is usually in and out. It doesnt have alot of munitions, it cant stay on location very long, and can be taken out by stingers or enemy aircraft. It still has the ability to accurately and immediately annihilate most threats faced on the ground and can do it in no time at all. Artillery has the ability, in contrast, to level a whole block, can stay on location indefinitely, and usually carries much much more ammunition, making artillery a better option for prolonged combat in a fixed radius. And although artillery is becoming more and more mobile with mobile rocket artillery trucks and various mobile platforms, the majority of our artillery corps is still made up of towed 155mm cannons. This means that on the whole our artillery is still alot less mobile than our mechanized and armored divisions, which limits their role. The A-10, barring the lack of air superiority, can always be useful and can always bring the hurt and bring it hard.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

I think the worst "dumb" weapon to face would by far be a barrage of rockets be they 70mm Hydra or 80mm Russian air to surface or from a GRAD or an MLRS or HIMARS with flechette war heads.

Depending on the rocket and warhead size several hundred to several thousand steel darts raining onto and right through you at a velocity past the speed of sound.

Modern artillery is also extremely devastating.My brother had his skin saved a few times in Afghanistan by a few well placed 155mm from the M777(a British design though their army dose not use that gun)with standard rounds they can hit you from 15 miles away with rocket assist 18 miles and an Excalibur shell 25 miles.

My dad in Vietnam missed death by minutes when he left a bunker it got hit by just a few moments later an NVA 155mm the guys inside where blown to mist.

Arty dose not get the headlines like JADAMS and the A-10 but with modern technology it is still the king of battle.Another thing about arty is so long as you are in range she will always be there to rain death unlike a airplane or helicopter.

Agreed...nowhere near the recognition it deserves.

[TarJak]

I reckon the combo in the AC-130 Spectre is pretty special. Airborne arty fom short range with built in FO function. Great package IMHO https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&s...55123115,d.aGc

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Agreed...nowhere near the recognition it deserves.

I guess it's because they usually don't face an enemy that could shoot back so it's a relatively safe thing. Not so good for headlines when compared to an A 10 that was shot to pieces by AAA and still came back.

[Jimbuna]

A couple of short bursts from an A-10 and it's all over:

[Oberon]

What's the saying? 'Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl.'

MLRS is a very potent beast, especially the M270, I believe we nicknamed our ones the 'grid square removal system', I certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a barrage of 'Steel Rain', it would definitely ruin your day.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Oberon

What's the saying? 'Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl.'

MLRS is a very potent beast, especially the M270, I believe we nicknamed our ones the 'grid square removal system', I certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a barrage of 'Steel Rain', it would definitely ruin your day.

Certainly a bit of a beast:

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by CaptainMattJ.

Depending on the situation, the A-10 is still more devastating. The A-10 can pop an armored vehicle like a soda can and vaporize any personnel unlucky enough to be a target. Its fast, can be deployed on call, is more precise, and has the benfit of being up close and personal with a pilot behind the trigger. Artillery is still an area of effect weapon, even though we have the capability of putting a round through a window at 20 miles. Its also highly vulnerable, rarely has direct line of sight for the target, relies on spotters, does not have the capability to destroy a moving target precisely, and is much more slowly deployed.

I know much about the A-10 having worked with them directly in the USAF for 3 years. 400 MPH is not what I would call fast either.The A-10 and any other aircraft has the same weakness as arty in an air support situation an aircraft is just as reliable as arty is on an observer directing towards the target and to inform of the effect or lack there of of an attack.Furthermore in certain terrain such as very hilly and very mountainous terrain the accuracy and effect of bombing even with guided weapons is greatly reduced and arty whose shells come down at a much better angle can be much more effective in having very good effect in such conditions.

Artillery has not needed a direct line of sight since the development of the howitzer and effective fire control which came along during WWI.You are a tad lacking in your understanding of how artillery works and should not be lecturing as to its employment.

Our artillery is much more mobile than you realize you seem to be unaware of the past 50 years of development when it comes to arty.It can be moved in minutes if needed via heavy lift helicopter such as the CH-47 and the CH-53.The Chinook was in fact was designed with very heavy focus upon the ability to move guns and all guns since the CH-47 entered service are designed for air transport.

You have things confused at bit artillery and even mortars are used very heavily in Afghanistan as a way to control terrain.Any time a unit heads out on a patrol one of the things they do is observe enemy activity so that they can observe where they detect or suspect that the enemy is about to use.They will then call into there fire support and provide the coordinates.So that in the case of enemy action fire support already has that location marked and has fired some ranging rounds into it (sometimes that being observed by the enemy is enough to make him loose interest in that spot).