And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Artillery, God of the battlefield
Russian SO-152 Akatsiya, 152.4 mm self-propelled artillery.
I think that the Russians love artillery more than any other nation. We clearly use it as do all modern militaries, but the Russians have a genuine love for massed artillery.
There was also a time where massed artillery was used to defeat the Russians. A Finnish friend turned me on to this documentary of the 1944 battles (not the Winter War) between the Finns & Russians. The Finns had developed a system where widely dispersed batteries could concentrate their fire on a specific target within 3-5 mins. Discussion starts at 24 mins.
Technology marches on. I was stationed in (the former) West Germany during the mid '70's. One of our NCO's described an artillery demonstration where the incoming rounds started with an air burst at about 1000 feet, followed in rapid boom-boom-boom succession by more rounds bursting closer to the ground, with the last one making impact. This was all calculated with slip-sticks and gunners quadrants.
Today, we have rounds that can follow a GPS track once in the air. A unit like the one in the picture can (in coordination with other units) stop, unlock their gun tubes, traverse, aim, fire, and be on the move again in 30 seconds. All rounds fired will impact the target at the same time.
I think that the Russians love artillery more than any other nation. We clearly use it as do all modern militaries, but the Russians have a genuine love for massed artillery.
ReplyDeleteThere was also a time where massed artillery was used to defeat the Russians. A Finnish friend turned me on to this documentary of the 1944 battles (not the Winter War) between the Finns & Russians. The Finns had developed a system where widely dispersed batteries could concentrate their fire on a specific target within 3-5 mins. Discussion starts at 24 mins.
ReplyDeleteThat was a huge innovation for any army, and the Finns needed every advantage they could muster against he Russian hordes.
DeleteTechnology marches on. I was stationed in (the former) West Germany during the mid '70's. One of our NCO's described an artillery demonstration where the incoming rounds started with an air burst at about 1000 feet, followed in rapid boom-boom-boom succession by more rounds bursting closer to the ground, with the last one making impact. This was all calculated with slip-sticks and gunners quadrants.
ReplyDeleteToday, we have rounds that can follow a GPS track once in the air. A unit like the one in the picture can (in coordination with other units) stop, unlock their gun tubes, traverse, aim, fire, and be on the move again in 30 seconds. All rounds fired will impact the target at the same time.
Slip-sticks, heh. Got through college using those damn things. Younger readers are saying, "WTF are they talking about?"
DeleteWTF, indeed. When asked I just tell 'em "It's an EMP proof calculator that you can read with a candle."
Delete