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, September 10, 2023
A long and bloody road
South Korea. 28 March 1954. A Centurion tank of the British Army’s 5th Royal Tank Regiment (5 RTR), training with Assault Pioneers of 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), at the 38th Parallel.
Neat thing about the Centurion was the aiming system. A ranging gun was boresighted with the main gun and fired special tracer bullets with the exact ballistic properties of the shell fired by the main gun. The gunner would fire a tracer round and observe if it hit the enemy tank. He would correct as necessary and fire the main gun when he was sure of a hit. Al_in_Ottawa
So, in other words, the tank fires a harmless small bore weapon that alerts the enemy that they are under fire instead of firing the main weapon which would rock the enemy with a near miss and leave the enemy gunner shocked and afraid.
Damn few problems a 20-pounder and some sappers (with SMLEs) can't solve.
ReplyDeleteWar games, a year after the truce was signed.
ReplyDeleteNeat thing about the Centurion was the aiming system. A ranging gun was boresighted with the main gun and fired special tracer bullets with the exact ballistic properties of the shell fired by the main gun. The gunner would fire a tracer round and observe if it hit the enemy tank. He would correct as necessary and fire the main gun when he was sure of a hit.
ReplyDeleteAl_in_Ottawa
So, in other words, the tank fires a harmless small bore weapon that alerts the enemy that they are under fire instead of firing the main weapon which would rock the enemy with a near miss and leave the enemy gunner shocked and afraid.
DeleteI am not all that familiar with British Centurion tanks winning many battles. Can anyone enlighten me?
ReplyDeleteAsk Israel
ReplyDelete