Posted on 11/26/2016 6:42:51 AM PST by C19fan
A video released by the Al Rahman Legion, a Syrian rebel group based in eastern Damascus, shows a very unusual weapon — a bespoke, truck-mounted cannon that wouldn’t be out of place on a battlefield centuries ago. Somewhere within the Al Rahman Legion, a weaponsmith has applied old-time design principles and a bit of physics to bolster the group’s firepower. This is also the third homemade cannon depicted on video released by the group, as two others appeared in September 2015 and February 2016.
(Excerpt) Read more at warisboring.com ...
Why not just charge at each other with pointed sticks?
Go real old school and have a chariot battle like the Assyrians.
Did you see the effect? Look at the video. At lot of these skirmishes are taking place with one side holed up in a light masonry structure. This thing can stand off 1000 feet away and blow holes in it.
Allahhu akBLAM! Now they truly are the religion of pieces.
That’s actually a Soviet truck mounted mortar, a similar version the 4.2 inch mortar was used by the US and was replaced a few years ago by the 120mm mortar. they can be ground mounted or mounted in a vehicle. The way they are using hydraulics to elevate and traverse the mortar tube is fairly high tech, and with a good crew they are very accurate.
Ethiopian order of battle in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War
(1935)
With an attack appearing inevitable, Emperor Haile Selassie ordered a general mobilization of the Army of the Ethiopian Empire. His new recruits consisted of around 500,000 men, some of whom were armed with nothing more than spears and bows. Many soldiers carried more modern weapons, including rifles, but many of these were from before 1900 and were outdated. Haile Selassie’s Mobilization Order stated:
” All men and boys able to carry a spear go to Addis Ababa. Every married man will bring his wife to cook and wash for him. Every unmarried man will bring any unmarried woman he can find to cook and wash for him. Women with babies, the blind, and those too aged and infirm to carry a spear are excused. Anyone found at home after receiving this order will be hanged.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Italo-Ethiopian_War
(Oooh Rah!)
In the modern world, these weapons are not referred to as "artillery." They're called "targets."
That one looks like breach loader. The article said they’ve seen one muzzle loader and two breach loaders. I agree that piece would not have looked out of place on Cemetery Ridge or Balaclava.
What is so sad about the Arab world is that if you could Tavel back in time and bring back 5 or 6 army divisions from either the US, Britain, or Germany they could use their 70 year old weapons and wipe the Arab world off of the map.
What’s even sadder is that those armies of 70 years ago would have been far more likely to get the job done than today’s forces.
But, the keyboard warriors on FR hear on"cannon" and think 17th and 18th century.
I used to have a nice photo from DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK in which Barry Fitzgerald the preacher calls up the militia, and his words are almost the same as those above.
Their just to dumb to figure out how to use it as an indirect fire weapon.
The moderate be headers have been using homemade cannons for 5 years. Called hell cannons, they use some iron sewer pipe and propane canisters to send a crude bomb up to half a mile.
So much for gun control. If you can’t buy one you can always build one.
Modern mortars are muzzle-loaders. They are in use by most armies in the world today.
The US 120mm mortar has a rate of fire of 16 rounds in the first minute and a sustained rate of 4 rounds per minute.
I guess one fights with whatever weapons one has, but this would be like rolling up a 12-pound deck gun on a battleship, charging it with powder and chain shot, then maneuvering for a broadside in an attempt to foul the rigging and demast the enemy.
A mortar is a cannon.
Now I agree that it is a special-purpose cannon, but it is a cannon.
Now as far as ISIS is concerned, if one side has only AK-47 rifles and the other side has AK-47s and muzzle-loading cannon, the guys with the cannons will stand off out of AK-47 range and ultimately win by attrition.
Of course modern artillery will take out the muzzle-loaders, but in many situations I would rather engage them with muzzle-loading mortars than artillery.
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