Denmark: Possible Iraqi Blister Gas Weapons Found

Yahoo (Reuters) ^ | 1/10/04 | Reuters staff

[The_Victor]

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -

Danish troops have found dozens of mortar rounds buried in Iraq (news - web sites) which initial tests show could contain blister gas, the Danish army said on Saturday.

The tests were taken after Danish troops found 36 120mm mortar rounds on Friday in southern Iraq. The Danish army said they had been buried for at least 10 years.

"All the instruments showed indications of the same type of chemical compound, namely blister gas," the Danish Army Operational Command said on its Web site, cautioning that further tests were needed.

Blister gases, such as mustard gas, are used in chemical weapons.

Blister gas, an illegal weapon which former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) said he had destroyed, was extensively used against the Iranians during the 1980 to 1988 war.

Although it can kill if it enters the lungs, its use is primarily to debilitate infantry by causing the skin to break out in excruciatingly painful blisters.

The United States launched its war to oust Saddam on March 20 saying the Iraqi leader violated U.N. resolutions by developing weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons.

Teams of international weapons inspectors however have so far been unable to locate those weapons.

[Brimack34]

When they say Fair and Balanced on FOX does that include the reporter? He said well it is no smoking gun, it is old, it does not count, move along move along....

[U S Army EOD]

Hanging in there and wondering if the National Guard would take me at 60. They have National Guard EOD units now you know.

[Squantos]

Yeah ....that was a real suprise. Reserve and NG units. Guess robotics replaces hands on ...time on target for the tech now . I was told that hand entries are rare as hens teeth in todays Oplans. Ahh for the good old days.... when men were men and sheep were afraid !

Last I left the policy was if ya were gone for five and a wakeup you had to go back thru basic school regardless of your basic, senior or masterblaster crab.

I figured at the very least they'd let us old guys fill in back here in the stateside units so the pups could go chase their tails over there.....:o)

Hope ya find you a spot ya like !........DynCorp or SAIC are looking for instructors BTW !

Stay Safe !

[U S Army EOD]

The sheep weren't afraid of me. Our relationship was not Baaaaaaaa-d at all.

[fso301]

These would have been of no use against Americans or anyone else today

What would be the result if one or more of these were colocated with roadside IEDs?

[Squantos]

LOL...........Stay safe !

[Nebr FAL owner]

I have seen the shells a nice wad of c4 or semtex in the fuze pocket primed with a length of det.cord/primacord & you have an extremely nasty IED.Also please bear in mind that folks are still digging up chemical weapons/ordnance left over from WW1 that are still deadly .

[Arkie2]

Mortars are used as supporting weapons in every modern army. Especially in a hilly area this indirect fire weapon with its high mobility often is the only applicable artillery.

A moden mortar bomb is stabilized in flight by means of tail fins. The high trajectory results in a high angle of attack and makes mortars more suitable than artillery for use in built-up areas or mountains; mortars are not as accurate, however. Artillery also differs in firing a projectile through a rifled barrel, thus creating greater muzzle velocity.

[Sacajaweau]

This seems to be the consensus of many...you'll never find the whole product but it can be made in assembly line fashion in a short time AND "we'll never find them unless they take us to them".

Note: We found weapons, yes. We know they have (had) and are allowed certain weapons. But, it is the chemical we are interested in. What a great place to hide it....in old weapons. BE WISE!!

[U S Army EOD]

Mortars are just another form of artillery. The 4.2" mortar has a rifled barrel and the projo no tail fins, it is spin stabilized. There are also some mortars that are actually breach loaded also. The modern definition is based on barrel length vs projo diameter and the basic trajectory of the shell. Mortars, howitzers, cannons, and guns are all forms of artillery. This includes AAA.

Used to be in the American army, all the mortars were in heavy weapons companies with the 75's, 105's, 155's, 8", and 240's being in units designated as artillery units. If you get a chance, go to APG, Maryland. They have an experimental mortar up there called Little David. If I remember right, this monster was in excess of 700mm. It was about twice the size of a 16" shell.

The Germans used a 430mm mortar during WWI which was in an artillery unit. They also used one they called Thor in WWII that was some enormous size.

[U S Army EOD]

At one time we had in the inventory basically a one gallon can full of mustard gas with a little bit of explosive on the back. This was a manufactured item.

The mortar shells have their own high explosive burster on the inside. All they have to do is take the fuze out and stick a blasting cap (with a wad of C4 to make sure) in the fuze cavity and you have a mine.

[Sacajaweau]

Considering these were found along a road, your view is a good one. The condition of the "found" shells is irrelevant.

[Sacajaweau]

One article says there may be 100 more shells at the site.

Funny, most of the recent insurrection has been up north. All of a sudden, it's in southern Iraq. What's up??