Posted on 12/31/2007 12:53:40 PM PST by Stoat
On patrol ... British soldier in Helmand province
BRITISH commandos launched a devastating blitz on the Taliban as the evil terrorists held a party to celebrate Benazir Bhuttos murder.
The dawn raid was staged after messages were intercepted about the sick knees-up in Afghanistans Helmand province.
Royal Marines crept into position as the fanatics partied the night away just hours after Ms Bhutto was killed in Pakistan.
The bash was being held in ruined compounds a few hundred yards from Our Boys remote base in Kajaki.
Ragtag Taliban sentries tried to hit back with machine gun fire but stood no chance against the heroes of 40 Commandos Charlie Company.
The terrorists were pounded with mortars, rockets and heavy machine guns.
Two bloodthirsty revellers trying to creep towards Our Boys in a trench were spotted by thermal-imaging equipment and targeted with a Javelin heat-seeking missile.
The £65,000 rocket designed to stop Soviet tanks locked on to their body heat and tore more than a kilometer across the desert in seconds.
Troop Sergeant Dominic Conway, 32 who directed mortar rounds grinned: It must have had quite a detrimental effect on their morale.
Sgt Conway, from Whitley Bay, Tyneside, said of the Taliban lair: It used to be their backyard and now weve made it ours.
Hell. A friend of mine in ‘Nam [on a prior operation] helped an infantry squad dealing with a pesky sniper by blowing the dude’s head off with a 90mm HEAT round [all he had] from his M48.
I’ll bet that hurt. Lol.
There are several levels of hurt.....
And then there's
I'm thinking that I would prefer either of the first two over the last one :-)
quite a detrimental effect on their morale.
Hip-hip hooray to our Brit Buddies!
And their faithful goats standing nearby.
LOL!! Picture perfect, haha!
Love that dry British stiff-upper-lippy humor!
The lads were likely in a good mmod now that they don't have to haul that damned heavy missile around anymore. At least the thermal sight on the launcher has other uses when nighttime perimeters are established.
In all, they've found that the Jav is a much better piece of kit that the old 45-pound-plus Charlie Gee recoilless antitank launcher. And if the troopies ever do have to take on a hostile tank, they now know that the missile/launcher combo works as advertised, and they'll have the confidence in it that leads to further success.
This is known to us Vietnam-era treadheads as *shootin from the hip,* particularly when attempted from the tank commander's position rather than usung the gunner's sight and rangefinder. Canister rounds, either *green can* or *black can* are preferred but high ex will do.
The next time someone tells you that *close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and sweet young things* you may smile knowingly, since you know otherwise.
The tracers from .50 M2 burn out at around 1200 meters, making follow-up adjusted shots [BOT/ burst on target] a bit iffy. A human-sized target at 2500, or better, a couple of *softies in open* or in a vehicle are pretty easily do-able with the 20x telescopic sight and 52-ton bipod of a tank, but I'd figure to put my first rounds low and walk them up to where I'd want them, then lock on a burst of 20 rounds or so, not quite as inexpensive as a single round from a really good sniper. But that's not an option for the poor mudfoot troopies who have to yomp the gun/ammo/tripod around, the reasonable alternative being that launcher of expensive but effective noisemakers.
In all, I'd say the Brits had a good day at the office!
Semper Fi,
TS
WOW! I want one :-)
Though the Jav can be fired from the back of a Landie, a Humvee or a Stryker, the infantry mount is a bit heavy for casual carry, and a bit lumpy for concealment. Might I suggest that you also consider the Humvee-mounted Lockheed-Martin LOSAT as well for your antitank needs? It's certainly no more a hideout gat than the Jav missile and launcher, but the effects are equally impressive, the range is a bit longer, and the video supporting theme music is nice and catchy.
LOSAT versus BMP personnel Carrier, 720 Meters
Armor illustrator Jody Harmon's rendering of an Iraqi T-72 crewman having a Bad Day at the Office:
LMAO!!
Delightful, inspiring videos all. Thank you so much!
I am SO PROUD of our amazing technological achievements as well as our troops!
“sniffle”
“Aside from that, Akmaal, how was the party?”
“The last thing Ivan saw”
“The party really blew.”
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