Posted on 04/20/2012 12:35:20 PM PDT by smokingfrog
KINGWOOD - Residents at a Forest Cove town home community had quite a scare Thursday morning when they found a military rocket launcher-type weapon lying on top of some boxes laid out for trash pickup.
“I was pretty sure it was real when the garbage people wouldn’t pick it up and said they weren’t messing with it,” said neighbor James Earl.
Agents with the Houston division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms responded to the 900 block of Marina Dr. around 11 a.m. April 19 and confirmed that the fear-inspiring object was indeed a military guided missile device. Agents quickly determined, however, that the weapon no longer contained any explosive agents and all that remained was the hull.
“It must have been in storage for a very long time,” Sr. Special Agent Arthur Gonzalez said at the scene. “It was very dirty and had all kinds of cobwebs inside. I cleaned it out and even found a bunch of black widow spider eggs inside the tube.”
Gonzalez said it is not illegal to own a spent rocket launcher.
(Excerpt) Read more at yourhoustonnews.com ...
Heck, the news media can’t report accurately on conventional firearms. How did you suppose they would do with one each M72A2 Light Antitank Weapon (with coupler - very important that...)
So they found a tube. Scary. Any PVC close by?
Someone got carried away in their preps, then came to their senses. ;)
You’re probably right. I found one in the trash when I was 11. Talk about a prize!
I think you're right.
You stood in a darkened room and trained to get 'lock on' on the jet appearing on the big screen TV, then you'd fire. It was like playing a video game.
This launcher taken from whoever's trash has the flashlight gizmo in the tube and the training module dealie mounted on it. It only bears similarity to a real FIM-43 launcher.
Mom said if I didn't pick up my toys she was going to throw them out. I guess she wasn't kidding.
Were they upset because someone didn’t put it in the recycle bin?
Oh you trembling, hand-wringing excuses for what were once Americans.
I thought it might be a training device. Something about it didn’t look right. Pretty old school stuff alright. Redeye had a hard time hitting the fast movers, didn’t it?
Somebody got a good wall hanger!
My opinion is that all man-portable air defense systems sort of suck, some more/some less, depending.
I don't know if the FIM-43 Redeye was ever used in combat, but I don't think that they were ever needed by US troops in Vietnam. If they ever were used by US troops in combat, I can only think that Lebanon or Grenada would have been the places where a Redeye might have been used before these were taken out of service.
I don't know what any non-US state (which might have acquired any) thought about them in practice, or if they ever fulfilled their role in downing an enemy aircraft.
Only thing I know about MANPADS are that they're very limited in their opportunity to down an aircraft. Fast fighter jets can be out of danger before you can get a lock-on. They can be effective vs. helicopters, but trying to down a enormous jumbo jet with one probably isn't going to do critical damage to such a large aircraft.
Of course, I guess it's all about luck. When I was 9 years old, I hit and killed an airborne horsefly firing a Daisy BB gun from about 25 feet from the hip. My grandmother was even witness to this amazing feat, but she's been gone since 1979 so you're going to have to take my word that this happened.
Not one of those. One of these:
Like its contemporary the 9K32M Strela-2M, aka SAM-2 to NATO, the Redeye was a tailchase heat-seeker, and was NOT *fire-and-forget*- the gunner had to continue the track until impact, a considerable disadvantage when dealing with hostile CAS aircraft or attack helos.
There's something about that launch unit that looks un-Redeye-ish to my old eyes, but it's been 40-years plus since I've had one on my shoulder. It may be one of the *block III launch units, which were different. But I bet Squantos knows.
| System | 9K32M Strela-2M (missile: 9M32M) |
9K34 Strela-3 (missile: 9M36) |
FIM-43C Redeye |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service entry | 1968 | 1974 | 1968 |
| Weight of system ready to shoot |
15 kg | 16 kg | 13.3 kg |
| Missile weight | 9.8 kg | 10.3 kg | 8.3 kg |
| Length | 1.44 m | 1.47 m | 1.40 m |
| Warhead weight | 1.17 kg | 1.17 kg | 1.06 kg |
| Warhead type | Directed-energy blast fragmentation |
Directed-energy blast fragmentation |
Blast fragmentation (M222) |
| Warhead explosive content | 0.37 kg HMX | 0.37 kg HMX and 20g secondary charge [4] |
0.36 kg HTA-3 |
| Missile engagement aspect | Tail-chase only | Limited forward hemisphere (all-aspect) capability |
Tail-chase / limited forward-hemisphere (depending on conditions and version) |
| Seeker type | Uncooled PbS detector element (1–2.8 µm sensitivity range). |
Nitrogen-cooled PbS detector element (2–4.3 µm sensitivity range). |
Gas-cooled (FIM-43A: Peltier cooled) PbS detector element |
| Seeker modulation | AM-modulated (spin scan) | FM-modulated (conical scan) | AM-modulated |
| Maximum range | 4,200 m | 4,100 m | 4,500 m |
| Missile speed | 500 m/s | 450 m/s | 580 m/s |
| Maximum speed target speed | 260 m/s (receding) | 310 m/s (receding) | 225 m/s |
| Engagement altitude | 0.05-2.3 km | 0.03-2.3 ... 3.0 km | 0.05-2.7 km |
In addition to the U.S., provided to Australia, Croatia, El Salvador, West Germany, Israel, Nicaragua, Sweden, Thailand and Turkey. Reportedly, Iran got some before the 1979 overthrow of the Shah.
I don't know if the FIM-43 Redeye was ever used in combat,
Yes. But not, so far as I know, by US troops in US uniform.
They're a little more hinky about such things around Fort Bliss than elsewhere. And with good reason.
“It was very dirty and had all kinds of cobwebs inside. I cleaned it out and even found a bunch of black widow spider eggs inside the tube.”
I bet if you took it out in the middle of the street and pointed it at a police car you’d get a reaction. :)
But, no, empty LAWS tubes are not illegal or dangerous.
Destroyed many of those in the late 80’s ..... some via trigger, others on a demolition shot...... etc .
Most out at Eagle Range between Wendover and SLC Utah.
I have seen a bunch of em in central america and ecuador. Military aid package no doubt......:o)
Stay safe Archy !
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