Desperate Russian Forces Are Sticking 80-Year-Old Naval Guns On 70-Year-Old Armored Tractors

Forbes ^ | Mar 4, 2023 | David Axe

[Renfrew]

The Russian army is welding 80-year-old gun mounts, originally built to arm patrol boats, onto 70-year-old armored tractors—and sending them to Ukraine to get captured by the Ukrainian army.

The up-gunned, tracked MT-LBs are further evidence of the Kremlin’s worsening equipment crisis as it struggles to make good its losses in Ukraine.

Which is why the Kremlin is pulling out of long-term storage hundreds of 50-year-old T-62 tanks, 60-year-old BMP-1 fighting vehicles and 70-year-old BTR-50P armored tractors. These awkwardly up-gunned MT-LBs just further underscore the Russians’ growing desperation.

[MeganC]

Carpet bombing is still the provenance of the B-52.

[Blood of Tyrants]

First one delivered in 1955. The newest one currently flying was built in 1962 or 1963.

[Blood of Tyrants]

The B52 is constantly updated with new technology and instruments and avionics and engines. And the M16 is an old design, but the rifles themselves are replaced fairly often. The Army and Marines have drawn some M14s out of storage, but they are far from worn out.

[mountainlion]

https://newatlas.com/military/rolls-royce-begins-testing-of-last-engines-us-b-52-fleet/

[GingisK]

Nothing quite reliable as 80 year old ammunition. Those old compounds sometimes decompose, leaching nitroglycerin. The propellant becomes slower, not faster. That is a recipe for exploding breaches.

Twenty years ago I purchased some WWII German ball ammo for my 8mm Mauser. It was really hot. I pulled the pullets and put new powder in the casings. Those were something I survived.

Scale it up to a 5 inch gun. Wowser!

[BlueLancer]

Twenty years ago I purchased some WWII German ball ammo for my 8mm Mauser. It was really hot. I pulled the pullets and put new powder in the casings.

8mm chickens ... loose rounds?

[Blood of Tyrants]

I saw that the other day.

[wardaddy]

Bullshit

I have it on good authority from putineatsbabies.org that they are now putting 1850s iron mortars from old Tsarist ironclads on ox carts driven by grumpy but brave babushkas to get in close and drop heavy fire on Ukraine entrenchments

Like Vicksburg sorta

[wardaddy]

Western propaganda inc projects worse than a neurotic ex

[wardaddy]

Not 7 months

More like 2-3

Encircling the place

Maximizing Uke casualties and minimizing their own

That’s their version

I would point out they publish casualties

Uke doesn’t

I suppose you discount things like this as a lie

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11663177/Russia-quietly-drops-rule-exempting-fathers-three-children-mobilisation.html

[Kazan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVzFxqLZivE

Update on Russian military operations in Ukraine for March 6, 2023:

- Russian forces continue the encirclement of Bakhmut;

- Western media admits Russian operations around Bakhmut is exhausting Ukrainian forces and may diminish them ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian spring offensive;

- US announces another military assistance package for Ukraine with fewer items listed and absent of any specific quantities despite previous packages featuring such information;

-Ukraine has urgently asked the West for more artillery shells in particular, highlighting the inability for Western industry to match or exceed Russian military industrial output;

- German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall claims to be considering building a tank factory in Ukraine. Older articles claim only if approved by the German government and after the conflict is over, newer articles suggest the factory may be built sooner;

- Ukrainian pilots are in the US to assess their skills for potential training on US warplanes (likely the F-16);

- Training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s or other Western warplanes will admittedly take years, if F-16s arrive in Ukraine beforehand they will likely be Western operators posing as Ukrainian pilots;

[GingisK]

Fingers! They behave so badly these days. ;-D