'Mother of all Bombs' prepared for Tikrit

The U.K. Times ^ | April 11, 2003 | From David Charter in Qatar and Michael Evans, Defence Editor

[loudmouths]

THE ground battle for the last stronghold of Saddam Hussein’s regime could start as early as Monday.

The first elements of the US 4th Infantry Division, including 44 of the latest Abrams M1A2 tanks and 18 Paladin howitzers, will shortly be in attack position outside Tikrit, 112 miles north of Baghdad.

[DCPatriot]

"...We will not let you use civilins [sic] to protect yourselves from the consequences of your actions.

Uh, so we drop a couple over residential neigborhoods?

Easy there, buddy! ;^)

[DCPatriot]

They will use it in the desert, over a battle field full of enemy airheads.

I hope they take the time out to demonstrate one at a safe distance so that the enemy will have to walk that long distance with their hands up and a pant's load full of their sh*t!

Why not give them a rash? Is that against the Geneva Convention? /sarcasm

[runningbear]

LOL... well, as I heard, there is information in Saddam's hometown that is where the target area to be.... Where they think the enmass Saddam troops will be hunkered into... if bunkered, boom, all done!.... ;o) But the word was, or feeling that this may be over by the weekend.. I don't know, depending on the other skirmishes...

[geopyg]

Great pic, even shows the expert that probably knows the most about this bomb.

[Paleo Conservative]

The C-5 is called the Galaxy.

The C-17 is called the Globemaster III.

[CatOwner]

Hmmm, so what's the "kill" range of this monster? Or is it mainly used for psychological effects? It would seem to be more efficient to use ten 2000 lb. bombs instead of a single MOAB. Or are we looking to plumb some depths, requiring a large, single missile?

[runningbear]

that was Yahoo's mistake...;o) Thanks for alerting me to that...

[Minty]

"OTOH.....who gives a damned what they think?"


They will roast us no mater what we do or not. So it is very tempting to do it the "easy" way, isn't i? That would be like "shake and bake", and would spare lives, ours of course.

[NFOShekky]

"The C-5 is called the Galaxy.
The C-17 is called the Globemaster III."

I know about the C-5 but can the C-17 also carry the M1A1? I thought only the Galaxy was large enough.

Hercs Forever

[NFOShekky]

"The C-5 is called the Galaxy.
The C-17 is called the Globemaster III."

I know about the C-5 but can the C-17 also carry the M1A1? I thought only the Galaxy was large enough.

Hercs Forever

[Amerigomag]

Uh, so we drop a couple over residential neigborhoods?

Not exactly.

Siege, followed by a reasonable period of warning to allow non combatants to exit, followed by an orderly destruction of targets based on thier military significance.

Along the way, constant communication with the clan should they elect to take their chances with a miltary tribunal.

Remember almost all the Ba'th party leaders and Iraq's military leaders came from this town and most are relatives of Saddam's.

[Dog Gone]

I wonder why we bother to paint it orange. What color is the Father Of All Bombs?

[tiki]

They don't need it. The war is essentially over except the sniping and homicide bombers.

[oceanview]

not even close.

I heard there is some huge chemical "facility" in the western desert being guarded by one of the remaining Republican Guard divisions. If I had to place a bet, I would say the MOAB is for this location.

[Uncle Jaque]

For your very own stylish MOAB T-shirt, CALL:

1-800-242-2374

[Illbay]

No, I think the C-130 carries the MOAB.

[Paleo Conservative]

that was Yahoo's mistake...;o) Thanks for alerting me to that.

No problem. Perhaps Yahoo is aptly named.

[Illbay]

Would it be smart to hit such a facility with a decidedly "non-precision" weapon?

I can't see that.

For one thing, you don't know what's there, and what you may spread all over creation. For another, we need to get in there and actually SEE this stuff, catalog and measure, etc.

Wiping out Saddam's evidence for him doesn't seem smart.

[Paleo Conservative]

I know about the C-5 but can the C-17 also carry the M1A1?
I thought only the Galaxy was large enough.

Prior to the C-17, only C-5's could carry the M1. The C-17 can't carry it as far without refuelling, but it can land on short rough runways carrying an M1. Supposedly a C-5 can carry two M1's, but I don't know how much range it has carrying that load. GlobalSecurity.org says that a C-5 can carry only one M1, but The Aviation Zone says two.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m1-intro.htm

http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/c5.asp

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/c-17-history.htm

http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/c17.asp

[runningbear]

LOL... okay... Just like yesterday they were screwing up on some other pics, but finally recapped it..... ;o)