US snipers to defend Iraq oil pipeline

Australian Broadcasting Company ^ | October 05 2003 | AFP

[knighthawk]

The United States military has deployed five teams of 10 airborne snipers to defend Iraq's northern oil pipelines from acts of sabotage by forces loyal to ousted president Saddam Hussein.

Sergeant Brian Stinson said final modifications were being made to Blackhawk UH-60 helicopters, before snipers from the elite Tiger Force could begin patrols along the crucial oil supply lines.

"There is so much area to cover that it requires precision fire, we're on call for 24-hours a day and can be airborne within 30 minutes," he said.

Protection of Iraq's northern pipelines, which stretch 500 kilometres to Turkey and almost to Syria, are a major headache for the American troops, who have devised a series of initiatives to combat sabotage.

This includes the creation of local protection units made-up of the fledgling Iraqi police forces.

Local tribes have also been hired to protect supplies with mixed success.

Armed with 50-calibre M107s, 308 bolt actions and 308 semi-automatics, the Tiger Force deployment also marks the return of airborne snipers in the regular US Army for the first time since the Indochinese wars of the 1960s and 70s.

The 308 bolt is for "personal targets" that limit collateral damage among civilians, with a medium range of almost one kilometre.

Sergeant Stinson said the 50-calibre is for longer range work, capable of killing a person from 2.5 kilometres, and the concussion alone from a round that passes within a close enough distance can kill.

The Tiger Force first won fame in the Vietnam War where it was established by Colonel David Hackworth, the highest decorated US soldier in that conflict.

"It's the same system we used in Vietnam and we've brought it out of retirement," Sergeant Stinson said.

Helicopter pilots from the 101st Airborne Division have trained specifically for ferrying snipers along the pipelines.

Pilots fly at night without light and must keep the Blackhawk in the air and position the helicopter behind, between valleys and hills, which muffles the sound of the rotors while remaining mostly out of view.

However, at the same time, the sniper's sights remain on the target allowing for "precision fire".

"We can hit a target before it knows we're there," Sergeant Stinson, a sniper with the 101st Airborne, said.

Iraq's main pipeline runs from oil-rich Kirkuk north to the Dohuk province and then on westward to the Turkish Mediterranean terminal of Ceyhan.

[LibKill]

and the concussion alone from a round that passes within a close enough distance can kill.

Somehow I don't think so.

I have been to the rifle range many times. In the USMC we took turns firing and working in the target butts.

The sound of bullets ripping through the targets overhead was impressive, but did not produce so much as a headache. Granted, a .50 cal would make an even louder noise, but still just a noise. For 'concussion' you need an explosion.

I suspect this reporter does not know which end of the tube the projectile exits. Typical.

[harpseal]

"and the concussion alone from a round that passes within a close enough distance can kill."

Pure BS but hey as long as they do not miss who is going to know.

[harpseal]

Since many in RVN used M2's and I have had occaision to be very close to teh trajectory of a .50 cal projectile passing close and was neither killed or injured in any way unless one counts being a tad surprised by the sound abd impressed with teh results of hits. As I have often said before I once saw a person almost cut in half by M2 rounds take some more steps up to the wire and throw a grenade. Now if by just passing close they could have killed it would have made things a whole lot easier for the defenders of many places.

[archy]

Since many in RVN used M2's and I have had occaision to be very close to teh trajectory of a .50 cal projectile passing close and was neither killed or injured in any way unless one counts being a tad surprised by the sound abd impressed with teh results of hits. As I have often said before I once saw a person almost cut in half by M2 rounds take some more steps up to the wire and throw a grenade. Now if by just passing close they could have killed it would have made things a whole lot easier for the defenders of many places.

I'd agree completely. Sometimes.

And sometimes, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if a close one from a .50 would literally scare the intended recipient to death, or similarly accomplish the job through some similar mechanism.

I am not, I say again NOT about to take a chance on stopping any determined individual via a lucky accident or physiological result that works some of the time, but not all/most of the time. But I don't doubt that there are instances in which that result has happened.

Just don't bet your life on it, or those lives depending on you.

-archy-/-

[archy]

I don't doubt at all what you say about the muzzle blast. What about the round itself though. In some airburst munitions a flammable vapor is spewed several feet above the ground and ignited. The subsequent explosion causes a vacuum in a large area. When the air rushes back in to fill the void I understand that the surrounding atmosphere decreases enough in psi to cause severe damage to a human. This happens primarily because of the speed of the explosion. I don't see how a projectile could cause the same effect unless I'm wrong in my understanding of overpressure.

I don't know, the physics and aerodynamics are way beyond me. Try a degreed balistician with a background in explosives chemistry and aeronautics, with a smattering of fluid mechanics and stress analysis.

.

But I know that the evil flat zipper-sound of a 90mm or 105mm solid shot round [we've forgotten about them in these days of HEAT and kinetic penetrator APFSDS *Silver Bullets* but guess what: neither electrical discharge field nor reactive armour has much effect on them] as air rushes in to fill the vacuum made as the 3½-to-5- inch base of the projectile splits the air is a hellish sound, indeed. While that may or may not involve a physiological effect, it certainly plays hell with your sense of humor about being shot at and missed; it's NOTHING like taking near small arms fire. Close misses from .50, 12,7mm, 14.5mm and 20mm rounds are somewhere in between.

-archy-/-