As far as grenade launchers
...there is this behemoth. I have not personally ever used this thing nor do I know anyone who has but I don't like what I see. I'm not sure what niche this thing fills. It seems like it's too big to carry along with an M4 but I wouldn't want to arm someone with just this thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:M-...e_Launcher.jpg
This strikes me as more of a solution in search of a problem.
SFC W
Speaking of Knock Out a Bunker drills
Quote:
Originally Posted by
William F. Owen
Not my place to criticise the USA or USMC, but I can tell you that Platoon Manoeuvre is widely mis-understood and mostly very poorly trained for. I've watched many UK platoons do "bunker busting" drills at the platoon level an they have them down pat. Highly skilled, highly aggressive, and mostly effective. Done it myself and last observed it being done at the NCO school in 2006.
Problem is that template drills do not test Platoon and Section commanders as to their understanding of how a platoon gets forward. Thus in the UK, you have the bones of an excellent system, that mostly people have no idea as to why they are doing what they do. They just do it.
Same thing screwed up the platoon and section tactics training in 1941.
I can't speak to how the Marines have done this drill but this does illustrate a problem we developed in the infantry in the Army. When I first came into the infantry in '95 the drill went something like this. The SAW gunner and one man would provide suppressive fire on the aperture(s) of the bunker that was to be taken out. They would continue suppressive fire on that bunker while the man designated to destroy the bunker crept into position, identified which aperture he was going to throw the grenade in and prepped his grenade, all while the SAW gunner was putting rounds into a target a foot away from him. The shift fire signal was when the man at the bunker had finished prepping the grenade he would raise it up to indicate that he was ready. The SAW gunner would shift fire at which point the man with the grenade would release the spoon, count to two thousand, punch the grenade into the aperture and role away. Once the grenade detonated he would get up and fire into the bunker to ensure that everyone was dead and then try to visually verify that the bunker was clear. Some time after that, however, I'm not sure when, somebody realized that there was some risk to that and the drill changed. Due to safety concerns we were not allowed to fire within fifteen degrees of another soldier. Depending on how far away the SBF position was that could equate to a sizable distance. Of course it was always preached that this was just for training safety, in the real thing we would do it the old way. I want to meet the guy who, in war, consistently does things the way they should be done rather than the way he has been training.
SFC W
Nope, didn't miss it, I specifically commented about the times one did not have
better options.
Quote:
A bunker that can be successfully engaged with an infantry gun was a dumb idea in the first place anyway.
Agreed and there are a lot smart people who know that, thus taking it out the hard way becomes a nasty but necessary chore. :(
We used flamethrowers, don't guess one could do that nowadays.. :wry:
Nearly as I can tell you can use them but not napalm.
Go figure... :eek::confused::wry: