While reading in another thread where I wanted to post I came across this post which puts some of my thoughts better in words than I did.
Also trying to get the ability and equipment to ID something or somebody was perhaps the key issue of that old book written in 1920. What the "drag net" of observers logged down could then be dealt in a myriad of ways. Heavy MGs, a whole rifle platoon, snipers, raids or various doses of artillery fire were used to achieve the objective.
Firn
if they're on or near the military crest provided one is present; the blowdown can do an amazing amount of damage. If there is no military crest then you are indeed stuck with direct fire. Reverse slope defenses are a more difficult target for everything, hence their popularity...
The fuze and frag pattern are also something that should be kept in mind. Most mortar bombs have a quite horizontal frag pattern (if they explode while descending straight down).
This pattern is extremely inefficient against targets on near-vertical surfaces in comparison to their performance against target in flat terrain.
Even proximity fuzes don't help much.
A low trajectory (even direct fire) munition and some of the very rare forward frag mortar bombs (or air burst WP-Inc) can be much more efficient in that case.
Perhaps a part of the solution.
Corps to field more grenade launchers
...“The typical [Marine] company will … receive three MSGLs,” she said. “The MSGL is a commander’s discretionary weapon. Unit commanders will decide the means of employment.”
“When there’s an exchange of fire going back and forth, one of our goals is to immediately gain fire superiority, and when you fire six rounds and you hear six explosions on the back end, sometimes that quiets the guy who’s shooting back at you,” Maj. Jody White, team leader for the weapon’s acquisition, said last June. “It allows us to maneuver at that point, and seek him out and destroy him.”
This sounds like they are giving one of those big .40 revolvers to each rifle platoon of the company, doesn't it?
This firepower comes at a price called weight. A dedicated grenadier with a lighter, stand alone single-shot launcher can carry a lot more rounds. This is important if it is used by light or mountain infantry. Still the M32 can make of sense, especially when you have to put quickly a lot of HE downrange. I rambled about this topic before.
Firn
P.S: It should be the L variant, capable to shoot higher velocity 40x46 mm grenades.
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
Last edited by Firn; 02-25-2010 at 10:47 AM.
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