Re: Iraqi errors report - Part 2
 

ALL mine clearing tanks in the game have a HEAT value higher than "standard" values.

Why would I change that for the Iraqis ?

Don

Re: Iraqi errors report - Part 2
 

The idea was that something like this...

http://www.militaryimages.net/photop...ummer_1992.jpg
http://huynhphuclinh.files.wordpress...42619_kmt5.jpg

might provide some standoff protection against HEAT. On the other hand this...

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/6208/t72kmt2.jpg

would not (but would not slow down the vehicle as much). That being said I can imagine that it would raise the question of the others mineclearing tanks; as I said previously, this is not a life or death matter.

Re: Iraqi errors report - Part 2
 

Something I had overlooked earlier but it is pretty important.

A RPG-2 team should be added.
Create a clone of unit 268 RPG-7 Team with the following changes.
1) Weapon n. 16 RPG-2 in the first slot
2) Weapon n. 4 SKS Carbine in the second slot
3) Name change to RPG-2 Team
4) Availability dates changed to 2/1959-12/1991

Unit 265 ATR Team
Final availability date could be restricted to 12/1959

Re: Iraqi errors report - Part 2
 

Some non essential but nice to have.

Units 399-911: Pick up
I suggest icon change to n. 678. Such icon represent better the pick up the iraqis have used.

Weapon n. 143: 122mm Saddam FH
Unit 90: 122mm Sddm FH
Unit 175: 122mm Sddm Pl
I had previously recommended the deletion of such units.
If possible, they could be recycled to represent the D-74 122mm gun which was used by the iraqis.To accomplish that I suggest the follwing changes.

Weapon n.143 122mm Saddam FH:
1)Name change to “122mm D-74 FG”.
2)Range should be increased from 212 to 214 (D-74 value in russian OOB).

Unit 90: 122mm Sddm FH
Unit 175: 122mm Sddm Pl
1) Name change to “122mm D-74 FG” and “122mm D-74 Pl”
2) picture change to n. 23490
3) Availability dates for both could be changed to 1/1967-4/2003

Sources : they are listed by most sources which cover iraqi artillery inventory.
Pictures of them in Iraq are also available.

http://www.howitzer.dk/army/armyphot.../d74_122mm.jpg
http://www.howitzer.dk/vehicles/vehi...03/d74-122.jpg

Source:http://www.howitzer.dk

Unit 233: 57mm AT-Gun
I suggest load change to 45 HE 20 AP and 15 Sabot
There are rumors about an HEAT round being developed (see http://www.russianammo.org/57mm.html#29) but whether they were fielded is another matter. It is even less likely that they would have been exported and none have have been found in Iraq.

Unit 88-173: 122mm M30
Final availability date could be extended somewhat, to say 12/1988

M30s are listed as still being in service in 1991 by several sources such as Armies of the Gulf War by Gordon L. Rottman, Ron Volstad. Captured iraqi documents certainly list WW2 vintage artillery such as 152mm ML-20 as still in service during the Gulf War (though the M30 is not mentioned).
I think making them available until the end of the Iran Iraq war would be a safe bet.

Unit 1: PT-76
Icon could be changed to n. 1620.
That would be more in line with known iraqi camouflage patterns

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/9853/pt76.jpg

Source: http://picasaweb.google.com/IraQiyaat

Re: Iraqi errors report - Part 2
 

Some additional nice to have things.

Centurion Mk-7 tank could be added.
This one however, given the scarcity of available weapon slots, is conditional to overwriting one weapon.
Specifically weapon n. 90mm M36 Gun in the iraqi OOB should be overwritten with weapon n.91 20 Pounder 52 from the british OOB. They are both tank guns and the iraqi weapon n.90 is used only by unit n. 8 M47 which, as I esplained previously, was never used by the iraqis anyway (and even if one wanted to play “what if” there is always the capture option).

This unit could be created in the following way:
1) Import unit n. 15 “Centurion Mk 6” from the british OOB
2) Rename it “Centurion Mk 7”
3) Rearm it with
- Weapon n.74: 7.62mm L8A1 CMG in the second slot (not the correct model but they have exactly the same stats)
- Weapon n.73 : 7.62mm L37 AAMG in the third slot
- 20 Pounder 52 in the first slot.
4) Availability dates changed to 1/1956-12/1975.

Sources:
- Centurion Universal Tank 1943-2003 by Simon Dunstan, Peter Sarson
- SIPRI

Unit 582: Dug-In T-62M
It should be deleted. As I noted in the past T-62 fitted with laser rangefinder was probably nothing more than a prototype/limited production; unit 26 T-62M is sufficient to cover that.

Weapon n. 7 “AK74 Rifle” could be renamed “M16 Rifle”
This could be used to rearm unit 414 Rifle Section a well as:
- A clone of unit 413 Rifle Section with 6/2007-12/2020 as availability dates
- A clone of unit 420 Motor Section with 6/2007-12/2020 as availability dates

Sources:
http://iraqnewsmonitor.blogspot.com/...s-to-some.html
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htweap/20070517.aspx
http://www.blackanthem.com/News/Alli...fles6600.shtml

Re: Iraqi errors report - Part 2
 

With this I have nearly finished with the ground units.

Unit 743: Grenade Team
It should be deleted.
The M79 grenade launcher is not a common weapon among guerrillas.The old iraqi army (whose former stocks are the main source of weapons for the insurgents) used yugo rifle grenades for that purpose. It is possible given the bewildering variety of small arms used in Iraq that it might have used by someone at some point but then we would have to put in God only know how many weapons.

Unit 760: Guerilla Group
Weapon n.18 RPG-7 and weapon n.13 7.62mm PKM LMG could be added in slots 3 and 4

Unit 774: Guerilla Group
Weapon n.124 40mm BG-15 GL should be replaced by weapon n.26
60mm Cmmdo Mtr.

Formation 87: Fedayeen Wpn Pl
The Strela in slot 3 could be replaced by something else (unit 268 RPG-7 Team for example). The Fedayeeen would not have too many high end weapons and a MANPAD is already included in formation 84.

Source: various, including “La Caduta di Baghdad” (“The Fall of Baghdad”, containing interviews to syrian volounteers fighting with the fedayeen Saddam)

Weapon n.87 85mm D44 Gun
HEAT penetration could be increased to 30.
The iraqis had BK-2M for their 85mm guns.
Source: ordnance disposal reports

Units 240-241: 100mm AT-Gun
Load could be changed to 30 Sabot 18 HEAT 12 HE.
There were no AP rounds for this gun, only two APFSDS which are already covered in the game by having weapon 97 100mm 2A29 65 and weapon n.98 100mm 2A29 79.
Source: ordnance disposal reports

Unit 584: Dug-In T-72G
1) Name change to Dug-In T-72M
2) Fire control rating reduced to 20
3) Final availability date extended to 12/2020

Re: Iraqi errors report - Part 2
 

Wasn't T72M the export one?
Were all t72 sold by russia to other countries designated "M" or "S"?(other than license built ones such as M-84 Degmen, produced on croatia)

Re: Iraqi errors report - Part 2
 

OTOH the export T-72s came in the following variants.
1) Basic T-72: cast steel turret, optical rangefinder, made available since 1979.
2) T-72M: improved variant with LRF, new more accurate gun etc. Apparently it came in several subvariants with differences in items like glacis configuration, ammo capacity, presence of smoke dischargers etc. Most common export variant
3) T-72M1: essentially T-72M with better armor (composite turret, reinforced glacis)
4) T-72S: export variant of the T-72B, made available at the end of the cold war.

Re: Iraqi errors report - Part 2
 

Some additional nice to have albeit not essential modifications.

Unit 462 SF Section
Availability dates could be changed to 1/1986-4/2003

Unit 463 SF Section
Final availability date could be changed to to 4/2003

Unit 466 SF Section
Final availability date could be changed to 4/2003

Unit 721 SF Section
It could be rearmed with weapon n.7 renamed M16
Vision could be increased to 10

Unit 467 SF Section
Initial availability date could be changed to 1/1981
It should be rearmed with weapon n. 15 Rifle-Grenade (with 4-8 HE rounds) instead of weapon n. 124 40mm BG-15 GL.

Unit 468 SF Section
Initial availability date could be changed back to 1/1981
It could be with weapon n. 15 Rifle-Grenade (with 4-8 HE rounds) instead of weapon n. 124 40mm BG-15 GL

I have further checked the ordnance disposal reports. No ammunition for the BG-15 GL has turned up which means that either it was never used or it was a very limited issue. Thus as suggested in the recommendations above the numbers of units equipped with it would be reduced to reflect this.

A unit that could be added, using one of the few remaining available weapon slots
Unit 230: PIAT Team from OOB 7 Great Britain
Availability dates 1/1947-12/1959

Kurdish units and formations.
There is the question of what these units/formations would represent.
Ther kurds have operated as insurgents against the iraqi government, as the armed forces of Kurdistan, as iraqi security forces and combinations of the above depending on the period. As a consequence of this organization and character of the forces involved has varied from small guerrilla units to regular conventional forces.
In light of the above I suggest some modifications to bring them in line with the new iraqi security forces in order to represent, for example, the mountain units which are currently being formed. As alternative they could be reorganized along traditional kurdish guerrilla units but the modifications would be more extensive, as well as requiring date changes in units and formations.

Unit 790: Kurdish Squad
Weapon n. 121 in slot 3 could be replaced with weapon n. 18 RPG-7

Unit 792: Kurdish Squad
Reclassed as class 78 Partisan Band

Formation 720: Kurdish Platoon
Unit 791 in slot 4 should be replaced by unit 790

Formation 721: Kurdish Company
Unit n. 450 Scouts and Unit n. 804 2x60mm Mortars would replace Units 790 and 792 in slots 2 and 3

Unit 55-810: M40 Recoilless
Weapon AK47 Rifle could be replaced by weapon n.4 SKS Carbine. The AK-47 would be a bit too much out of place in the late 50’s. The SKS should be OK for most of the unit lifespan.

With this I have finished with the ground units. Next posts will be on the air units.

Re: Iraqi errors report - Part 2
 

The first post on iraqi air assets, some changes for aviation weapons and planes.

Weapon n.182: 12.7mm Gat
It could be be renamed 7.62mm TMP-5. This was a gun pod housing two 7.62mm machine guns and was the gun armament of choice for the western supplied helicopters and light turboprop attack planes.

Weapon n. 187: 23mm GSh-23L
It should be overwritten with weapon n.39 12.7mm (4) YaKB from OOB 11 Russia
Currently it equips only unit n. 125 Mi-25, but the iraqi Mi-25s actually carried the 12.7mmYaKB.

Weapon n. 194: 50kg Bomb could be overwritten with weapon n.195 100kg Bomb from russian OOB.

100kg bombs (FAB-100 and similar) were used in substantial numbers.Given the shortage of weapon slots I suggest overwriting weapon 194 because the 50kg bomb was.
a)Far less frequently used.
b)The units which are currently using it would have to be rearmed with something else anyway.

Weapon n. 245: 1000kg Bomb could be overwritten with weapon n.196 500lb Bomb from OOB 7 Great Britain.

The use of bombs of size greater than 500kg is not documented, that is not surprising as the iraqis had in their arsenals weapons that were hardly ever used, for various reasons. 500lb Bomb would be more useful in order to arm early british supplied planes.

Weapon n.199: HE Cluster Bomb
HE penetration should be reduced drastically.
The iraqis used several specialized antipersonnel cluster bombs, ranging from RBKs filled with HE bomblets to purpose built south african CB470 with bouncing submunitions. Such weapons would have only a very limited, if any, effect on armored targets.

Unit 129 Gladiator
It should be rearmed with two weapons 191 50lb Bomb, one in slot 2 and an other in slot 3
It seems logical that both bombs would have been dropped at the same time.

Unit 130: Fury FB.11
1)FC rating is too high, it should be lowered to 5 as it would be more consistent with aircrafts of that vintage.
2)It could be rearmed with two 500lb bombs, one in slot 2 and an other in slot 3

Unit 131: Beaufighter X
It could be deleted : one source mentions it but it seems it was a misreading of primary sources where transport planes were mistaken for Beaufighters. There is no other mention of it nor of any combat use.

Unit 133: DH-112
1) Bombs in slots 2-3-4 should be deleted and replaced with two weapon n.198 1000lb Bomb, one in slot 2 and an other in slot 3
2) Final availability date should be extended to 12/1967.
They still equipped a fighter squadron during the Six Days War, they were replaced only in 1968.

Sources for the above and the following posts are

Acig.org
In particular articles such as:
Iraqi Air Force Since 1948, Part 1
Iraqi Air Force since 1948, Part 2
I Persian Gulf War: Iraqi Invasion of Iran, September 1980
Fire in the Hills: Iranian and Iraqi Battles of Autumn 1982

Which can be found here

Arab Air Forces on 5 June 1967
Which can be found here

Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 units in combat by Nicolle,Tom Cooper
Iraqi fighters 1953-2003: Camouflage & Markings (excerpts)
Plus various others sources.