[OT] Military (non-political) discussion of Iraq war

[Thermodyne]

I’m not sure that all 25mm’s are chain guns. But it is a tank buster so long as the range is short
and it has access to the less armored areas of the T-72. Depleted Uranium cuts steel armor like
butter. And T-72’s are fire traps. The shell storage is problematic, and most units have had the interior bLast doors removed to improve loading reliability. The Soviets had trouble maintaining this system, so I doubt the Iraqi’s were able to keep them functioning. Also, many marks have die cast road wheels, which are susceptible to .5” fire. That has to be one of those “what where they thinking of” engineering blunders.

[Thermodyne]

Anyone else notice the poor condition of the Iraqi personal equipment? It’s a good thing that
they use AK’s. Most weapons would not function with that level of care. And in that gritty
environment, one would have to wonder at the level of functionality they retain. Also, their
storage activities are awful. I wonder how many duds they have with their RPG’s and mortars.
A dud in a mortar is a real ***** when it hangs in the tube, and I would think that a hang fire with an RPG could be an issue too. That thing lights off while you are removing it from the tube, and I bet you don’t count to ten with your fingers any more.

[ April 05, 2003, 07:14: Message edited by: Thermodyne ]

[Alpha Kodiak]

Originally posted by Thermodyne:
I’m not sure that all 25mm’s are chain guns. But it is a tank buster so long as the range is short
and it has access to the less armored areas of the T-72. Depleted Uranium cuts steel armor like
butter. And T-72’s are fire traps. The shell storage is problematic, and most units have had the interior bLast doors removed to improve loading reliability. The Soviets had trouble maintaining this system, so I doubt the Iraqi’s were able to keep them functioning. Also, many marks have die cast road wheels, which are susceptible to .5” fire. That has to be one of those “what where they thinking of” engineering blunders.

Interesting info on the T-72. I found this LINK for some information on the Bradley's gun system. It is the M242 Bushmaster 25mm chain gun. Apparently, they have developed some pretty potent ammo for it.

[Axel]

I am reminded of the historical scenario of the battle of Smolensk (a battle memorialized in the wonderful Avalon Hill game, Panzergruppe Guderian). The crux of the German strategy against the Russians was Enkesselment (encirclement) in which the rapidly moving panzer columns would outpace their own slower infantry divisions, and to some degree their own supply lines, in order to outflank the enemy dug into and around cities and towns. The Infantry would slowly come up and close the net, but for a time the panzers would be vulnerable as the irregular, "untried" Russian units that were bypassed would harrass and cut their supply lines.

[tesco samoa]

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/t72tank.htm

Great web site.

The t-72 is out classed in this war.

Now if the American's do attack Sryia...

What weapons do they have.

I assume t-72 's , variations of the t-55 , and modern artie..

Most likely on par with IDN

[Thermodyne]

Originally posted by tesco samoa:
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/t72tank.htm

Great web site.

The t-72 is out classed in this war.

Now if the American's do attack Sryia...

What weapons do they have.

I assume t-72 's , variations of the t-55 , and modern artie..

Most likely on par with IDN

BBC says this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/788180.stm

[Thermodyne]

http://cns.miis.edu/research/wmdme/syrscud.htm

Shakes head and thinks that these people are so stupid.