This was forwarded to me this morning by a friend in the Canadian Forces. As you guys may know, the first rule of a mortarman in combat is "shoot & scoot". Here is Tommie Taliban showing you want happens if you don't, and if your target doesn't appreciate your intentions and knows how to use a rifle.

http://s45.photobucket.com/alb...iew¤t=Oops.flv

Unless the round blew up on him from using old munitions. Good example would be old us black market equipment or Russian.
So he got whats coming, thats the point

EXCELLENT

that was not old munitions blowing up. it was counter-battery, which radar tracks the incoming, then automatically sets artillery to drop a shell on the point of origin.

all it takes is 3-4 rounds, and we have them. dumb ass kept on shooting them and gave counter-battery time to work.

good riddance.

Nothing gets the red leggers moving faster than "Fire Mission, counter-battery!"

But watch it several times, pay attention to the timing,
his own round exploded in the tube.

If fire finder got him it would have been while he was carrying the tube and a few steps away from his firing point. the explosion was too quick for C-B fire unless they were already trained on his location with a round in their tube... consider time of flight...

But that joker was kinda slow...
he's slower now

Some years ago I got a long lesson in special forces tactics where doctored ammo was left where the enemy could aquire it.


I also worked for a company that actually made fuses and a certain number of special grenade fuses were made to order... with no delay element. a special cap and a length of primacord in substitution of the delay element.

It was the navy that was ordering them and as it was explained to me if the seals were involved in a firefight
while being persued after an action they'd "mistakenly" leave a grenade behind like they had dropped it hoping their enemy would pick it up and try to use it...

Suprise...

Consider when that grenade would go off if someone pulled the pin and attempted to throw it...

I have a personally very amusing, though grusome image of some NVA/Taliban asshole with the grenade at arms length overhead the instant the spoon seperated....
Just like an airburst artillery round...

They also make a far better hastily prepared tripwire booby traps because of their lack of delay element.


AD

I assume that someone could tell the difference visually?
Peter.

quote:

Originally posted by Peter:
I assume that someone could tell the difference visually?
Peter.

Visual and tactile differences
Not to mention that those grenades were carried with an additional safety clip.

I was also told that the "extra" clip could be pulled and the grenade thrown (with the spoon still attached to make the enemy think some idiot "forgot" to pull the acual pin

Their subsequent attempt to pick it up, pull the pin and "throw" it back would end badly...

Mortar rounds are easy to "rig", replace the propellant charge with plasticized PETN.
it and the bursting charge will go together.
AND You get two for the price of one,
you get the mortar man and his tube.
and possibly a bonus... add tube fragments to the normal fragments... AND the fact that the round has no chance to spend it's energy in the dirt...

This is why US policy on captured ammunition is to wrap it in demolition blocks and prima cord and blow it up, usually in place.

Anyone remember the ww2 german chocolate bars that were actually a thin layer of chocolate over a sheet of explosive and a break to activate detonator with no delay element?

Trying to "Break a piece" off would result in (at minimum) losing both hands.

or the anti-personel mine the germans employed that looked like a hitler youth dagger stuck in the dirt. it was designed to catch souvineer hunters.

Thus the training dictum, "don't pick shit up"

AD

quote:

Some years ago I got a long lesson in special forces tactics where doctored ammo was left where the enemy could aquire it.

Apparently we British doctored rounds in the Zulu War (1879-1881) sending off pack mules with 450/577 Martini Henry rounds in which the blackpowder was replaced by gun cotton.

As an aside to the mortar topic British snipers were taught to aim at the mortar tube (using AP) and NOT the crew members.