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Posted on 09/06/2004 11:23:18 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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 The modern artillery piece is an incredibly lethal and (in the public eye) totally unappreciated piece of machinery. It lacks the popularity and accessibility of the personal firearm or the glamour of the main battle tank, but artillery is an absolutely crucial component of combined-arms tactics in ground warfare. Sci-fi fan discussions of ground warfare often assume that artillery is unnecessary in the presence of air support, but this is a totally unrealistic approach. While artillery doesn't produce pretty pictures of smart bombs hitting buildings for CNN, it does produce results, particularly against targets which are not easily seen from the air. Unlike aircraft, artillery is unaffected by cloud cover or similar visibility conditions; as long as the spotter can relay the target location, the act of aiming is performed through mathematical computation rather than visual target acquisition. Furthermore, artillery isn't as easily fooled by cardboard decoys or other guerilla tricks, since its targeting is based on forward observers rather than detection from a distance. An artillery piece is also much less expensive than an aircraft, and a high explosive shell is much less expensive than a multi-million dollar guided missile. Artillery has an effective 100% duty cycle in the local combat area, unlike aircraft which cover large areas and must periodically return to base for refueling, maintenance, etc. Artillery is also much harder to detect than aircraft. Even a stealth aircraft is neither invisible or silent, while a camouflaged artillery piece can avoid detection until it opens fire, even in daytime.  Artillery pieces can range from small 52mm mortars to massive 8-inch self-propelled howitzers such as the M110A1, and they serve two purposes: close-range infantry support and long-range destruction of enemy units. Since artillery fires projectiles in an arcing trajectory, it has the absolutely priceless ability to hit targets without a line of sight. The importance of this capability simply cannot be overstated. An enemy tank column can be attacked by field artillery from behind geographical obstructions, and even if the attacking artillery is within range, the tanks still wouldn't be able to shoot back. In mountainous terrain, this capability is absolutely crucial; an army without artillery is a dead army. Of course, this leads to the obvious question of how artillery is aimed, and that job falls to fire control and the forward observer. Forward observers operate independently, and their job is to locate the target. They can be anything from specially equipped vehicles to men on foot, and they are typically equipped with laser rangefinders and accurate positioning systems such as GPS systems, so that they can relay very accurate targeting data back to fire control. Fire control then performs mathematical computations to determine the ideal firing angle and charge in order to hit the target, factoring in such variables as wind, humidity, temperature, etc. Modern systems even have multiple simultaneous strike capability, which is accomplished by firing three times in rapid succession: once at very high elevation, once at medium elevation, and once at low elevation. All three shots are timed so that they hit the target at the same time, from three different angles. Against a hardened target, this can effectively triple the power of the weapon. Against soft targets like infantry, the approach is somewhat different; a single proximity-fused projectile is set to explode in the air above the target and shower it with shrapnel. Either way, whether the target is a bunker, a column of armoured vehicles, or a group of infantry, if the artillery can find it, the artillery can destroy it.  Unfortunately, the greatest advantage of the artillery piece is also its greatest weakness: the parabolic trajectory of its projectile. While it allows the artillery piece to hit its target at great distances without a line of sight, it also allows a well-equipped enemy to swiftly locate the artillery piece, simply by tracking the arc of its projectile and mathematically computing its source. Specialized systems have been designed for just this purpose: for example, the EMI Cymbeline radar system is a specialized mortar-locating radar system, and the US Army's Firefinder system can locate both mortars and field artillery pieces. This means that field artillery is as much of a target as a threat, and the best efforts at concealment are basically for naught when the gun is ordered to open fire. However, the enemy must be well equipped in order to exploit this weakness, thus further underscoring the necessity of artillery: an enemy without effective artillery of his own would be helpless to exploit this weakness, so you would be able to attack him with impunity. Another point of vulnerability is the forward observer, since your artillery cannot target the enemy if your forward observers have been killed or captured. A possible alternative to the forward observer is the small aerial RPV (remote piloted vehicle), which is already in use for naval gunnery. However, the RPV is an expensive device, and forward observers are expected to be available on the battlefield by the time artillery is deployed.  Mobile warfare is hampered by immobile artillery support, so a full-scale conventional warfare scenario requires self-propelled artillery pieces. The doctrine of self-propelled gun deployment calls for large numbers of independent units to situate themselves around the countryside and move with the infantry and armour units. When a target is identified by the spotters, all of these artillery pieces will simultaneously open fire and shower it with shells, before pulling up stakes and changing positions in order to avoid the inevitable enemy artillery counter-attack (the slang term is "shoot and scoot". In this way, mobile artillery units achieve the dangerous combination of mobility, dispersion, and firepower concentration.
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I hadn't either. Try www.usflagtruck.com pretty cool.
Thank YOU sir. Your service was more challenging than mine.
Actually, I was sitting in a Differential Equations class, listening to the professor drone about Bessel Functions. Oy!
Do tell!
Howdy ma'am
"IDF Arty Girls"
Mee-yow.. Redleg Babes!
Those are BIG flags.
Hi Sam.
LOL. We've got EGC and alfa6 in the middle, PE in Texas, feather and darksheare in NY and Foxhole folks all over. Heck, we have Gator Navy in Japan. Cannoneer just arriving in Afghanistan and Matthew Paul in Poland. We could rule the world!
Hiya Darksheare.
The ultimate solution, IMHO, would be to take advantage of the Crusader technology but rework the system to fire precision guided over the horizon munitions that could be developed for it.
Hello.
Been wandering about as usual.
Artillery is also a darn effective weapon for infantry against tanks, I'm sorry to say. I still remember photos of small mountains of shell casings around arty pieces defending the infantry divisions that held the northern shoulder of the Bulge, forcing the German armor units to take the southern, and longer, route to Antwerp, where they were later stopped short. When the new precision guided and stand off mortars and missiles come on line, it'll get even worse for armor.
Today's classic ship, USS Greenwich Bay (AVP-41)
Barnegat class small seaplane tender
Displacement 1,766 t.
Length 310'9"
Beam 41'1"
Draw 13'6"
Speed 18 k
Complement 315
Armament 1 5", 6 40mm
USS Greenwich Bay (AVP-41) was launched 17 March 1945 by the Lake Washington Shipyard, Haughton, Wash. sponsored by Mrs. Francis B. Johnson, wife of the Commander Fleet Air Wing 6, and commissioned 20 May 1945, Comdr. Peter F. Boyle in command.
Departing San Diego 26 August after an intensive shakedown, the new seaplane tender sailed for Taku China, 5 October via Pearl Harbor, Midway, and Okinawa. Greenwich Bay spent the rest of 1945 along the China coast, touching at Tsingtao and Shanghai as well as Taku, tending seaplanes of the 7th Fleet. She operated in Japanese waters during January 1946, and after a short stint in the Philippines, sailed for the States 1 May. Reaching Norfolk 1 July 1946 via Hong Kong, Singapore, Naples, Casablanca, and Gibraltar, Greenwich Bay continued on to New York for overhaul.
Greenwich Bay reported to the Potomac River Naval Command 19 February 1947 to serve as escort to Williamsburg, the Presidential Yacht. This assignment ended 21 June 1948 as she departed Norfolk for an around-the-world cruise. During her 4 month sailing, Greenwich Bay made good will visits to Gibraltar, Port Said, Muscat, Bahrein, Kuwait, Trineomalee (India), Fremantle, Pago Pago, Papeete (Tahiti), and Coco Solo before returning to Norfolk 14 October.
Greenwich Bay sailed 30 April 1949 to assume duties as flagship for Commander, U.S. Navy Middle East Force. Every year since, she repeated this duty, sailing through the Mediterranean to operate as flagship in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean for 4 to 6 months. In addition to operating with Allied naval units in these areas, Greenwich Bay did extensive work in the People-to-People program, particularly in carrying drugs and other medical supplies to the Arabian and African nations, and operated as an important tool of diplomacy, helping to maintain peace in this oil-rich land.
In 1950 the tender's crew distinguished itself in Bahrein Arabia, as Air France planes crashed there on 13 and 15 June while attempting to make early-morning landings on a fog-shrouded field. Greenwich Bay sent out a total of six search-and-rescue missions on the 2 tragic days. On 15 June one of her launches, containing both her captain and medical-officer, succeeded in rescuing nine survivors of the crash. For her heroic action Greenwich Bay received the special commendation and thanks of both the Arabian and French governments.
When the Suez Crisis flared up in 1956 and seemed to threaten war, Greenwich Bay extended her normal cruise in the Persian Gulf to be able to evacuate American dependents and civilians if necessary. As a result of the blocking of the canal, she had to return to the States around the Cape of Good Hope. In her Middle East duties, which were punctuated by local operations and exercises out of Norfolk, Greerwich Bay was visited by many outstanding figures, including King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, the Shah of Iran, His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and the Shaikh of Kuwait.
Ports which she visited as part of her official duties as flagship include virtually every major Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Red Sea City as well as several African ones. Among them were Recife, Lisbon, Malta, Bombay, Istanbul, Athens, Beirut, Mombassa (Kenya), Cannes, Karachi, and Madras. Greenwich Bay made 15 Mediterranean deployments protecting American interests and helping to maintain peace in the Middle East. In a conversation with Admiral R. R. Carney and Captain (later Rear Admiral) E. M. Eller Commander Middle Eastern Force, the late King Iban Saud expressed the Navy's role in this historic region: "The Navy loves freedom. It is the Bedouin of the sea."
Greenwich Bay was struck from the Navy List 1 July 1966 and sold for scrapping to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Md in May 1967.
Then you, my dear friend, have my vote for Benevolent Dictator. :)
LOL. I'm honored.
I agree.
Artillery and mortars and most importantly infantry should never be relagated to an after thought or their importance diminished. In my uneducated opinion. :-)
You don't really own real estate until you get boots (or treads) on it.
Great read . . . I don't think I ever appreciated the purpose of artillary till I read this.
The M-110 8-inch Howitzer fired a 200-pound projectile out to almost 17 kilometers (16,800-meters) and was the most accurate weapon in the field artillery.
Mercy! No wonder the damn Iraq'ies surrendered so quickly during "Desert Storm."
Trivia Question for y'all. In the "Classic" TV series 'Rat Patrol' what armored vehicle was used by the Germans, Hmmmm.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
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