Blackhawk Down Part II

[Jeff White]

There was a firing incident at Ft. Hood on January 26th. 12 155mm rounds were dropped on a ranch outside the impact area according to this weeks Army Times. "Preliminary findings have revealed that an M109A6 Paladin 155mm sel-propelled howitzer was firing that night in the opposite direction of it's intended target. It was one of several cannons attached to the 1st Cavalry Division that were training that night. An incorrect firing direction was entered into the gu-systems computer, changing the aiming direction to point northwest instead of southeast according to the findings. The error resulted in one illumination round and 11 high-explosive shells fired toward teh Shoaf family's four-home estate, more then seven miles away.

Family members said the shelling began about 9:15 p.m. and didn't cease for another hour."

I wonder how the FOs let 12 unobserved round be fired?

Jeff

 

[Ivanhoe]

Jeff, thanx for the URLs. some appear to be dead; might be that HTTP requests from a non .mil host may be blocked by a firewall.

don't worry too much about current doctrine; I'm still reading up on WWII. its not like the freedom of western democracies depends on me! any war I participate in had better not start before 0900 or they'll just have to do without me...

it seems to me that technology-wise, the US vs. Germany was pretty even. by 1943 we had total superiority in aviation, a decisive edge in artillery, a better battle rifle, vastly better transport (both road and sea), much better health care. Germans had better tanks, better LMGs, better anti-tank rockets. the V-1 and V-2 were advanced technically but ineffective without NBC warheads. in terms of tactics, I always think of the ETO as professional, experienced officers with skimpy resources versus the Beltway cocktail-party crowd supported by God's Own industrial park. also, don't forget the German's eventual oil crisis; war on that scale is only winnable with massive infusions of oil, steel, alloy metals (aluminum, chromium, nickel, copper), and skilled labor.

 

[oberkommando]

Ivan I definitly agree on the alternator bit.

The germans also had better assault rifles, then again they were the only ones with them.
Had their idiot commander left the 262 to air to air instead of bombing it was at least equal to our fighters or better, though didnt have enough of them to really matter.

Allies should have had air superiority as of june 43 as they had over 4 times as many combat aircraft.

Yes oil was the clincher as the US produced 833 million tons and the germans produced 33 million tons total after the war. Total allied oil produced 1.043billion tons v.s total axis 67 million tons.

 

[Jeff White]

Ivanhoe,
We had superority in aviation, battle rifles, artillery etc. because our industrial base could produce these things in large quantities. I guess we can debate if the STG-44 was a superior battle rifle to the M1 Garand, but it's sort of like comparing apples to oranges. I don't think anyone will argue the fact that the P51 Mustang was the best fighter of the war, but what might have happened if the ME262 was produced in sufficient quantities to make a difference.

I think that there are a lot of similarities between our defense procurement policies today and how the Germans did business during WWII. We spend billions for wonder weapons that we can't afford to buy in sufficient quantity to win a large war with and ignore trucks, airlift and sealift. I won't even get into the one or even no current production line weapons in the system. Like it or not in a mid to high intensity conflict we will lose aircraft, armored vehicles and ships. Where is our capacity to replace them so our combat units can continue the fight? The chances of converting small factories to produce M1 tanks, M109A6 Paladin howitzers, or F16 fighters is pretty slim. Will soldiers die and battles be lost because we don't have the industrial capacity?

Jeff

 

[Coinneach]

130K. Start Part III.

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"If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance."
-- Samuel Johnson