e2janes

In today's world, the rocket propelled grenade (RPG) seems to be the weapon of choice when it comes to “insurgents”of all nationalities. Given the recent photo’s in the news, it sometimes looks like every Iraqi citizen comes equipped with one. After all, they’re cheap, fairly accurate and depending on the type of grenade being used, are effective against both troops and armored vehicles such as tanks and personnel carriers. They also require little or no training on the part of the rocketeer to be effective.

For starters, why don’t we take at look at the weapon itself…

Basically, you’ve got two types of RPG’s. The only similarity that they share is that they consist of two parts. A launcher and a grenade.

The first one, manufactured by the Americans is of the throw away variety. It’s good for one shot and after that, the launcher is discarded and rendered useless.

The next one, manufactured by the Russians differs from it’s American counterpart by the fact that can it can be reloaded and and re-used.

Both types offer a couple of different types of grenades that can be launched. The more popular ones are High Explosive (HE) rounds primarily used against troops and the High Explosive Anti Tank (HEAT) primarily used against tanks, personnel carriers convoys, and helicopters. Both grenades are similar in nature and contain a motor and fins which guide them to their intended targets.

Since these are carried around by people and need to be light, the RPG is constructed from cheap, easily available materials such as aluminum, fiberglass or zinc.

Both weapons have a standard trigger system for firing. Once the mechanism is triggered, the rocket exits the tube and the fins are deployed in order to keep its path stable. Another difference in the American version and the Russian version is the tube itself. The American version is basically a tube within a tube. When ready for use, the rocketeer will will snap the tube open, rest it on his or her shoulder, take aim at their target through the sight and fire the weapon. It is then spent and cannot be re-used.

The Russian version consists of a single tube that can be reloaded from the front of the weapon and since it needs to be more durable to withstand the constant re-firings, is also a little heavier and more cumbersome than its American cousin.

Both weapons have little or no recoil but there is a backblast. This means that for the most part, if somebody around you is getting ready to fire one of these babies, do not stand directly behind them or you will get fried. The backblast also limits the weapons use and it shouldn’t be fired from small rooms and enclosed spaces. Rooftops and open area’s seem to be the best place to discharge the weapon.

As for the grenades themselves, the High Explosive (HE) grenade detonates on impact. The explosion itself and expelling of shrapnel are what causes the most injuries and deaths.

The High Explosive Anti Tank (HEAT) grenade acts a little differently. First of all, it travels much faster than its cousin and the speed at which it travels converts the missile into something like a “mini-jet”. The causes the impact zone to be much more condensed and allows the rocket to penetrate most armored vehicles.

Other types of projectiles that can be fired from RPG’s include illumination grenades for night operations, smoke grenades used for covering a body of troops or to mark an airfield for helicopters and tear gas grenades for crowd disbursment and riot control.

The weapons are extremely accurate from a range of fifty meters or so even in unskilled hands. With practice and training, a decent rocketeer can make them effective from ranges anywhere between 150 up to 300 meters.

Due to it’s somewhat limited range, the basic strategy on the part of a rocketeer is to get as close as they can to their intended target and, since you’ve only got one round to fire, make the round count and get the hell out of there. The backblast gives away your position and even if you’re using the re-loadable version, you probably won’t have time to re-load without being detected.

Should you come under fire from RPG’s there are some things you can do. First of all, if you’ve got artillery support, I sugest you call ‘em in and start raining some steel of your own on your attackers. Better yet, if you have close air support in the form of attack helicopters or jets in your little knapsack of destruction, I’d recommend calling those folks in and doing a couple of fly bys on your enemies position.

Or, as a last resort, you can always stand and fight.

Source

http://www.fact-index.com/r/ro/rocket_propelled_grenade.html

Iroquois Class Destroyers

• HMCS Iroquois
• HMCS Algonquin
• HMCS Athabaskan
• HMCS Huron¹

Built in Quebec, and put into service by the Canadian Armed Forces during the early 1970's, the four Iroquois Class Destroyers were there primarily for the detection and destruction of Enemy Submarines in the Arctic Ocean.

In the mid 1990's, they underwent massive overhauls, being fitted with a variety of anti-aircraft weaponry, while still keeping the torpedo tubes and the pair of Sea King helicopters that served as anti-submarine weaponry.

Since the Cold War ended, we're not nearly as worried about Submarines infiltrating our waters, so the Iroquois Class ships are now used mainly as "command and control ships," thanks to their increased communications and sensor equipment, which works in combination with their anti-aircraft systems.

Currently they're split evenly between Canada's Pacific and Atlantic Fleets. Oh yes, and they're all named for one of Canada's First Nations.

Stats:

• Top Speed: 29 knots
• Crew: 290
• Displacement: 5100 tonnes
• Length: 129.8 metres
• Range: 4,500 nautical miles @ 15 knots.
• Main Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney FT4-A2 gas turbines (50,000 horsepower)
• Secondary: 2 Allison 570-KF gas turbines (7,500 horsepower)

Weaponry:

• Martin Marietta Mk 41 Vertical Launch System, which fires surface to air SM-2MR missiles.
• OTO Melara 76mm gun, capable of firing up to 120 rounds per minute.
• A six-barrelled Phalanx MK15 Gatling gun, which can fire 3k rounds/minute. Impressive. That's what, 50 bullets a second?
• Two Mark 32 anti-submarine torpedo tubes, each with three tubes a piece. They fire Honeywell MK 46 MOD5 homing torpedos.
• Shield II missile decoy system, a fully automatic system capable of launching chaff and infrared munitions to fool incoming missiles.
• A pair of 12.7mm Machine Guns.
• Two CH-124 Sea King Helicopters, each of which has their own MK 46 torpedoes.

Sensors:

• AN/SQS-510 Sonar, both hull mounted and variable depth.
• AN/SPG-501 Radar Tracking System, capable of automatically tracking targets, and firing at them with both the surface to air missiles, and the 76mm gun.
• AN/SPQ-502 Long Range Air Radar.
• AN/SPQ-501 Long Range Radar for detecting Surface Ships.

The Iroquois Class Destroyers are roughly equivalent to the American Navy's Spruance Class Destroyer. Of course, the Americans have a fair bit more of theirs.

1: The Huron is slightly smaller than the rest of the ships in its class. In addition, the Huron is currently sitting in dock. Due to lack of personel / funding, the Navy is unable to fully man all of their ships. So, instead of spreading the lack of trained people across the fleet, they decided it would be better to not float this particular boat. It's currently slated to be decommissioned in the near future.

Sources:
www.navy.forces.gc.ca/mspa_fleet/irq_moreinfo_e.asp
webhome.idirect.com/~jproc/cta/

Introduced in 1944, the German developed and produced Messerschmitt Me 262 was the world's first truly effective jet fighter to reach operational status (during the Second World War).

This aircraft enjoyed a speed advantage of more than 100 mph over the fastest prop-driven plane, which allowed them to sail past escort fighters and attack bombers with impunity. The main battery of four 30mm cannons was devastating to any bombers caught in its sights.

However, the Me 262 was slow to accelerate and not very maneuverable, and Allied pilots soon learned to attack them when they were most vulnerable - during take-off and landing.

Statistics:

Max. Speed: 868 km/h
Cruise Speed: 670 km/h
Ceiling: 11,448 m
Combat Radius: 241 km
Fuel Capacity: 1670 L
Wing Area: 21.7 sq. m
Thrust: 1,980 lb/engine
Weight loaded: 6385 kg



Stats from Francois Verlinden's WWII Aircraft Volume 2

A shoulder-mounted Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPADS) manufactured by the Soviet Union and deployed in 1978. Its Russian designation is 9K34 Strela-3; it is the sequel to and a considerable development of the SA-7 Grail, previously the only man-portable SAM system the Soviet Union operated.

One of the main problems that had been encountered during operational use of the SA-7 was the ease with which its seeker got spoofed. It had been deployed during the 1977 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, during which it became clear that, like many early IR-guided missiles, it easily lost its lock to things like the Sun (a common problem with early heat seeking missiles), flares dropped by the target and even hills on hot days. Furthermore, the performance of the SA-7 precluded using it against pretty much anything except low, slow-flying targets like helicopters, UAVs and transport aircraft.

By the time the SA-14 came to be developed, times and technology had moved on, new technology increasingly outdating and outmatching the SA-7. When the U.S. supplied Stinger missiles to rebel soldiers in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union suffered devastating losses of Mi-24 helicopters, graphically eclipsing the performance of the SA-7 the rebels had been using previously.

Not only had missile technology moved on but so had aircraft technology and performance. Hitting targets like the F/A-18 Hornet, the F-111 and even some helicopters was a task for which the SA-7 was becoming outmoded. A new missile would have to be faster, more manouevrable and more discriminatory about its targets, given the new threats that mobile units could face on a battlefield. Sufficiently accomplished unit protection could force attackers higher, putting them within the purview of division-level air defences like the ZSU-23-4 and SA-11.

The SA-14 has greatly improved performance over its predecessor, with greater resistance to countermeasures and increased range and speed. The components of the system are a missile tube and gripstock with primitive optical sight, a thermal battery or gas reservoir and a 9M36/9M36-1 missile. It uses a lead sulphide seeker head cooled by liquid nitrogen, which is mainly responsible for its improved accuracy and more flexible targeting over the SA-7.

A further problem suffered by early IR missiles was their poor ability to lock onto targets from multiple angles; early models of the Sidewinder air to air missile, for example, were very unreliable if fired at an aircraft from the front, instead of at the heat bloom of their exhausts at the rear. The SA-7 also had this problem and the 10kg 9M36 improves upon it, allowing the operator to attack targets from a wider range of angles including a head-to-head confrontation. Furthermore the time from acquisition to firing has reduced by up to 10 seconds over the SA-7, depending on the conditions. The SA-14 system may engage targets from 500 metres away (a 100m improvement over the SA-7) at altitudes of 18 metres to 4.5km or about 14,500ft. It uses the same solid fuel propulsion but its range is extended by 500m. The missile has almost identical dimensions to the SA-7 and its 10kg high explosive fragmentation warhead is actually very slightly smaller than its predecessor. Detonation occurs on a contact fuse, the missile designed to very slightly alter its trajectory on the terminal phase of an interception so that it strikes the center, rather than the rear of a target.

Recognition of the system isn't the simplest, given that the four Russian-made MANPADS systems in existence look very similar. In fact the gripstocks of the SA-7 and SA-14 appear to be identical, just with slightly different attaching parts. In this case it is the attachment in front of the supporting grip (itself in front of the firing handle). The SA-7 has a short cylinder housing for the thermal battery, attached to the front of the supporting grip with a protrusion from its centre. The SA-14 has a spherical thermal battery or gas reservoir in front of the supporting grip.

FAS rather unhelpfully lists the SA-14's proliferation as 'worldwide', but a bit of delving reveals it to have been used during conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and by so-called insurgents during both invasions of Iraq. In December 2003, according to Aljazeera, a DHL cargo aircraft taking off from Baghdad airport was shot by an SA-14, though it was able to land safely. It was also suggested one might have been responsible for the explosion off Long Island of TWA 800, though this has been discredited.

The SA-14 also has a naval variant, designated SA-N-8 Gremlin.

<<SA-13 Gopher | SAM Index | SA-15 Gauntlet>>

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Thanks to The Custodian for the correction.

Sources:

• Pike, John; "sa-14 gremlin / strela--3 9k34";
  <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/sa-14.htm> (statistics)
• Aljazeera.net; "Nine die in US chopper crash in Iraq";
  <http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1E3CE71F-D1B3-494A-B0C4-3028B6459EB5.htm>

The Nevada Test Site (NTS) of the United States Department of Energy, located in southern Nevada, is the home of the United States nuclear testing facilities, though activities have been greatly reduced since the United States signed The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty in 1996. The last nuclear test by the United States was at NTS on September 23, 1993, but the facility is also home to the United States' program of sub-critical or hydronuclear testing, in which small amounts of plutonium undergo materials testing with high explosives without generating any nuclear yield. The Nevada Test Site has quite a history, and is also, like New Mexico's Trinity Site, a nuclear tourist destination.

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The United States, like several other nuclear powers, has tested nuclear weapons pretty much everywhere it could without starting World War 3. It exploded some serious megatonnage in the South Pacific between 1946 and 1962. It detonated a few in the South Atlantic. It tested devices in the Aleutians of Alaska. In Colorado. In Mississippi (yes, Mississippi, I'm not kidding). In New Mexico. And in Nevada. Those test films of GIs sitting out in the desert, watching mushroom clouds wafting up into the stratosphere, just a few miles from where they're sitting? Nevada. That picture of the Vegas strip with a mushroom cloud framed by a neon cowboy? Obviously Nevada. Test films in which mannequin-filled houses are reduced to toothpicks? Nevada again.

Even today, if you look at the population maps of the United States, there isn't a heck of a lot in southern Nevada other than Las Vegas, military bases, and alien mortuaries. Imagine what it was like back in the 1940's and 50's, when the United States was looking to test its precious new machinery of omnicide. Rural Nevada was perfect.

The problem was that winds easily carried fallout from weapons tests well away from the test range, and radioactive debris was carried by the jet stream throughout most of the United States east of NTS. Did this cause any harm? We don't really know. The number of global cancer deaths from atmospheric nuclear testing has been estimated to be anywhere from a few hundred to a few hundred thousand, but of course the actual numbers are impossible to know given the other sources of carcinogenic materials in the environment, including natural radioactivity. Human doses from nuclear weapons testing fallout are probably a few millirem per year, but directly downwind from NTS and other test sites around the world, they're a little higher.

Just about every test condition and device design that could be tested at Nevada probably has been, with the exception of high-yield thermonuclear devices. The big ones produced too much fallout even in airburst tests to detonate above ground in the continental United States, so those were tested at full yield only in the Pacific Ocean testing areas. Some notable highlights of activities at the Nevada Test Site over the past 56 years include:

Operation Buster-Jangle, in which GIs were told to hang out and enjoy the fireworks, but to also cover their eyes until the all clear was sounded. Designed in part to assess the psychological impact of tactical nuclear weapons detonations near ground troops, decontamination procedures for Operation B-J reportedly included cleaning one another off with brooms and brushes. While you're waiting, have a cigarette. Buster-Jangle was also noteworthy for producing one of the funniest and most appropriate pictures of a nuclear test -- a distant mushroom cloud framed by the "Vegas Vic" billboard on the Las Vegas strip. Try your luck, cowboy?

The Grable test in which a 280 mm nuclear artillery shell was fired for the first (and only) time on May 25, 1953. The test films show three or four artillery men pulling the trigger and then scrambling like mad for cover. The only thing cooler would've been to invent a nuclear bazooka. Oh wait, they did!

Operation Upshot-Knothole which generated many of the always-entertaining test films of houses and mannequins being incinerated. The government built houses, warehouses, factories, bridges, and railroads in the middle of the desert just to see how badly nuclear weapons would damage civilian infrastructure. Duck and cover, kids! It's a beautiful world we live in!

The Sedan test of July 6, 1962, part of the Plowshares Program, in which peaceful uses for nuclear explosives were sought. Apparently the purpose of this test was to see how big a hole one could dig. The Sedan Crater is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Look, it's a hole! It's a big, radioactive hole! Take my picture!

The Baneberry test of December 18, 1970, in which an underground test of about 10 kilotons "broke loose" and vented to the atmosphere. This was a no-no under the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963 between the US and Soviet Union. Government and non-government estimates of the radiation released from this test seem to vary, but the data I found at the National Cancer Institute says Iodine-131 was detected as far away as Idaho. Don't drink the water. Or the milk.

Astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan got himself arrested at NTS in 1987, while protesting underground nuclear testing by the United States. Sagan had earlier participated in the TTAPS study of nuclear winter, and had long been a vocal detractor of nuclear weapons. Other celebrity trespassers in NTS history include Martin Sheen, Phil Zimmerman and Kris Kristofferson.

And as mentioned above, NTS is still the location of explosives testing that involves nuclear material. From time to time, the United States tests plutonium under high-strain conditions to better understand its metallurgical properties. It does this as part of the United States' Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship program as a way to test its stockpile of weapons without actually conducting a nuclear test. But if the United States ever feels it necessary to drop out of the CTBT (which it has the right to do under strictly defined circumstances) and test a nuclear weapon, NTS will be the place. Let's hope they don't.

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The Nevada Test Site may be a mess, and it may be a dark spot in our nation's geography and history, but just as the United States is not the only nation to build nuclear weapons, it also isn't the only one to test them. Russia had Semipalatinsk and Novaya Zemlya. China had Lop Nor, France had Algeria and Polynesia, Britain had Australia (and also used NTS under the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement), India had Pokhran, Pakistan had the Chagai Hills, and South Africa and/or Israel had the southern Indian Ocean. Who knows where North Korea is going to test -- Tokyo, maybe. Unfortunately, having nuclear weapons requires testing because they're not a valid deterrent otherwise. And there is no good way to conduct a nuclear test. Our predecessors of sixty years ago made the decision that nuclear weapons were necessary instruments of military and foreign policy, and in so doing, created places like NTS which we now live with.

Is NTS an immediate danger to anyone? Not really. Most radiation levels are down to tolerable levels within the base, and are vanishingly small outside it. Though it is on the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund list, it isn't on their National Priorities List, and I'd rather see the government working on Hanford and Rocky Flats anyway. The more important question we now face is this: will our generation be responsible for any more places like the Nevada Test Site?

I hope not.

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Sources:
The Nuclear Weapons Archive Project: http://nuclearweaponarchive.org
Atomic Veterans History project: http://www.aracnet.com/~pdxavets/
The Nevada Test Site: http://www.nv.doe.gov
Personal visits to the Bradbury Science Museum, 1996-1999

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Postscript:

A few weeks ago, I came across an issue of National Geographic in my local laundromat, and by chance, it happened to have an article on weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear ones. Specifically, it talked about the effects of atmospheric nuclear tests on people living upwind or otherwise near the test sites. One photograph was a portrait of a Utah farmer who had been exposed to fallout as a boy. His throat was badly scarred from several thyroid cancer operations. Another was a picture of a Kazak woman and her two grown sons, both of whom were profoundly retarded, and unable to care for themselves. Then there was a picture of some aborted fetuses (spontaneously or otherwise) from Russian women exposed to radioactive fallout.

It took a lot of deep breaths not to become physically ill in the laundromat.

Never again. Please?