Pop quiz

chrisswim · Post by **chrisswim** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 6:50 am

Guns are longer range vs. a howitzer, which fires are higher trajectories.
Bonus, a â€˜tubeâ€™.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:39 am

Not exactly, Chris. No on the bonus.

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:12 pm

In some circles, a cannon is a direct fire weapon and a howitzer is an indirect fire weapon. There are a couple of different ways of looking at this though. In the artillery we are precise with our data but pretty liberal with our terminology.

The term cannon often refers to the type of system. FM 6-50 is (was) TTP for â€œCannon Batteryâ€. As opposed to a rocket battery. In this case cannon refers to the type of system. It can also refer to the part of the system that goes bang. M109A6 has an M284 cannon (as opposed to an M109A5 that mounted an M185 cannon).

Howitzer can refer to the type of system too though. MTO&Es usually call the firing units â€œHowitzer Batteryâ€. And it is quite acceptable to say â€œM109A6 howitzer with an M284 cannonâ€.

And the term Gun covers just about everything!

Cav Dog · Post by **Cav Dog** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:34 pm

Cavalry Trivia

Who or what is a red team, a white team and a pink team?

Bonus: why is the aero-rifle platoon called the blues platoon?

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:40 pm

I'm pretty sure this is wrong, but isn't red team the "killer" gunships and white team is the "hunter" observation birds? And pink is them together? Maybe?

Aero rifles are the Blues because it sucks to hump a giant rucksack around in the jungle!

mike robel · Post by **mike robel** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:48 pm

Guns, flat trajectory
Howitzer, high trajectory
Artillery Piece

Cav Dog · Post by **Cav Dog** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:15 pm

I have to agree with Mike's answer on the gun/howitzer question.

I recall during the FO training portion of Aeroscout tactics you could determine which gun was out of whack by requesting the battery fire right by piece.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:28 am

Mike's got it. Anybody know why howitzer were needed?

The "Blues" were the infantry squad in a cavalry platoon or armored cavalry platoon. The aero-rifle platoon was an infantry platoon.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:39 am

Another question...

George Custer's PERSONAL guidon (red over blue) featured crossed sabers. What was incorrect about it?

chrisswim · Post by **chrisswim** » Thu Mar 26, 2020 4:20 am

Jim,
This is a tough one. Different info and pictures.

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Thu Mar 26, 2020 4:54 am

Wait....I could have had a personal guidon???

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:03 am

Not unless your name is Custer, Redleg...

Ok, Mike. Which one is his PERSONAL guidon and what is the other one?

mike robel · Post by **mike robel** » Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:31 am

The upper guidon is his personal flag, but I believe is more correctly called a "standard" which is also swallow tailed. Perhaps the most famous one is assigned to Battery D, 1-5 artillery, Alexander Hamilton's own, which is the oldest unit in the US Army and the only one that provide a link to the Continental Army as it was the only unit retained after the revolution to guard the stores at West Point. Unlike a guideon, it is carried in the same manner as a flag.

The lower flag is the standard cavalry guidon of the time. I believe, but am not sure, they did not always carry the designation of the unit on them. I also believe this is recovered fro the battlefield, but is not Custer's Guidon. The Regimental Colors remained cased with the train (or maybe even with General Terry's column) and were never carried into the battle.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Thu Mar 26, 2020 7:35 am

The top is Custer's personal one. This design dates from the Civil War and Custer had it made. There is actually NOTHING wrong with it.

On the other hand, the bottom one is an Army SURPLUS COMPANY guidon carrying the wrong number of stars. It was left over from the Civil War. So many were made for the war that the parsimonious government continued to use them after states were added. (Speaking of Congressional parsimony, Congress failed to appropriate ANY money for the Army one year in the 1880s: read NO PAY!) I believe this one was found folded into a trooper's shirt some distance from the main body, in tall grass, over-looked by the natives scavenging post-battle.

Custer's personal standard was easily distinguished from the company guidons, making it easy to tell where he was and not be confused with a company commander. It would have been very impractical to carry the regimental colors into this kind of combat.

Regimental subunits at the time were ad-hoc battalions formed for specific tasks (Reno's and Benteen's), and companies, not troops, which were permanent, although the number authorized would go up and down. "Companies" would subsequently be changed to "troops" and back to companies several times up to the present.

Now, back to the "red," *white, " and "pink.". I don't know. I'm guessing red was the AH section, white was the scout section, and pink maybe a combo.

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 12:11 am

Great idea for a threat, PG! Here's another trivia question:

Whose fox hole did Patton urinate in in North Africa in 1942?