Pop quiz

Cav Dog · Post by **Cav Dog** » Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:02 am

Gator - bounding question: In aviation similarly, we called it traveling, traveling overwatch or bounding overwatch. Same concept. Mode was determined by possibility of contact.

Q2 - roll to your martini and blow out your brains. Then go to your God like a soldier.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:18 am

Cav Dog! Well done. Bounding overwatch came along in the early 70s, but it was just a new way to say the old thing. To move by successive bounds is to move one section up to the next terrain feature, then move the other one up to that same feature, the stationary section covering the move.

From Kipling's "The Young British Soldier," the last stanza: " When you're wounded and left out on Afghanistan's plain, And the women come out to cut up what remains, just roll to your rifle and blow out your brains, And go to your God like a soljer. ". You were close enough!

I like Kipling.I

You were too quick!

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:23 am

Next question...

Your 54-ton tank is mired to fender depth. What is the effort in tons required to extract it?

If you don't like that one, then tell me where the metal is gotten from to strike a Victoria Cross?

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Thu Apr 02, 2020 6:47 pm

Correct PG - "Smoke" is Chief of Firing Battery n a battery-based organization, and Platoon Sergeant in a platoon-based organization.

Interesting Kipling quote. Apparently I need to do more reading!

Cav Dog · Post by **Cav Dog** » Thu Apr 02, 2020 7:10 pm

Speaking of Kipling, why are British soldiers called Tommies?

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Thu Apr 02, 2020 7:26 pm

I PREFER the Duke of Wellington story, but "Tommy Atkins"was being used as a generic place holder name by the British Army 100 years earlier. It may not be known, any more than the origin of "doughboy."

chrisswim · Post by **chrisswim** » Thu Apr 02, 2020 8:16 pm

PG, to extract 54-ton tank, need 162 tons of effort to extract.

It is a guess. Could be 4x or 5x.
I know of a story in Iraq with an Abrams stuck in the sand, other 3 tanks of the platoon need to leave. 3 T-72 show up, the Abrams does get hit with a HEAT and an APFSDS round and another HEAT, to no affect. Abrams dispatches two. It fires the at the third on the other side of a sand berm, observing the heat signature from the engine. With a guestimation AP round going through the berm into the T-72 killing it. Calling for help....
3 M88 try to pull it out, unable to do so. a platoon of M1A1 arrive, unable to pull it out, they fire at the tank (without the crew in it), finally a round from an M1A1 on a hill goes through the roof into the ammo compartment setting it off, as the blowout panels get blown out. They inspect the 'disabled' tank, not totally disabled. Get two more M88 there, the 5 pull it out.
Get in on a tank hauler for evaluation back in the states.
5x energy.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:37 pm

Don't know about your M1. A tank mired in mud to fender depth requires twice it's weight in effort to extract, BUT! I had a tank in my platoon mired to fender depth at Hohenfels once and a 300meter causeway had to be built to it to get it out. At Fort Polk, our Charlie company got one stuck and then got 5 more stuck trying to get it out (For a while, the commander's nickname was "Stuck 6" ). Two days and 3M88s later, all were free. Never encountered that kind of thing as a BMO, fortunately. But NORMALLY, for a 54-ton tank, it takes 108 tons of effort to free it. Keep in mind 're N88 P, at 're time had a 45-ton winch capacity, so mechanical advantage was required. I don't know if the winch has spbeen up-rated on the newer models of M88, but it still would require some mechanical advantage.

chrisswim · Post by **chrisswim** » Fri Apr 03, 2020 1:12 am

Ok, so 3 M88 at 45 tons of pull each is... 135 tons. Abrams at 62-65 tons would need expected pull capacity of. 122-130 tons. If really stuck, get more pull.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Fri Apr 03, 2020 1:55 am

Over-thought and over-simplified, Chris. Just go with the official answer. Twice the weight of the tank. Mechanical advantage plays a role, but this isn't a class on vehicle recovery. You can do it with one M88 of you have enough cable.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Fri Apr 03, 2020 9:44 am

No answer yet on the Victoria Cross? We will leave it open for a bit.

Some electronic instruments are extremely sensitive to radiation, a difficult obstacle, thanks to the effects of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. There is an interesting source for metal which meets the standard. Where might it be found?

You lead the scout platoon of a tank battalion in Germany in 1973. How many vehicles of what type make up your platoon?

chrisswim · Post by **chrisswim** » Fri Apr 03, 2020 10:16 am

Alex... Iâ€™ll take the second question for $200.00, please.
5 tanks in the platoon, M60 A3.
Would see M60 A1 still.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Fri Apr 03, 2020 10:24 am

Minus 200 for you. You did not read the question carefully. And in 1973, no M60A3s.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:46 pm

Previous unanswered questions:

Victoria Cross?

Radioactivity-free steel?

'73 bbc scout platoon vehicle?

New question:

In the 1950s, a battalion commander had a hip pocket nuclear rocket. What was its nickname?

Cav Dog · Post by **Cav Dog** » Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:56 pm

Daley Crocket jeep portable nuclear suicide rocket. Blast radius was bigger than effective range.
IMHO, it missed the whole point of launching nuclear weapons. Ideally, you want to be far enough away that you can't count flash to bang time and all you really want to do is turn in the direction of the noise and say, "What was that?"