87 Comments
15 January 2010
Cobra Battery at FOB Frontenac
Arghandab, Afghanistan
Artillery is called “The King of Battle.” When it comes to the delivery of force, probably nothing outside of nuclear weapons can outmatch the sustained delivery of extreme brutality. Cannons also can deliver small atomic weapons.
Aircraft and missles have range and other profound advantages, yet on a tactical battlefield these guns are like a force of nature.
They can fire in any weather that man dares to stand in.
American artillery can destroy a parked car with the first shot from twenty miles away. No sniper has ever lived who can shoot so well.
The red glow is caused by an approaching humvee whose lights were dimmed by red filters, yet the sensitive camera collected light over time.
Calculations for shots are extremely complex and include dozens of factors, such as windspeed, barometric pressure, humidity, altitude of the gun and the target, temperature, and the Earth’s rotation, and the specific lot number of the ammunition. Every gun is different and so the calculations for one gun would lose accuracy in another. The guns are brutal and rugged, but also high-tech, precision machines that took centuries of science, engineering and experience to reach the current state.
The guns have reached such a high level of evolution that despite the extreme complexity, within minutes of receiving a “fire mission,” a good crew will reliably deliver accurate shots with help from the computer.
Sometimes missions are pre-planned, while at other times crews must wait close to the guns for hours, even days, without a break. There was some base in Iraq—I went there with CSM Jeff Mellinger but have forgotten where it was—and the base was taking rocket or mortar fire on a frequent basis from a certain area. And so the cannoneers slept just next to the guns, and finally the enemy fired and was killed because the guns were pointed at the exact predicted firing point. The cannoneers just loaded and counter-fired and finished them. Probably few people on base realized that the “cannon cockers” had conducted an ambush-by-howitzer. (Maybe the crew who was there will recall this and set the facts straight.)
Cobra battery, 1-17th Infantry, fires illumination.
Sometimes the crews fire “H & I” or “terrain denial” missions. Harassment and Interdiction missions are fired at terrain known to be used only by the enemy at certain times, and so anytime the enemy feels like rolling the dice, they can move into that terrain. Such missions also provide influence for “shaping” the battlefield. If the commander is trying to flush the enemy into a blunder—maybe an ambush—or maybe to cut them off from an escape route, he can have the guns pound into a gorge, say, that is used as an enemy route. Or maybe he just tries to persuade the enemy to take a route where we have sniper teams waiting. The battery can be used in many ways that do not include direct attacks on enemy formations.
-17th FA is in support of the 1-17th Inf. they are actually 5/2 ID Stryker Brigade Combat Team C Battery of the -17th FA BN . How do I know so much you ask. Well I'm proud to say my son is in most of those pics as he also is proud to be serving in the US Army
-17 FA in Support of 1-17 IN BN
-17... not 1-17. 1-17 is infantry and DOES NOT shoot these guns. Second.. frontenac was a canadaian base that we took over.. The canadians left as we were coming in. -17--- way to go guys... cant wait for you all to get home this summer... We miss you... And to my husband who is with you guys.. I miss you and love you tons.
-17 as an FDO and is proud to be a US soldier and serve his country. Having served two tours in Viet Nam with the 5th SFGA some 40 plus years ago I now know how my parents felt when a loved one is deployed. But I know our men and women are well trained and eager to do their jobs and are much better equipped. Today the Queen of Battle yields to the King of Battle God Bless you all and keep your powder dry.
-17, keep on rockin' and rollin'. You guys stay safe and just know we're all proud of y'all here on base. As for my husband, I'll see you soon. I love you to the moon and back.
IRAQ 2006 I SERVED IN C 1-17FA FT.SILL OK I MUST SAY THOOSE PICS ARE AMAZING ALMOST AS GOOD AS THE REAL THING MAN I MISS IT OUR NATION AND ALL YOUR FELLOW REDLEGS STAND BEHIND YOU MY FRIEND
9 (winter war), reconstructed here in Finland. Here it is firing a salvo ( http://koti.mbnet.fi/~nze/sci-go-boom.jpg
), notice the lack of protection, the blast really got us each time. This is a peace time practice. Though it's very out dated gun, it still is very effective and dangerous and with the procedures made by Vilho Petter Nenonen ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nenonen )it will hit its target each time. If it were war time, our equipment would move to similar guns as the US uses.
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