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From: eos!woody@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Wayne Wood)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Airborne operations
Message-ID: <1990Jul8.053504.8092@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 8 Jul 90 05:35:04 GMT
References: <1990Jul3.031911.6890@cbnews.att.com> <1990Jul5.020538.14365@cbnews.att.com> <1990Jul6.032802.27798@cbnews.att.com>
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From: eos!woody@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Wayne Wood)

In article <1990Jul6.032802.27798@cbnews.att.com> jpulliam@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Jacqueline Pulliam) writes:
>I don't want to nit-pick, because your basic argument is right on the
>money:  but I don't think the U.S. Army's WWII gliders would have been
>capable of carrying a 105mm how, either.  Smaller tubes, yes, but the
>105 is a bit large... (anyone know for sure?).
>

75mm pack howitzers...

*QUITE* a bit smaller than the '05s.

also, 75mm recoiless rifles may be manpacked.
if you need heavier firepower, i believe 4.2 inch mortars are still
TOE. at least they were in '72 :-).

>By the way (you may already know this), there is no problem "these
>days" with strapping parachutes on 105mm's; it is done all the time.
>In fact, there are even larger loads that can come down by parachute,
>like pans (earthmoving scrapers; the really low-slung tractors that
>look like they have a square earth-holding pan right in the center)
>and tanks (Shermans).

i've seen SHERIDANs LAPSED in... i've also seen GAMMA GOATS, JEEPS, and
105's dropped from C-130's and -141's.  the c-47 didn't have this capability
as it was extremely hard to get them through the door.  this also provided
a use for the gliders, as has been mentioned by damn near everybody.

/***   woody   ****************************************************************
*** ...tongue tied and twisted, just an earth bound misfit, I...            ***
*** -- David Gilmour, Pink Floyd                                            ***
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