Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!cbnews!military From: chamber@udel.edu (Sam Chamberlain) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Dropping Stuff (was Re: Airborne operations) Keywords: Heavy Drop Message-ID: <1990Jul10.024954.10456@cbnews.att.com> Date: 10 Jul 90 02:49:54 GMT References: <1990Jul3.031911.6890@cbnews.att.com> <1990Jul5.020538.14365@cbnews.att.com> <1990Jul6.032802.27798@cbnews.att.com> <1990Jul8.053437.7936@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: University of Delaware Lines: 85 Approved: military@att.att.com From: Sam Chamberlain This information is 10 years old but I doubt it has changed much. It comes from personal experience as an artillery officer in the 82d Abn Div. Heavy items are dropped by tightly strapping them to platforms with a bunch of corrugated cardboard sandwiched between - the cardboard accepts the shock of the landing. The chutes (normally 3) are then attached. In particular, one can drop the M101A1, M102 (Airborne standard) 105 mm and the M114 and M198 155 mm howitzers. However, if possible, it is preferred "to drive them off" because the shock wreaks havoc on things like sight mounts and other precision appendages. In the late `70's there was no way to (successfully) drop a 5-ton truck, the prime mover for the M198. But I understand that this is now a routine operation. When combined together, a heavy drop precedes the main personnel assault - this is always true at night when most airborne assaults are scheduled. However, the practical sequence is normally: 1) initially assault a few hours before BMNT (Beginning of Morning Nautical Twilight - 1 hour before sunrise) to secure the drop zone (typically called "establishing the airhead" - no jokes please). 2) Once secured, bring in the heavy drop aircraft and hope they hit the center of the drop zone (it is an ominous experience being in the shadows of the descending heavy equipment). Artillery was typically a day or two later because it took that long to establish the airhead. The infantry with artillery FIST (Fire Support Teams) typically relied on A-10s and mortars for the first 24 hours. We nearly always had A-10 support. Since A-10s have FM radios, direct communications was possible, although the Battalion or Brigade ALO (Air Liaison Officer - Air Force) usually preferred to do the talking - quite simply, pilots trust pilots. Mortars are dropped using standard "A-series" containers: they are the first out the door on the first pass. Both the company 81mm and battalion 107 mm were dropped this way since they can be broken down into smaller components. In combat jumps, supposedly each soldier is given a mortar round to carry, but I never had this good fortune, let along room after packing a radio, extra batteries, binoculars, plus my own stuff. I have heard that the primary reason for the MC1-1 chutes (maneuverable, 8 knots forward speed, 360 degree rotation in around 15 seconds) was deployed (no pun intended) to allow crews to get to their heavy equipment quicker. The artillery battery folks nearly always got them, as do air defense crews, etc. Heavy drops at night were usually tough - rarely did one get a beautiful, moonlit night. The Army AMO (Air Movement Officer) usually had to keep a close eye on the equipment to keep the Air Force loading crews from stealing the Chem Lights - these were popular at the "disco's". Chem lights marked the equipment sitting on the drop zone so that: 1) they were more easily found, and 2) so they could be seen and avoided during the main assault (the real reason). Landing on a howitzer can be very painful. When I was in, training jump were done at 800 - 1250 feet. Combat jumps are typically done at 500 feet (e.g., 75th Rangers at Granada; I haven't heard about Panama). Keep in mind that a parachute requires about 250 feet to open; this takes about 4 seconds. Then the chutes drops at around 15 - 22 feet/second. That is a total time of 15 to 20 seconds at 500 ft. No reserve is used at that height because there is no time to activate it. However, parachutes are extremely reliable. Virtually every deployment failure I ever heard about was caused by two folks getting entangled and one or both chutes collapsing. This is a real problem. For example, take 10 aircraft, 60 folks per aircraft, 2 exits per second (staggered, one per second, out of opposite doors) results in 600 folks in the air within 30+ seconds. Add to this MC1-1 chutes (each with a built-in forward speed of 8 knots), and darkness (poor visibility). For this reason, I preferred T-10 chutes (they drop straight down). Being the jumpmaster also added some extra safety (for the responsibility) because, being the last one out of the plane, you could wait a second or two to insure some distance from the other jumpers - it was worth the extra walk. Most casualties were the result of soldiers getting tanked up on a Friday night of a payday weekend down on Hay Street and getting the crap beat out of them trying to take on a half dozen "civilian wimps". It was always a bear being SDO (Staff Duty Officer) on a payday weekend. I presume that some things never change. Sam Chamberlain (Old paratroopers never die, they just go to hell and regroup.)