Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!cbnews!military
From: voder!nsc!dtg.nsc.com!alan@decwrl.dec.com (Alan Hepburn)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Airborne operations
Message-ID: <1990Jul10.025044.10648@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 10 Jul 90 02:50:44 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>
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From: voder!nsc!dtg.nsc.com!alan@decwrl.dec.com (Alan Hepburn)

In article <1990Jul8.053437.7936@cbnews.att.com> nulspace@eng.umd.edu (Michael Chang) writes:
>
>I'm not too sure about the 105mm in particular [never actually seen one]
>but the point is, heavy-duty arty can be brought in.  Anyone know
>anything about mortars specially designed for airborne use?  I know the
>British had some 2" mortars for airborne troops, not too sure whether
>the U.S. had any.
>

We have the 81mm mortar, which, although it's no fun to carry for any
distance, is part of a line company's equipment.  The weapons platoon
will have several of these (at least they did when I was involved in
the early '70's).  I believe there was also a 40mm version, but I've
never verified that.


>I know that it can be done, but I don't understand how it is done...
>Such as having something fly around with a tank in it/underneath it.
>Unless they are light models (BMPs come to mind)


Equipment drops are done with Shithooks (oops - Chinooks), C-130's, 
C-141's, C-5's, and probably several other birds designed for transport.
In the 82d ABN, everybody was trained in heavy rigging and the C5 drops
were a blast:  the first pass put down the heavy equipment, then the 
second and subsequent passes dropped the personnel.  An impressive sight: 
Sheridan tanks under canopy (hopefully!) followed by a company of troops.
Oh, yeah - we did bury a tank once when the 'chutes didn't deploy.
That was even more impressive!


-
Devils in Baggy Pants - 1st bn 504th ABN INF 82d ABN DIV


-- 
Alan Hepburn                 "'Taint what a man don't know that hurts him,
mail: alan@spitfire.nsc.com    it's what he knows that just ain't so."
                                         - Frank McKinney Hubbard