Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!usc!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: det@hawkmoon.MN.ORG (Derek E. Terveer) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Sealift for Desert Shield Message-ID: <1991Jan22.021518.22052@cbnews.att.com> Date: 22 Jan 91 02:15:18 GMT References: <1991Jan16.013547.10502@cbnews.att.com> <1991Jan18.004525.9276@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: Home System (One of the Eternal Champions); Eagan, MN, 55123-2507, USA Lines: 34 Approved: military@att.att.com From: det@hawkmoon.MN.ORG (Derek E. Terveer) ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Allan Bourdius) writes: >From: Allan Bourdius >Relatively light supplies, like ammunition and >pre-packaged food, can be brought in by airlift. Hmmmm. Perhaps you are thinking of "ammunition lite" (sic) (:-), like small arms; historically, anything short of harassing artillery fire has required quite large amounts of ammunition. Barrages can consume tons (literally!) of ammunition in minutes. For example, a naval 5" (127mm) projectile weighs approximately 68 pounds (lbs), and I am pretty sure (but not positive) that a ground version of similar size would weigh approximately the same. This is only the weight of the projectile -- I'll assume that the cartridge weighs approximately 50 pounds, so each round is approximately 118 pounds. Firing just once per minute, which is certainly possible with manual loading, you would be expending: 60 minutes/hr * 118 lbs/minute = 7,080 lbs/hour = 3.54 short tons/hour. This is for one tube and does not count containers, packing lubricants, transporters, etc. In article <1991Jan14.011014.5995@cbnews.att.com> it was declared that there were approximately (i really like that word -- it's so vague (:-)) 100 105mm, 376 155mm, and 100 203mm field artillery tubes in the kuwait front. A *real* off-the-cuff figure of 34 (short) tons per minute emerges if all tubes were firing at one round per minute. (100+376+100) * 3.54 tons/hr * 1 hr/60min -- Derek "Tigger" Terveer det@hawkmoon.MN.ORG - MNFHA, NCS - UMN Women's Lax, MWD I am the way and the truth and the light, I know all the answers; don't need your advice. -- "I am the way and the truth and the light" -- The Legendary Pink Dots