The Military Thread

I didn't actually notice it before it was overtaken by the Chinese plan to make supersonic submarines. I'll post a response in the History Thread over in Yack Fest. Might take a while though, since I've got guests tonight and then work tomorrow. But you'll get your response, worry not.

but SUPER-SONIC SUBMARINES*

"likens Ukraine conflict to WWII"

Oh yea, like the part where a world power rolled into a neighboring nation because of territorial claims to some border areas on paper-thin Casus belli after interfering with other neighbors for several years.

So yea Putin's mirroring Hitler while trying to paint Ukraine as the Nazis, because logic.

edited 31st Aug '14 9:03:10 AM by joesolo

Take your time and plan out your arguments just as meticulously as Montgomery at the map, and then assault my positions with the vigor of the Eighth Army rolling across the desert.

There's just one thing though; why Yack Fest instead of here?

And he says so only a matter of days before the seventieth-something anniversary of World War II.

Pretty sure a supercavitating submarine would be startlingly easy to track via satellite and aerial recon.

That said, congratulations, you can see it, what are you gonna do, drop a speed bump in its path? We'd need a weapon that could successfully intercept such a target. Could a Mark 48 dropped ahead of it punch through the cavitation bubble to hit the sub?

Also, I'm picturing the sub hitting a sand bar and getting propelled out of the water like a Dukes of Hazard bridge jump.

I imagine it hitting anything solid would cause issues. Hell a good net might really fuck it up.

Super late, but...

@The Challenger 2 being extremely heavy:

True, but all MBTs are a bit on the tubby side. That and the Chally can apparently manage a pretty decent clip, particularly off-road.

And dat diesel injection smoke screen system.

Doesn't it have a rifled barrel?

Sorta seems like that would be common sense to put on anything, more accuracy and all that good stuff.

Apparently it limits the variety of shells that it can fire though.

Well that sounds more like a problem with shell design than with the rifling.

It means it can't use the APFSDS anti-tank round like the American tanks. But the smooth bore can't fire the HESH rounds either. It's a trade off.

The Smooth Bore gun by the way is very accurate. What it lacks in rifling it makes up for with tight tolerances in ammo and gun and high velocity projectiles.

edited 31st Aug '14 12:58:52 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Any particular reason why they can't fire those particular rounds? Surely it can't be too hard to add like grooves or whatever to a shell or smooth said grooves or whatever out.

Actually, the Challenger 2 can fire APFSDS rounds. The L 27 A 1 APFSDS.

So, on the real life page of Made of Iron:

Okay, I can somewhat strenuously believe that someone can get shot in the head and come back to life, but smothering two fucking grenades? I really have a hard time believing that, because holy shit...

How does HESH compare with APFSDS, anyway?

@dRoy:

Well, one of them was a dud. And there have been cases of people surviving jumping on grenades before.

All depends on what they hit, and the grenade type.

Geek: Correct what I should have said is it can't fire the same round as the Abrams.

The problem with HESH rounds is past a certain velocity they don't work. The Abrams gun fires at too high a velocity for HESH.

Oh, in that case it's much more believable, because yes, I know that there's people surviving jumping on a single grenade.

edited 31st Aug '14 2:19:35 PM by dRoy

Flanker: HESH is the Squash head or Plastic war head. It smooshes against the target creating a sort of explosive pancake and then explodes against the hull. It causes large amounts of spalling and damages the hull directly. It is apparently very effective against light and medium armor and is great for knocking down walls in urban fighting.

see here

The Mobile Gun Systems 105mm gun can fire HESH rounds.

HESH blows big hole in tank. APFSDS makes tiny hole in tank and splats crew.

HESH good for killing snipers.

edited 31st Aug '14 2:42:19 PM by InverurieJones

Speaking of cannons and crap I've seen this picture◊ dozens of times and only just now learned what it was.

A silencer for your artillery.

@ Challenger 2 ammunition: And there's the small fact that Challenger 2 ammunition isn't made any more.

If I remember correctly, It'd used in germany so they dont bother the locals around a training ground.

can't imagine shipping that around just to quite artillery down a bit in a war front.

Wait so are they just using stockpiling stuff now?

Are they ever gonna make more?

oh, pagetopper

edited 31st Aug '14 2:52:37 PM by LeGarcon

Silencer for artillery...now that's something I never thought existed.

According to The Other Wiki, the MoD may have found a source for the Tungsten FIN and HESH rounds...otherwise, yes, they're running on reserves. There's been an on-and-off program for a least a decade to fit the Challenger 2 with the Rheinmetall L55 smoothbore gun, and it's even been trialled on two tanks.