Originally posted by moca:
600m? We are talking about direct fire weapons of a mere 25mm
calibre, not artillery.
From that distance, you can't spot the enemy properly even with
optical enhancement, how to support? In flat open terrain maybe.
But in urban or jungle conditions, definitely cannot have a
straight line of sight over such long distance without obstruction.
And your battlefield awareness will be zero and you could even end
up shooting own guys.
If you go to Youtube and watch this video called something like
BIGREDONEinfallujah or any similar urban combat in Iraq with
armour, it'll give you an idea of how close in the fire support has
to be. It has to be right next to the infantry.
[b]In one instance, the Bradley was firing its 25mm into a second
story house from the road just outside. Even then, you can see how
the 25mm fire is quite inefffective. In other words, enemy inside
may still survive unscathed.
With the SAF 40/50 turret might be more effective as you can pop
several 40mm grenades into the suspect house through the windows.
But still, you have to be quite close to the action. Though the
40mm AGL has a 300m range or more, for precision firing into
windows you have to be quite close. (Of course, not so close that
the grenade cannot arm itself.)
If it was a big tank gun, then you can fire from further as one
round of HE can literally bring the walls down, allowing infantry
to move in and mop up. This was how a lot of street fighting were
done in WW2 also.[/b]
I think the enemy was not unscathed. 25mm HE rounds are not
funny. The incendiary effect can neutralise bunkers or
"garrissoned" infantry. Even if they have some form of cover, the
25mm HE would probably have pinned them down.
