"Gunny Highway"

[DSchlagan]

sactroop,

Yeah, "C4" rolls off the tongue a whole lot easier than "PentaErythritolTetraNitrate gunpowder-like-substance", don't it?

I had forgotten about some of this project until this thread developed.

Glad you liked the article.

Regards,

Don.

[sactroop]

Yea, those same NCO’s warned us about rumors and propaganda too.

:think:

[Marine0311]

When compared to the M16's 3100 fps bullet, the AK's does have a quieter crack.

You have a pretty big difference in velocities. A general rule is, the larger and faster the projectile the bigger the crack.

 

every Marine recruit since the 1910s and probably before, has heard what a bullet cracking over his head sounded like, while working in the target pits at the rifle range.

 

Rate of fire is a different matter since 5.56 weapons can be kept on target alot easier. Those who use the 16s usually get more marksmanship training, so you'll feel like there's a beehive's nest above your head.

[Bluehawk]

When compared to the M16's 3100 fps bullet, the AK's does have a quieter crack.

You have a pretty big difference in velocities. A general rule is, the larger and faster the projectile the bigger the crack.

 

every Marine recruit since the 1910s and probably before, has heard what a bullet cracking over his head sounded like, while working in the target pits at the rifle range.

 

Rate of fire is a different matter since 5.56 weapons can be kept on target alot easier. Those who use the 16s usually get more marksmanship training, so you'll feel like there's a beehive's nest above your head.

You heard that sound based on experience then...

 

Did any DI or other personnel ever tell you in advance what to expect?

[Marine0311]

You heard that sound based on experience then...

 

Did any DI or other personnel ever tell you in advance what to expect?

 

Nah, all my DIs were artillery, not a single grunt. They didnt care about this type of stuff at the school of infantry either for some reason.

..and under fire you're thinking of other things anyways.

You pick up on other things like, distinguishing PKM fire from M240 fire...celebratory fire from supressing lol

You can also tell a whole story by the brass that is left after a firefight. Russian MGs dont leave links for example. Smaller clusters of 7.62x54R brass means a possible sniper position from which you took pop shots...

[Bluehawk]

A picture is emerging... thanks.

 

I really just had a curiosity about whether what "Gunny Highway" said to his platoon after he fired the AK-47 in their direction is or is not something commonly taught... so that it would be repeated enough times to become part of the training legends passed on from troop to troop over the past 50 years or so.

 

Or, was that line about the "distinctive sound" just something a Hollywood script writer made up for Eastwood to say in the scene.

 

The image I have now is that, if anything about the sound of different rounds IS specifically taught, then it is mostly OJT.

[Joe Hinson]

I think he found some....

 

http://youtu.be/o9oITR_KZok

[Bluehawk]

I think he found some....

 

http://youtu.be/o9oITR_KZok

:lol2:

[hawkdriver]

There was a "Psyops" program where AK ammo was salted into VC/NVA Caches. The Normal gunpowder had been replaced carefully with C-4 Explosive. IIRC the program was called Eldest Son, Pole Bean. Chamber one of the docotored rounds and when you pull the trigger the weapon explodes on the firer with lethal results. Idea being to have the enemy not trust their weapons. The ammo was AK (7.62X39MM) and some 82mm Mortar rounds.

 

 

You are correct. Then to go along with it was a psychological push to then exploit the destruction, blaming the malfunctions on Chinese manufacturing processes. It was very effective and it caused many line troops to think twice about firing their weapon. While in Iraq, there was a video of a mortar round being fired that was "treated". The round blew up in the tube all while his buddies were yelling Allah Akbar, it was very interesting to watch.

[dschneck]

A long time before the movie came out, I went through some training and no one ever made a statement like that. However, a few years later, still before the movie, when I was a civilian and being shot at, one of the Marines I was with said something like, "AK-47...you can always tell." I didn't really care at the time as I was busy getting to my feet and looking for our Bradley, which wouldn't come to us and was parked several clicks away.

 

Based on personal experience, I can say that an AK-47 sounds quite different than any of its counterparts...a sound I will never forget.

 

Don...

[CNY Militaria]

"The genesis of Eldest Son was the fertile mind of SOG's commander, 1966-68, Colonel John K. Singlaub, a World War II veteran of covert actions with the Office of Strategic Services"

 

Interesting! I have one of his fatigue shirts as a MG. Didn't realize he initiated this!