Indirect Fire Flashcards
how many battalions of towed artillery are in an IBCT?
1 battalion
what is the artillery equivalent of a company
1 battery
how many batteries of M119s are there in a towed artillery battalion?
2 batteries
how many batteries of M777s are there is a towed artillery battalion?
1 battery
how many M119s are there in a battery?
six guns
how many M777s are there in a battery?
six guns
what is a mortar?
a muzzle-loaded device that fires ounds at an angle greater than 45 degrees
what is a howitzer?
a short-barreled artillery piece on wheels that fires rounds at an angle less than a mortar but more than a field gun. most common
what is a field gun?
an artillery piece that fires rounds at a lower angle of projection, typically line of sight.
what are the advantages of a mortar?
- Higher angle = greater range; can fire over barriers and terrain (defilade, reverse slopes)
- Lighter, so fast maneuver and used by lighter units.
- Faster reload – 30rpm for 60mm compared to 4rpm from 155mm
- Fire without a fire director center (FDC) – mortar SL can engage with direct lay or direct alignment.
what are the disadvantages of mortars?
- Range; max range for a 120mm is about 7km only
- lighter units can only carry so many rounds
- innaccurate: wind speed and distance more impactful
what is the max effective range of a 60mm mortar?
3.490 km
what is the max effective range for a 81mm mortar?
5.790km
what is the max effective range for a 120mm mortar?
7.2km
what is the max effective range for a 105mm howitzer?
19.5km
what is the max effective range for a 155mm howitzer?
30km
what is the max effective range for MLRS?
15-300km.
how many 81mm mortars in an infantry battalion?
4 mortars
how many 120mm mortars are there in an infantry battalion?
4 mortars
how many 60mm mortars are there in a infantry battalion?
6 mortars
how many 60mm mortars are there in an infantry company?
2 mortars
how many 120, 81, and 60mm mortars are there in cavalry troop?
2 of any one kind, making 6 per squadron
what are the advantages of artillery, to include both field guns and howitzers?
- Reliability: provide fire in any conditions or types of terrain
- Provide greater depth on the battlefield. m777 hits targets 4 times farther than heaviest mortar
- Large number of available shells and fuzes: can fire different types of ammunition at different delays
- Counterfire when paired with radar against enemy idf.
- Mobility: as mobile as the maneuver force it accompanies.
- More accurate.
- can’t kill moving armored targets
- slow response time due to multiple echelons between it and frontline units
- easily detected due to large firing signature and radio coordination.
what are the uses of a high explosive (HE) shell?
used for adjusting fire, antipersonnel, unarmored vehicles, light material
what are the uses of a smoke (SMKE) round
used for obscuring, screening, deception, and signaling
what are the uses for an illumination round?
used for increasing visibility of a battlefield and marking infrared targets
what does a variable time fuze do?
explodes above the target area, sending shrapnel down.
what does a point of impact fuze do?
detonates on contact with the target area
what does a point-delayed fuze do?
detonates after puncturing target, good for destroying fortified positions