USMC artillery tactics - Easy once you are informed.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

A man I knew was in the US Marine Corps reserve, but since they deployed him all the time, he seemed to be full-time.

His job in the Corps was to be the director of artillery fire. I don't know the exact MOS name for this.

His unit consisted of 3 groups, which each had 6 artillery pieces. They could operate separately, or as an 18 gun group.

Have you ever noticed how, when you find out how someone else does their job, it seems very logical, but you didn't know
before you spoke with them? Well, that's how it was with this gentleman.

He explained that our artillery aiming is exact enough that when a barrage is planned by multiple guns, that if the enemy
is in a straight line, an L, a semi-circle, or any other configuration, we can adjust all our guns for this.

He explained to me that when an artillery barrage is to commence, all the 18 guns would be loaded, and would wait for the
command to fire at once. He said the first barrage tends to be the one which catches the highest number of enemy out in
the open, so when 18 shells land at once, it's very effective. After that it's "fire for effect", when each gun fires as fast as they
can get a fresh artillery round ready to rock.

Artillery is known as "The King of Battle", and IIRC, more enemy have been killed by artillery (aka "indirect fire") than by small
arms in infantry battles. I can't cite a link for this, though.

Fort Sill, Oklahoma is where the US Army trains their artillerymen. I don't know where the Corps trains theirs.

SIA

[Dragonfighter]

Fort Sill, Oklahoma is where the US Army trains their artillerymen. I don't know where the Corps trains theirs.

SIA

The Marines (at least some) actually train at Fort sill as well. I trained with some when I was in the Army.
MOS in the Marines is 0844, Fire Direction and Control/Survey Man.
MOS in the Army is 13F - Forward Observer

In my day it was an art, mil reticule binoculars, M1A1 compass and protractor. Throw in some crypto gear and a PRC-77 and you have one man that make it rain hurt. Ah, those were the days.

Now its handheld FADACs, GPS, Laser Designators...etc. Punks

[psijac]

Fort Sill, Oklahoma is where the US Army trains their artillerymen. I don't know where the Corps trains theirs.

SIA

The Marines (at least some) actually train at Fort sill as well. I trained with some when I was in the Army.
MOS in the Marines is 0844, Fire Direction and Control/Survey Man.
MOS in the Army is 13F - Forward Observer

In my day it was an art, mil reticule binoculars, M1A1 compass and protractor. Throw in some crypto gear and a PRC-77 and you have one man that make it rain hurt. Ah, those were the days.

Now its handheld FADACs, GPS, Laser Designators...etc. Punks

Did you ever have to find the PRC-E7?

[C-dub]

Fort Sill, Oklahoma is where the US Army trains their artillerymen. I don't know where the Corps trains theirs.

SIA

The Marines (at least some) actually train at Fort sill as well. I trained with some when I was in the Army.
MOS in the Marines is 0844, Fire Direction and Control/Survey Man.
MOS in the Army is 13F - Forward Observer

In my day it was an art, mil reticule binoculars, M1A1 compass and protractor. Throw in some crypto gear and a PRC-77 and you have one man that make it rain hurt. Ah, those were the days.

Now its handheld FADACs, GPS, Laser Designators...etc. Punks

Did you ever have to find the PRC-E7?

Didn't see too many of those, but I did run into a couple PRC-E9s.

[jimlongley]

Fort Sill, Oklahoma is where the US Army trains their artillerymen. I don't know where the Corps trains theirs.

SIA

The Marines (at least some) actually train at Fort sill as well. I trained with some when I was in the Army.
MOS in the Marines is 0844, Fire Direction and Control/Survey Man.
MOS in the Army is 13F - Forward Observer

In my day it was an art, mil reticule binoculars, M1A1 compass and protractor. Throw in some crypto gear and a PRC-77 and you have one man that make it rain hurt. Ah, those were the days.

Now its handheld FADACs, GPS, Laser Designators...etc. Punks

When I was in the Navy, the Marines often called their forward observer ME! At least a few times. Inshore fire support and control landing parties were very interesting, to say the least.

[The Annoyed Man]

Fort Sill, Oklahoma is where the US Army trains their artillerymen. I don't know where the Corps trains theirs.

SIA

I don't know about now, but during the Vietnam war, marine artillery did training exercises at Camp Pendleton. I remember one summer where the artillery fire started a brush fire that threatened homes in San Clemente.

[papajohn1964]

Fort Sill, Oklahoma is where the US Army trains their artillerymen. I don't know where the Corps trains theirs.

SIA

The Marines (at least some) actually train at Fort sill as well. I trained with some when I was in the Army.
MOS in the Marines is 0844, Fire Direction and Control/Survey Man.
MOS in the Army is 13F - Forward Observer

In my day it was an art, mil reticule binoculars, M1A1 compass and protractor. Throw in some crypto gear and a PRC-77 and you have one man that make it rain hurt. Ah, those were the days.

Now its handheld FADACs, GPS, Laser Designators...etc. Punks

Did you ever have to find the PRC-E7?

Didn't see too many of those, but I did run into a couple PRC-E9s.

Gotta love the Gunny and Sgt. Major.

[G26ster]

Bunch of popcorn eaters. In my day as a Forward Observer (1964), it was a PRC 25!

[ELB]

...
Artillery is known as "The King of Battle", and IIRC, more enemy have been killed by artillery (aka "indirect fire") than by small
arms in infantry battles. I can't cite a link for this, though.
...

SIA

I think pretty much every serious military history book/essay I have read has pointed this out as well (that most KIAs are from artillery). There are probably several factors for this, one of which Lt Col Grossman advances in his book On Killing, which is worth a read to find out what that factor is and how it might apply to CHL'ers...

If you are at all interested in artillery technology and lesser known stories, go read up on Gerald Bull...he had some fascinating ideas for improving and using artillery...but when he started selling them to the wrong parties, it eventually cost him his life...

[C-dub]

Didn't see too many of those, but I did run into a couple PRC-E9s.

Gotta love the Gunny and Sgt. Major.

In my case they were Master Chiefs.

I don't remember what PRC # my pilots carried with them in case they had to bail out. I want to say 80's or 90's, but I really don't remember.

[Dragonfighter]

Bunch of popcorn eaters. In my day as a Forward Observer (1964), it was a PRC 25!

I dropped a PRC-77 200' coming back to Bragg from a TDY. I was sick and misrigged the drop line. After the canopy stabilizes and you drop to 200' AGL you cut away the gear pack which drops and a lanyard unfurls (I can't remember if it was 50' or 75'). Anyway it hit the end of the lanyard and never slowed down. The impact on the drop zone reminded me of a Road Runner cartoon.

Once I landed and rolled up the chute I high tailed it over to the pack and cracked it open. Well the radio worked fine but all of the toiletries I had carried with me didn't. Try explaining why all of your gear is being replaced because it is infused with English Leather. Quartermasters loooove that.

FWIW, the 25's were relegated to forward base sets.

@G26ster = If you'd held out about 4 more years the 77 could've been yours. Sheesh, about the time I'm feeling old someone comes along and...

[jimlongley]

You guys had radios? We had to use signal flags.

Sheesh, youngsters.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

Well the radio worked fine but all of the toiletries I had carried with me didn't. Try explaining why all of your gear is being replaced because it is infused with English Leather. Quartermasters loooove that.

The other "parfum" of the day was Hai Karate. Remember the funny ads for it? :-)

SIA

[threoh8]

I was an Ordnance staff officer at the Field Artillery Center and School at Fort Sill for a while. My personal favorite artillery trick was the "Time on target" exercise. One howitzer fires, say, five rounds. The projectiles and charges are layed out ahead of time. Each round is fired with a different charge and elevation, for a unique trajectory, at the command of a guy with the stopwatch. High angle to low angle. Done correctly, all five rounds land on the target at the same time - from one gun!. It's fun to watch a good crew working smoothly through that.

Trajectory shoots are interesting, too, but are just for show. Several rounds are rigged for airburst at different intervals, and fired from one gun in rapid succession with identical charges. When they go off, it's like someone plotted the trajectory with puffs of smoke in the sky.

[RoyGBiv]

Bunch of popcorn eaters. In my day as a Forward Observer (1964), it was a PRC 25!

I had to look it up..