Somewhere in Afghanistan (neat sniper yarn)

[Oatka]

Hitting the head of an RPG at 400 yards is pretty impressive.

http://www.gohotsprings.com/focus/m...e=article&sid=241&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

Somewhere in Afghanistan by Josh Lehrman

Marine Scout Sniper Cpl. George Skandella set up with his spotter, Cpl. Mario Ortiz, for what he thought would be another quiet night in the hills just outside Kabul.

For some days troops in his unit had been harassed by rifle fire and RPG grenades launched by determined but poorly trained Al Qaida fighters. Fortunately no Marines had yet been killed and wounds inflicted had been rather minor in nature. But Lt. Col. Bob Hayes decided to take the fight to the enemy. He directed that several teams of scout snipers position themselves around the camp and gave them the green light to fire on anyone moving about the hills carrying a weapon.

Cpl. Skandella said "We had only been in position for about forty five minutes when Ortiz spotted three men about four hundred meters from the camp. Ortiz was using a new classified night vision device that is one of the innovations being tested in the hills around Kabul. "One was carrying an RPG and the other two had AKs (AK 47). According to the rules of engagement they were good to go" said Skandella.

The young marine from Akron, Ohio, sighted in on the man with the RPG and saw that he was ready to fire. Skandella said "I felt lucky and decided to aim for the RPG."

As Ortiz later explained "I had him in my sights also and knew that if George missed I would not".

Skandella fired and his round hit the RPG before the fighter could launch it. "We saw an explosion and heard the RPG go. His two Al Qaida buddies were no wheres around."

Later a patrol found the three Al Qaida fighters dead among the rocks.

ONE SHOT THREE KILLS..............."PRICELESS."

"WE own the Day, WE own the Night, WE own it All!"

 

[10-Ring]

Good story, thanks

 

[45R]

Somebody buy that Designated Marksman a beer for me!!!! That is one hell of a shot!!

 

[Azrael256]

Considering how much these guys train, I'm not really surprised that he could pull that off. Hitting a RPG at 400m isn't exactly difficult for those guys. I am, however, quite impressed. Nice shootin'.

 

[jmbg29]

A three-fer! Beauty!

 

[rock jock]

Hmmm. Depending on the angle, the RPG greande might have only presented itself as four-inch target, bobbing around on the shoulder of a nervous terrorist. Not sure why he chose to pick that shot instead of something a little more reliable, like COM. Also, I thought that grenade rounds were essentially inert until fired. Anyway, excellent shot.

 

[PvtPyle]

It must have been a defective warhead. They dont blow up when you shoot them. They are filled with a plastic explosive and it takes a detonator to set it off. There are actually two inside the RPG, one in the nose and one at the top of the rocket motor. The one on the tip of the rocket of course detonates the warhead when it properly stikes a target (I say properly because it spin arms after 30m. If it stikes a target before then they oftern are broken and wont detonate even if they strike another target on ricochet). The one at the base of the warhead, or top of the rocket motor detonates the rocket in cases of a miss or if it were to get stuck in soft material, like an earthen bunker. Detonation in this case usually takes place after 1120m or about 4 seconds.

Nice story but I am betting it is an urban legend. Kinda like the Afghani that supposedly got shot with the SASR round in the head.

 

[Pendragon]

The story sounds to clean to be real.

Also - the reference to his classified night vision scope - to me, that is a classic writing device used in fake stories. Not too technical, just foggy enough to convince most people...

 

[Apple a Day]

At least the older ones had a piezoelectric detonator... deformation of the piezo crystal causes a current which sets off the detonator. I suppose smacking it with a round hard enough might set it off but I'd still put my money on urban legend.

 

[waterdog]

If they use plastic explosive, I believe that stuff will detonate under high velocity impact.

 

[MitchSchaft]

They use plastic explosive in an rpg round?

 

[Nightcrawler]

I know a little bit about explosives. Uncle Sam taught me a bit. (MOS 12B)

Anyway, C4 (a plastic explosive), requires both heat AND pressure to detonate. To wit, lighting a brick of C4 on fire will not set it off. Stomping on a brick of C4 will not set it off. (Though it's a good to not get into the habit of setting explosives of any sort on fire, or stomping on them...) However, if you set it on fire and then stomp on it, you just lost yourself a leg!

TNT has different properties and I'm not quite as familliar with it. I do not think that impact alone can detonate it. It's more stable than dynamite and that's one of the main reasons we use it.

I don't know about the contents of an RPG projectile, so I couldn't tell you if shooting at it would detonate it or not.

 

[waterdog]

Wouldn't heat be a byproduct of the kinetic energy
released on the rocket head?

waterdog

 

[Kahr carrier]

Good Shooting.

 

[Blackcloud6]

This sounds like BS to me.

 

[sasnofear]

im no expert, but why would such a cheap, out of date weapon be using expensive high teck expolsives? i mean if they can afford/make C4 to put into them, surley they wouldn't be using those half wooden RPG's but instead things like 'stingers' or 'LAWS'


!!!

im guesssing urban legand buy some computer geek who only explosives he knows of are those he see's in the movies.

Adam

 

[goon]

"TNT has different properties and I'm not quite as familliar with it. I do not think that impact alone can detonate it. It's more stable than dynamite and that's one of the main reasons we use it."


I have been reliably informed by my dad, (he used to be a blaster) that TNT will not detonate from being shot. Certain compositions of dynamite will, some won't.
I was unsure about the TNT myself. I only used it a few times in training, but I did get well acquainted with C-4. It was fun.
To think that we used to get paid for that......

BTW- I know a vietman vet who told me that he once stomped on C-4 that they were cooking with. Luckily, they weren't using much, so he just blew the heel off of his boot.

 

[spadata]

RPG Exploding

RPG's can explode when hit by a bullet (in the right spot) Just like M79 HE rounds will also explode. I saw a grenadier (carried M79 old term) disappear once when a AK bullet hit his bag of M79 rounds.
The really bad part was: I got the job after they found the M79, minus sights and a little scarred up. But that's another story.

But this was a true story, I posted the original back on http://www.gohotsprings.com/focus . I get occasional reports from Kuwait & Afghanistan.

 

[PvtPyle]

40mm HE and HEDP rounds are spin armed and will not explode if shot. The detonator will destroy itself and not be able to inject the explosive from the detonator into the HE inside unless the round has spun and the pieces inside have been cleared out of the way opening the channel.

I am sorry, but as an Armorer for the Army and having dealt with these items a fair bit over the years, and having been to the courses for explosive ahndling and safety, this just not happen.

But to address your post a bit more, nobody in their right mind carries 40mm rounds loose in a bag. If that did happen he got what he deserved. He may as well used them to drive nails. The old rounds that were being issued at the time of the M-79 (it is still in service but it is not formally issued. Many units have them in their EP's, us at the 1/19th included) were skiddish at best.

I too get formal and back channel reports from Afghanistan and the PI. But I dont get much thru the Marine channels unless it was from one of the MEU's, but then again a team from a STA Platoon has to be from and MEU somewhere in Afghanistan. If you can let me know what STA Platoon they were from (I can probably check their bonafides thru the contacts we have in Pendelton with the names) I can try to verify the story.

Dont get me wrong, I am not calling YOU a liar. But I do think you have been had.

 

[Gary H]

poorly trained Al Qaida fighters

Oh ya, I've heard otherwise. A bad yarn at that..

 

[spadata]

M79

Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but that's exactly how we carried them.

You would be surprised how many rounds would fit into a demo pack bag - After we passed out the c-4 blocks, the bags they came in made great bags for carrying the rounds. I carried two bags of rounds - close to 100 rounds total through the jungles, and occasionally I would empty at least one bag and be well into the second. I did carry one bandolier of CS and sone flares. Ask any Marine in Vietnam about carrying alll that. We stayed out for months at a time and resupply during the monsoons was very sporatic

Luckily (??) after a month I carried a PRC-25 instead.

 

[PvtPyle]

OK, OK. I am not going to get into a peeing match with you about the way you carried them, but I did ask my old man who was a 2 tour VN Vet, in the Marines. He never saw any of his guys carring them like that.

But back to the point, if you know the STA Platoon these guys are from I can either verify or rule this story another urban legend from Afghanistan.

 

[spadata]

Dang it - erased my reply somehow?

Got to prove my point first with the M79

http://members.aol.com/e46piodet/4th.jpg

http://www.thevietnam-database.co.uk/USarmy/Ammocars.htm

It took a while to actually find someone IN THE FIELD with an M79 carrying the bag full of ammo. You can see some (still in cannisters) through the side of the bag. The other link is the actual 100 rd ammo bag.

I found all sorts of pictures of ammo vests !?! Wouldn't have caught me wearing one of them.

Anyway - back to the sniper team - whether it's a slightly exagerated version of a true story (I can believe hitting the RPG) or not is immaterial. This came in an email from a Marine in Kuwait, who ... etc etc. But this is entirely within the realm of the skills of a Marine Sniper. I have been in the field with them, and have seen kills of upwards of 1500+ meters! with a Remington 700 7.62mm bolt action.

It doesn't take high-tech to kill.

SSGT USMC 1969-1981
0311 8651 2531 0231 0239 267x 2659 & almost 8541 (missed final qual)

 

[sasnofear]

BS 2 me. against all sniper docterian to shoot @ something like that. "shoot percentage" !!!

the idea that it would explode on contact is rubbist 2.

 

[Blackhawk]

I don't care if it's Barbra Striesand. I enjoyed reading it!