Русский корабль - иди нахуй

[SimonBolivar 10959]

6 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

When are the Bradley's supposed to be deployed. I know we've all been stroking it to the MBTs, but the Bradley could be a game changer if used correctly with infantry and air support. 

A good friend of mine was a Bradley gunner in Iraq, and he's got lots of stories about how they'd just put it in park and lay waste to everything in range while barely taking a paint scratch.

[InkaUtexas 26126]

Spot on. And easier to get the maintenance up and running. 

Also spoke to a Bradley commander. Said a great tactic would be park them behind UKR infantry, and with the Russian tactics, they would hammer the infantry. And if a tank arrives, well you got the TOW's. Add to that any anti-artillery radar so they can move if something is seen coming. 

[Gatorubet 30317]

1 hour ago, cactusflinthead said:

Old granny waves her black flag and makes ghillie suits.

"Some 90 years on, she refuses to accept the latest aggression. Her hatred for Russia is visible as she mimics a slitting of the throat. “We need to exterminate them so that not a single one is left. Only then can there be any peace,” Yarosh says of the Russians."

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/06/europe/ukraine-famine-survivor-intl/index.html

Her only real complaint is that her grandson Brisket does not visit often enough.

[Brisketexan 105373]

5 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

Her only real complaint is that her grandson Brisket does not visit often enough.

She is no doubt the babushka of my heart.  She could make me pelmeni for dinner, and we could make combat gear together.  What a sweet time.

[MissingInAction 25193]

8 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

She is no doubt the babushka of my heart.  She could make me pelmeni for dinner, and we could make combat gear together.  What a sweet time.

Yall would totally sponge bathe each other. 

[Brisketexan 105373]

2 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

Yall would totally sponge bathe each other. 

 

[The Dog 44147]

27 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

When are the Bradley's supposed to be deployed. I know we've all been stroking it to the MBTs, but the Bradley could be a game changer if used correctly with infantry and air support. 

A good friend of mine was a Bradley gunner in Iraq, and he's got lots of stories about how they'd just put it in park and lay waste to everything in range while barely taking a paint scratch.

the impression I'm getting is that the Bradley will make a bigger difference than even the Abrams. 

I think the Bradleys will be there for the spring offensive. Just too muddy right now to do much other than shoot Russians as they approach. 

[Brisketexan 105373]

Just now, The Dog said:

Just too muddy right now to do much other than shoot Russians as they approach. 

Sounds like a lovely time.

[InkaUtexas 26126]

Love the ending. 

 

[cactusflinthead 27603]

32 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

Her only real complaint is that her grandson Brisket does not visit often enough.

 

26 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

She is no doubt the babushka of my heart.  She could make me pelmeni for dinner, and we could make combat gear together.  What a sweet time.

Lobbed it up over the plate. 

[Gatorubet 30317]

1 hour ago, MissingInAction said:

A good friend of mine was a Bradley gunner in Iraq, and he's got lots of stories about how they'd just put it in park and lay waste to everything in range while barely taking a paint scratch.

Bradley 20 mm cannon nothing to sneeze at. Remember that scene from saving Private Ryan when the Germans used their 20 mm flak gun? 

[Gatorubet 30317]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

 

That was fun Brisket, but why did you keep screaming ‘Sanna Marin!’

[The Dog 44147]

 

[pops 7007]

7 minutes ago, The Dog said:

 

Until they decide no then yes then no then yes a thousand more times. 

[DDD Dad 14351]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

 

[Brisketexan 105373]

13 minutes ago, pops said:

Until they decide no then yes then no then yes a thousand more times. 

[Gatorubet 30317]

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/02/03/good-gun-thin-armor-the-ukrainian-army-is-getting-leopard-1-tanks/

“FORBESBUSINESSAEROSPACE & DEFENSE
Good Gun, Thin Armor: The Ukrainian Army Is Getting Leopard 1 Tanks

Feb 3, 2023,05:48pm EST

Germany has pledged to Ukraine 88 Leopard 1A5 tanks. The ex-German Leopard 1s, combined with another 20 tanks of the same model that Denmark plans to donate, could equip an entire Ukrainian tank brigade.

The 1980s-vintage Leopard 1A5, designed and produced by Rheinmetall, isn’t the most modern tank in the world. But it’s roughly contemporaneous with the Leopard 2A4—and indeed shares many subsystems with its bigger, heavier cousin.

Most critically, the Leopard 1A5 has decent optics and fire-control and an effective main gun—the 105-millimeter Royal Ordnance L7. The Ukrainian army already is familiar with the L7, as the rifled gun also arms those 28 super-upgraded M-55S tanks that Slovenia donated last year.

The Ukrainians also are familiar with the Leopard 1’s hull, engine, transmission and suspension. The Ukrainian army operates 38 ex-German engineering vehicles that have Leopard 1 chassis.

The biggest weakness of the 40-ton, four-person Leopard 1A5 is that it’s thinly armored by modern standards. Additional armor protection, along with a bigger main gun, was the main requirement that drove the development of the 70-ton Leopard 2.

But there are hundreds of Leopard 1A5s in storage across Europe, including—and this is critical—a couple hundred in warehouses belonging to Rheinmetall and German arms firm FFG Flensburger. Both companies have kept the old tanks in good shape.

The Leopard 1s Germany has pledged to Ukraine will come from Rheinmetall’s holdings. Denmark meanwhile plans to buy at least 20, and potentially 40, Leopard 1s from FFG Flensburger for onward transfer.

All that is to say, Ukraine should get a whole brigade’s worth of Leopard 1s fast—potentially faster than it can piece together a brigade set of heavier Leopard 2s. And a lot faster than it will get its new, American-made M-1A2 tanks.

If Ukrainian tankers are smart, they’ll deploy their Leopard 1A5s in ways that leverage the tanks’ strengths while mitigating their weaknesses.

That means using the Leopard 1s as fire support for fast-moving mechanized infantry. When the infantry run into a Russian strongpoint, they’ll call in the tanks to put a few 105-millimeter rounds into the Russian position.

It means not sending the tanks into direct combat with Russian tanks, whose 125-millimeter main guns would punch right through the Leopard 1s’ thin armor.

Follow me on Twitter. Check out my website or some of my other work here. Send me a secure tip.

David Axe”

Good info. Glad to see that Ukraine already has some familiarity with the gun and chassis. It will be useful in its main purpose:

[Chad Fuck 17786]

3 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/02/03/good-gun-thin-armor-the-ukrainian-army-is-getting-leopard-1-tanks/

FORBESBUSINESSAEROSPACE & DEFENSE
Good Gun, Thin Armor: The Ukrainian Army Is Getting Leopard 1 Tanks

Feb 3, 2023,05:48pm EST

Germany has pledged to Ukraine 88 Leopard 1A5 tanks. The ex-German Leopard 1s, combined with another 20 tanks of the same model that Denmark plans to donate, could equip an entire Ukrainian tank brigade.

The 1980s-vintage Leopard 1A5, designed and produced by Rheinmetall, isn’t the most modern tank in the world. But it’s roughly contemporaneous with the Leopard 2A4—and indeed shares many subsystems with its bigger, heavier cousin.

Most critically, the Leopard 1A5 has decent optics and fire-control and an effective main gun—the 105-millimeter Royal Ordnance L7. The Ukrainian army already is familiar with the L7, as the rifled gun also arms those 28 super-upgraded M-55S tanks that Slovenia donated last year.

The Ukrainians also are familiar with the Leopard 1’s hull, engine, transmission and suspension. The Ukrainian army operates 38 ex-German engineering vehicles that have Leopard 1 chassis.

The biggest weakness of the 40-ton, four-person Leopard 1A5 is that it’s thinly armored by modern standards. Additional armor protection, along with a bigger main gun, was the main requirement that drove the development of the 70-ton Leopard 2.

But there are hundreds of Leopard 1A5s in storage across Europe, including—and this is critical—a couple hundred in warehouses belonging to Rheinmetall and German arms firm FFG Flensburger. Both companies have kept the old tanks in good shape.

The Leopard 1s Germany has pledged to Ukraine will come from Rheinmetall’s holdings. Denmark meanwhile plans to buy at least 20, and potentially 40, Leopard 1s from FFG Flensburger for onward transfer.

All that is to say, Ukraine should get a whole brigade’s worth of Leopard 1s fast—potentially faster than it can piece together a brigade set of heavier Leopard 2s. And a lot faster than it will get its new, American-made M-1A2 tanks.

If Ukrainian tankers are smart, they’ll deploy their Leopard 1A5s in ways that leverage the tanks’ strengths while mitigating their weaknesses.

That means using the Leopard 1s as fire support for fast-moving mechanized infantry. When the infantry run into a Russian strongpoint, they’ll call in the tanks to put a few 105-millimeter rounds into the Russian position.

It means not sending the tanks into direct combat with Russian tanks, whose 125-millimeter main guns would punch right through the Leopard 1s’ thin armor.

Follow me on Twitter. Check out my website or some of my other work here. Send me a secure tip.

David Axe

Then there was that arms dealer in Belgium or the Netherlands who had a warehouse full of Lepoard 1s as well.  Man, Ukraine is really shaping up to be the Cold War armor battle we thought was going to happen in the Fulda Gap, just 40 years late.  Amazing.

[Parliament 14325]

1 hour ago, The Dog said:

 

Is that alot?  That seems like alot.

[Gatorubet 30317]

24 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

Then there was that arms dealer in Belgium or the Netherlands who had a warehouse full of Lepoard 1s as well.  Man, Ukraine is really shaping up to be the Cold War armor battle we thought was going to happen in the Fulda Gap, just 40 years late.  Amazing.

Can any ex-tanker tell us if the 1980s L-1 optics are better or equal to what the majority of Russian tanks in field are using?

Quote

It means not sending the tanks into direct combat with Russian tanks, whose 125-millimeter main guns would punch right through the Leopard 1s’ thin armor.

That may be a valid concern, but if Ivan and his T-whatevs can’t see the Leopard first due to inferior optics, my money is on the Leopards’ 105 saying howdy first if it has better thermal, night, etc. , optics.     Will they face T-90s or the T-62s from the junkyard?  

I thought I read that the optics were among the first stuff stolen from the mothballed modern Russian tanks in storage, hence the T-62s appearance…

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

better than afew

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

1 minute ago, Gatorubet said:

That may be a valid concern, but if Ivan and his T-whatevs can’t see the Leopard first due to inferior optics, my money is on the Leopards’ 105 saying howdy first if it has better thermal, night, etc. , optics.     Will they face T-90s or the T-62s from the junkyard?

tank on tank combat should be much more the exception than the goal.  if that is happening, we aren't leveraging the 50 other ways we have of destroying their tanks that they can't match.

Edited February 7, 2023 by BehoId, The Underminer!

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4977]

3 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

Can any ex-tanker tell us if the 1980s L-1 optics are better or equal to what the majority of Russian tanks in field are using?

That may be a valid concern, but if Ivan and his T-whatevs can’t see the Leopard first due to inferior optics, my money is on the Leopards’ 105 saying howdy first if it has better thermal, night, etc. , optics.     Will they face T-90s or the T-62s from the junkyard?  

I thought I read that the optics were among the first stuff stolen from the mothballed modern Russian tanks in storage, hence the T-62s appearance…

I believe there was a Twitter thread posted last week or so that was showing the Russian tanks had been retrofitted to use older optics from the previous generation of tanks.

[PTINS 3485]

Anybody going to this?

[Gatorubet 30317]

tank on tank combat should not be much more the exception than the goal.  if that is happening, we aren't leveraging the 50 other ways we have of destroying their tanks that they can't match.

Great point.  But then I remember the US in World War II saying we are not gonna have many tank on tank battles - so the Sherman does not need more armor or a larger cannon. Our doctrine said that attached tank destroyer units would fill that mission.  
As it turned out, our fantastic for 1941 tanks wound up facing a bunch of up-armored, up-cannoned panthers and tigers in 1944.    I’m just hoping that the optics give the L-1s a fighting chance.   I guess it’s my late dad’s  stories of his Sherman M-62 rounds bouncing off panthers that worries me.   In WWII only 20% of U.S. tank rounds fired were at other tanks.   But if it was you in that 20%, it was scary.
As Ukraine may have to rely on the L-1s due to delays in the good stuff, I hope they can hold their own against a T-72.   

[Gatorubet 30317]

21 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

I believe there was a Twitter thread posted last week or so that was showing the Russian tanks had been retrofitted to use older optics from the previous generation of tanks.

this is just one example of why this place is awesome!

From a Forbes article 

Quote

As Kyiv’s allies pledge more and more of the best NATO-style tanks to Ukraine’s war effort, Moscow is upgrading and returning to servicepotentially hundreds of older T-72s.

The result is at least one new T-72 model: the T-72B3 Obr. 2022. It’s a 1980s-vintage T-72B with a suite of enhancements including a Sosna-U day-night digital gunner’s sight, new reactive armor, a rear-looking video camera and a fresh barrel for its 125-millimeter main gun.

Equally troubling for Russian tankers, a shortage of components apparently has compelled tank-maker Uralvagonzavod also to produce a down-rated “emergency” T-72B1 Obr. 2022 that lacks the Sosna-U sight.

Instead, the down-rated T-72 has an outdated 1PN96MT-02 analog thermal sight that’s comparable to the sights NATO armies installed on their own tanks back in the 1970s. This emergency T-72B1 Obr. 2022 is ... not a great tank.

 

[MagicSoccerSpray 1732]

19 minutes ago, PTINS said:

Anybody going to this?

 

I tried to sign up yesterday, but the link said it was full, so I got on the waiting list. Anyone who goes, please keep us posted.

[MillerEP 30501]

 

[MillerEP 30501]

^One less Su-25

[DDD Dad 14351]

16 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

^One less Su-25

[Gatorubet 30317]

14 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

^One less Su-25

When the much promised spring offensive happens, will Russia attempt it without active participation from its Air Force?  Which would be nice. Or will they go all-in and Ukraine’s various air defense systems eliminate much of Russia’s remaining ground support aircraft?

[Dahobbs 17687]

3 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

She is no doubt the babushka of my heart.  She could make me pelmeni for dinner, and we could make combat gear together.  What a sweet time.

I love pelmeni. 

[Viper 12112]

56 minutes ago, PTINS said:

Anybody going to this?

Pretty sure lobo will be there

[MillerEP 30501]

 

[MillerEP 30501]

 

[Brisketexan 105373]

2 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

That was fun Brisket, but why did you keep screaming ‘Sanna Marin!’

Umm....why WOULDN'T I?

1 hour ago, PTINS said:

Anybody going to this?

I am.  Looking forward to it.

[MillerEP 30501]

 

[MillerEP 30501]

 

[PTINS 3485]

6 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

What a magnificent machine, it’s odd now losing things like this hammer home the cost of the war. I’ve been close to a “baby” brother and the scale is hard to understand. 
 

We saw the AN-225 when it came to Oklahoma City in 1990, along w/ 2 Sukhoi Su-27's, the first time they had been showcased to the "west." Both were equally impressive, the wings of the 225 hanging over the taxiway on either side, and the way the plane appeared to fly in slow motion as it took off and lumbered around the airport.

The SU-27s were amazing, the equivalent of "chicks dig the long ball."  They had the stage to themselves, letting their balls hang. They did an ultra slow speed pass, pitched up at roughly a 45 ℉ angle.  I'll have to find my old photos, pre-digital age.  I don't think they allow this at airshows anymore. Seeing Soviet Fighters over Mid-America was an eerie feeling.

  

Notice the smaller C-141.

 

[MillerEP 30501]

^I guess promoting more corruption to appease the oligarchs?

[Rimbo 26127]

6 hours ago, Orange&White said:

This sounds so familiar... I can't quite put my finger on it...like another institution we are familiar with..

I'm sure I have no idea what you might be talking about.

pic unrelated

Edited February 7, 2023 by Rimbo

[Gatorubet 30317]

1 hour ago, MillerEP said:

Does this signal the diminution of Wagners influence? Prigozhin looks to have pushed too much too soon against the established military…and by association Putin.   Surely Putin can control Gazprom’s group far better than the power seeking Prigozhin - who created a private army more loyal to him than Putin.   Putin sat back and watched Wagner’s convicts get annihilated at Soledar.    Prolly not an accident.   

[Rimbo 26127]

2 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

Glad to see that Ukraine already has some familiarity with the gun and chassis. It will be useful in its main purpose:

True story: This scene is in none of Howard's Conan stories. It actually comes from Michael Prawdin (a Russian, no less)'s history, The Mongol Empire.

For some reason, this information seems appropriate for this thread.

Edited February 7, 2023 by Rimbo

[Gatorubet 30317]

1 minute ago, Rimbo said:

True story: This scene is in none of Howard's Conan stories. It actually comes from Michael Prawdin (a Russian, no less)'s The Mongol Empire.

For some reason, this information seems appropriate to be.

True that. As a kid, I read all of the Howard novels. I partly chose that GIF because of the Germany connection.

[atomheartbevo 89808]

 

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

Lol.  Lisbon.  Never stop until you reach Kamchatka.  

[Brisketexan 105373]

11 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

 

Which is why the West's goals should be the capitulation of Moscow.

Russia is at war with the western world now.  They have made no bones about it.  The Western world should fight Russia with everything they've got, and defeat Russia.  Moscow has to fall/burn for this defeat to take.  Now is the time - Russia chose this time, so now is when it happens.

Also, she needs to die.  Shot as she gets out of her car, whatever.  Drop her.

[DDD Dad 14351]

13 minutes ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

Lol.  Lisbon.  Never stop until you reach Kamchatka.  

[The Dog 44147]

 

[Gatorubet 30317]

boss has new strategy. This time we run faster.

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Gatorubet