I think I explained this earlier, but we are all under Maritime Expeditionary Security Forces, or MESF ("mee-sef"). This used to be called Naval Coastal Warfare. The smallest unit with all the different types of units is a Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron (MSRON). A MSRON has three kinds of divisions: boats, security forces, and command and control (C2). C2 consists of communications and sensor detachments, which are the only ones not deployed here in the NAG, though they've been here in the past. Now the C2 is provided by Destroyer Squadron 50 or a UK staff on a rotational basis.
Back to guns, this was an interesting week. First of all we did an underway 'live fire' training exercise from one of the boats, the first anyone can remember. I really pushed for this, and helped with all the planning. Hopefully have some pictures by the end of the week. Then Saturday I got to shoot both the .50 cal and M240 from KAAOT. So I'll start by explaining these crew-served weapons which we use on both the boats and the platform for what we collectively call (in the MESF community) 'point defense.'
M2 .50 Caliber Heavy Machine Gun
The Browning M2 .50 Caliber, Heavy Barrel, Flexible Machine Gun (or the M2HB Flexible, or just M2HB, or just M2, or most commonly the "fifty cal") is the biggest gun we have on the boats or platform. Unless you are Arnold Schwarzenegger you don't carry this around. Out here, we mount them on the bow and stern of the boats with about a 150 degree arc of fire. On both the boats and the platform the Mark 93 mount holds both gun and ammo. On the platform, or a larger ship, we also use a Mark 95 mount for a double .50 cal set-up. With the double mount, ammo feed mechanism, and double trigger assembly it weighs an impressive 7 tons. OK, I made that last part up. But its a big deal! I fired it a few weeks ago and you aren't going to swing this sucker around quickly.
50-cal on the stern of a 34' Sea Ark Security Boat(actually its on the port side, where we typically mount a M240)
"The M2 .50 caliber heavy barrel, flexible machine gun is an automatic, recoil-operated, disintegrating metallic link belt-fed, air-cooled, CSW (crew-served weapon) with adjustable headspace. It fires from a closed-bolt position and is capable of right- or left-hand feed." Translation: You depress the trigger and it goes bang-bang-bang continuously until you let up. Disintegrating links mean you get a pile of shells AND links at your feet, unlike the Iraqi DShK machine gun, where they reuse the belt. Closed-bolt position is generally safer, but not mentioned is the lack of a true safety on the single mounts. "The safety is your common sense" said the armorer on Saturday.
Getting a primer at my first .50 cal live fire"The M2 provides automatic weapon suppression fire for offensive and defensive purposes. This weapon can be used effectively against small boats, light-armored vehicles, and with limited effectiveness, against low, slow-flying aircraft." We're a defensive force, primarily concerned with small boats out here. A single round into the engine compartment of a dhow or enemy fast boat would probably be a mission kill. Against something larger, like a rouge tanker, I'm not so sure. You'd probably have to load it full of lead, and then it would take a while to come to a stop without its engines anyways. At least a tanker would present a much larger target!
Big guns, and bigger guns to maintain it ... we are well protected on KAAOT!"The gun is capable of single-shot as well as automatic fire and has a cyclic rate of fire of 450 to 550 rounds per minute. Maximum effective range is 1,830 meters with a maximum range of 7,400 meters." That is a lot of rounds. We fire in 3 to 5 round bursts. One, because it demonstrates control. Two, to conserve ammo. And three, to avoid a 'hot gun' situation where the barrel and gun get so hot the rounds start 'cooking off' even after the trigger is no longer depressed. If you fire more than 200 rounds in two minutes you should start to consider swapping the barrel. Basically you put on some oven mitts, unscrew and remove the hot barrel, and then attach a fresh cool one. I just helped clean the .50 cal we shot today and got to do this. Not much more to it than that (except head space and timing, which I won't go into here).
As I said at the start, this is our biggest gun, and it also has the biggest range. The 50-cal has a max effective range of 1829m and max range of 7200m. Which is great for shooting at bad guys, but bad for shooting for practice. It's very hard to get a "hot range" around the oil platforms with all the operations and local fishing traffic. The live fires seem to attract the fishermen. Maybe they want 50 caliber sized holes in their dhows?
Wikipedia link for 50-cal heavy machine gun.
M240 7.62mm Medium Machine Gun
The M240 is the other major crew-served weapon we use. It has essentially replaced the M60, and it is virtually identical. It uses 7.62mm ammo, which is the same as the older M14 rifle. This gives is a considerably shorter range than the M-2 50 cal, but much more stopping power than the M16 rifle, even though they have similar range. It's distinguishable by the carring handle , which is actually the back end of the barrel. There is a fundamental difference in employment between boats and platform. I'll go into that below.
"The M240 (series) medium machine gun is an automatic, air-cooled, link belt-fed, gas-operated weapon that fires from an open-bolt position." The scary thing for many people is the open-bolt position. In layman's terms (because that's my level of knowledge right now), the bolt stays to the rear when you charge the weapon. When you depress the trigger, the bolt goes forward, feeding a round into the chamber. In the same motion, the firing pin strikes the primer and away it goes (the bullet). The gas returns the bolt to the rear to do it again, as long as the trigger is still depressed. Confused? I hope not, that's as simple as I can make it!
"The M240 (series) can be fired from hand-held positions or from several types of mounts. The M240N model is designed with front and rear sights and is configured for mounting on tactical boats." The big difference between boats and security detachment is how they use the weapons. The boats mount them on port and starboard side, aft of the cabin, in the same mounts that can take the 50-cal. The SECDET uses them as 'mobile' weapons employed by the quick reaction force. Today we fired from the prone position, lying down on the deck and shooting under the lowest railing. Otherwise they can balance the bipod on top of a wider railing or other flat surface and fire standing up.
M240 on a boat somewhere out this way (and yes, that's one tough looking female sailor)"The M240 has a cyclic rate of fire of 550 rounds per minute. Maximum effective range is 1,800 meters witha maximum range of 3,725 meters." I did a bit of a reload drill, like the members of SECDET that were qualifying today. Basically shoot short chains of ammo and then reload. Actually very easy. And after the first couple belts I concentrated on using the sights a little more. I felt it was extremely accurate, especially from an elevated position. When I fired at Udari Range back in Kuwait you really had no idea what you were hitting. Just sand somewhere in the distance. Out here, we use a safety range of 4050 meters, and you can easy see to 3725 meters. You can really see the trajectory of the bullets when you observe someone else firing from the side.
Both crew served weapons have the exact same weapons handling commands, including LOAD, MAKE READY, FIRE, CEASE FIRE, UNLOAD, and UNLOAD, SHOW CLEAR. We use standard commands so there is no doubt the action being ordered. The majority of what we do is LOAD and UNLOAD. Several times a day the boat crews will go from 'Condition 3' (loaded) to 'Condition 4' (unloaded). SECDET on the platform refers to this as 'candy on the shelf' and 'candy off the shelf.' Both boats and security det. also give each other goofy call signs, but that's probably another post.
Wikipedia link for M240 medium machine gun.
NSV (DShK) Heavy Machine Gun
The "Dushka" as its called by most is the Iraqi Navy heavy machine gun. As we learned recently, it is actually an NSV or NSW, depending either on the translation or whether it was produced in Russian or the Poland (under license it appears, according to Wikipedia). NSV stands for the inventors, Nikitin, Sokolov and Volkov.
Everywhere there is a 50-cal on the platform there is a NSV right next to it. This is their equivalent. It fires 12.7 mm ammunition, which I believe is rightfully referred to as DShK ammo. The original DShK was used by Russia / USSR during WWII. Much like the U.S. and NATO, the size of the ammo became standard and newer weapons had to conform. 50 caliber means 0.5 inches, and 12.7 mm is equal to half an inch.
Wheel barrel full of NSV 12.7 ammoThe NSV weighs 55 kg, has a rate of fire of 13 shots per second, and an effective range of 1500 meters. This is slightly faster than the 50 cal, with a slightly shorter effective range.
Weekly ammo inventory by IqMHere on KAAOT, they are mounted on some of our SES stands by simply welding the mounting pintle to the bottom of the NSV mount. On the Iraqi naval vessels they mount one forward. Their Defender boats will have a smaller machine gun, something more analagous to our M240.
Wikipedia link for NSV heavy machine gun.
Rest of the Week
It was a little bit slower this week with some of my forces off station. We had a couple of tankers here at KAAOT, a bit of a rare sight. Only the 3rd and 4th since I've been here. I was out on a run one day and saw a chance for a repeat of my tanker shot from ABOT. So grabbed my camera on about the 3rd or 4th lap and gave her a go.
Had some much better sunsets the next couple days. I took this one right outside my hooch.
Finally, one more as one of the tankers was passed the south complex near sunset. Bon voyage, tanker!
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