               | A TROOP'S REFLECTIONS ON THE MORTAR Taylor In the second platoon we mostly shot the mortars by "hip shooting". That was a means of directly aligning the mortar with the target and firing. The site was set at 3600 mils, which aligned the vertical crosshair with the tube. We would either estimate the range and bracket the target or if a tank was available, we would have them give us a range to the target. At the NDP's we would have around 10 rounds broke down to charge 1 or 0. These would be used for close in support. The tube would be elevated to a high angle also. The rounds would go around 100 meters more or less depending on the elevation. Illumination rounds were also kept for the same purpose. Go to our page showing aiming sticks, in actual use as intended by the military and as troopers used them in practical application. Skee We must have had aiming stakes and plotting board on 39 - I remember we used it twice in the 12 mo. I was there. Also had a baseplate so we could groundmount that puppy - which we did once at Cua Viet. I have no idea how many rounds we carried - just kept the racks full. We did carry Willy Pete on our track - always figured if we took an RPG it wouldn't matter if the little pieces of us burned on the way down or not. Don't know if you guys did this or not, but we always did our best to level the track so we could spin the tube and keep close to the same range all 360. Anything from digging holes for a track to driving part of it up on empty ammo crates - whatever it took to level her. Yes, we usually fired on "O" or "cheese" charge which meant 9 little bags of powder came off each round. We usually thru them in an empty tube case and touched it off periodically - kinda fun. At night we'd always have some illume w/ timers & charges set and safetys pulled. Pretty much the same w/ a few HE. Put the pins back in in the morning and recanned them for the ride.  26 G - Sharpe Less you forgot. You guys burned the bags in the morning and caused a flurry of peanut butter ambushes. You remember someone would throw a tin of raspberry jelly from a B1A unit in the fire. When it exploded red blood like looking jelly would hit all unsuspecting passer-by. Max We used an FO, forward observer, when possible, to direct the fire and coordinate the bracketing. It might be a grunt or a patrol leader who had called in for fire. We could use some info on the Davy Crockett sight. It was a missile sight that was adapted for use of the 81mm in Nam. I was trained exrensively on the 4 deuce mortar right up until I saw my first 81 at Quang Tri. We trained on the beach during most of the month of July. Everything we did was well-saturated with sand. Hey, we used a lot of chesse to heat up our rations. Faster and better than any microwave! |
Site Administrator Other Links
This site is in no way connected to, or sanctioned by, any official Army or Government entity. This is, and will be a work in progress; we apologize now for any errors and/or mistakes. Information for this site has been and will continue to be gathered from many different sources. It is intended as a place for fellow troopers, family and friends of A Troop 4th Squadron 12th Cavalry (Vietnam Era) to visit, seek contact with, gather information or some insight into the history, language and jargon of the people who were part of A Troop, then and now. A Troop 4/12 Cav (Vietnam Era) invites and encourages trooper's family members to participate in the troop's reunions, memorial services, remembrances of our fellow troopers who have passed on to Fiddler's Green, and to continue the camaraderie of the BROTHERHOOD....Long Live the Cav and its BROTHERHOOD!!
