| OTHER TOOLS AND MATERIALS
To see
the larger version of these photos, click on the small one.
- CONCERTINA WIRE: Coiled razor wire used
in Night Defense Position, Base Camps, etc. Coop
- GSR (GROUND SURVEILLANCE RADAR): GSR was short-range surveillance radar that was designed using 1950Ős technology to detect a target. Webpage on GSR Coop
- LITTLE JOE: was an auxillary generator
used to provide power to operate the tank's systems and keep the battery
charged when the engine was not running. it was used in the M-48 series
tanks. I believe it was only used in that series which had gasoline
engines and was not installed in those with diesel engines the M-48A3
series. Matt Spruill 19 Jul 2002
21:52
-
20 July 2002 0808 hrs: "You are right. The Little Joe was about the only
thing I missed when we got the A3's. I hated having to start the engine
to run the infrared spot light. The little joe made a whole lot less
noise :) John/okie/hogpen
- 19 July 2002 1136 hrs: "Little Jo was a 10 HP engine
powered generator to charge the batteries on an M48 tank but only the
gasoline powered ones." Wright
- 18 July 2002 2200 hrs: "You got my mind smokin on that
one. I do believe it is an aux motor on the gas engined M-48's...used to
charge the batteries."Mills
- 18 July 2002 2121hrs: "I was just wondering how many of
you tankers remember what a Little Joe was??? :) John/okie/hogpen
 
- MERMITE: One of the most prized items
was the mermite cooler; all of these items were acquired by various
means and none were strandard issue. No track was complete without one
or two; as you notice in the pic (Go to our web
page on Mermite) sometimes a paint job was required making it hard
to ID the previous owner. Coop
- Pierced Steel Plates (PSP): Used by
engineer units to make temporary runways for aircraft up to the size of
C-130s, and for other general construction projects in the combat zone.
The steel planks were about 2 feet wide, and 8 feet long, with slots and
notches formed in the side of each so that they could be connected
together. A do-it-yourself tinker toy airport, parking lot, or whatever
else you wanted to build. Useful in allowing airplanes to land and
vehicles to roll over the otherwise swampy ground. Good Photo of chopper on
PSP Duffy
 
- PISS TUBE: Two definitions. First
were the real piss tubes which the preventive medicine guys had
installed around the firebases for GI's to urinate in. Since there was
no running water, or indoor toilets, these metal tubes buried down to a
depth of 2 or 3 feet allowed the urine to soak in well below ground
level, and prevent the entire basecamp from smelling like a bar room
toilet. The other use of the name Piss Tube was as a nick name for the
mortars, drawn from the similar size & shape of those weapons to the
tactical urinals in the firebases.Good
 
- RPG SCREEN: An
RPG Screen was roughly a 12 foot long section of chain link fence
supported by 2 or 3 "U" shaped engineer stakes. The engineer stakes
were essentially 8 foot high steel fence posts. The stakes were usually
placed in a very shallow "V" shaped pattern, rather than in a straight
line, in order to provide more stability for the chain link fence, which
was then wired or hooked to them. This provided a screen about 10 feet
in front of the armored vehicles while in a night defensive position, to
protect the vehicles from an enemy fired RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade,
actually a shoulder fired, light antitank missile). The intent was to
either deflect the RPG so that it missed the vehicle altogether, or to
cause it to detonate far enough away that the shaped charge explosive
blast would not penetrate the vehicle's armor. Good
- STARLIGHT SCOPE: Image intensifier
using reflected light to identify targets at night.Coop
- TRIP FLARE: An illumination device that is set off by a trip wire pulling a safety pin (same same as a frag). Trip flares were used outside the perimeter in hope that Charlie would trip the flare and this would locate his position. Mills
- WATER BUFFALO: A 500 gallon water
trailer. Also GI slang term for the roast beef which we often ate while
in base camp.Good
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