The post by benjamin (on the Survival Forum) about mortar attacks reminds me of a story told to me by a veteran of the USAF. This incident happened at Ton Sun Nhut airbase in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He was out among parked aircraft when a mortar attack occurred. When the first mortar round landed on the runway, he ran under an aircraft & up the ladder into it as the only protection available. After the attack was over, he realized that he had taken cover in a fully fuelled KC-135 Tanker (200,000 lbs. of jet fuel)! Perhaps the lesson here is that even when the **** is hitting the fan, you must remain conscious of what you are doing! Air Force personnel may feel safe if they are in any aircraft as opposed to any place else.

I'd have stayed away from the birds, myself- they are big and expensive and fragile. I know what I'm aiming my mortar at. :P

Yea tell me about it.......large aircraft....big target. That is why they call aircraft carriers 'bomb magnets'.

I spoke with the young EMTs yesterday who are being trained in my corp. They told me about the call they did and how chaotic it was because it involved a crash and NYPD officer so it was a high profile and sensitive at the same time. I just asked them who controlled the scene. They said that everything was going with the flow and mentions few snafus along the way. So basically what they told me is that scene was controling them. This is where I stoped them... I know that it is easier said than done but there must be someone in control of the situation. And some people are leaders and some are followers but the follower must be ready to pick up the ball when leader fails. They told me that there were many different agencies on scene and everyone wanted a piece. Now since it wasnt a crime scene or a fire scene, medical services are in charge of the patient. So they should have been in charge and get their point accross.

Your friend acted with clear mind that was fouled by survival. I never been under the mortar attack and don't know how long they last. Chances of getting hit by a mortat are pretty much all the same when you are in the open field since it is like playing the Lotto. Even running away from the attack would not have helped him if the plane with that much fuel exploded. He took cover from shnarpel and that's they best that he could do at the time. Unless situation involved a bunker that was the same distance away as the plane he used for cover. But he was clearly in charge of the situation and did the right thing at the time.

It helps when you have a clear mind and make up a plan (even if not the best one) and carry it out. Since after all its done it's easier to say that I did something instead of blaming yourself for doing nothing. Now if that was me hiding in fueled plane during mortar attack I'm sure my friend would make a Polish joke out of it. So in conclussion I rather be proactive and hide in a plane than stand in the middle of the field with my pants full sucking on a thumb.

Its occurred to me that if you're under any kind of shelling, -to get to a Crater Hole, -the more recently made the better. To get the Law of Averages working on your side. The probability is rather Slim that another, following Shell, -will land on your same crater. Shrapnel Spray and Blast from other nearby hits though, -can be quite another matter! And as time moves on during such shelling (unless it's sufficiently breif), -Keep Moving to another, more recently made, -Shell/Mortar/Bomb/etc, -caused Crater. [color:"black"] [/color] [email]riedmur[/email]

To some extent OT maybe, -but then again this is Around the Campfire!

Bomber Aircraft of course let their bombs out in whats known as a String. Thats how they hit their targets on the ground. Many of us have probably seen films of B-52 Strings hitting the ground. But "Only" a string of Bomb Craters results. To me, -that amounts to a lot of Ground Targets missed!

So my idea is to attach some sort of "Spreaders" onto each Bomb. Small pressurized Gas Thrusters, for instance. To spread out the Bomb Pattern on the way down. They would have to sufficiently spread the falling Bombload out, -during the half minute or so that it takes High Altitude Bombing to reach the ground. This should be Better for comprehensive coverage of more spread out targets, -such as Troop Masses, Supply Dumps, Tank Farms, Industrial Sites, etc.

Also, I've heard that a B-52 / BUFF,(another Top Ranking, Beloved Aircraft of mine!) -can carry about as many bombs under its Wings, -as it can in the Bomb Bay! Hopefully its capable of doing both at one and the same time! If so, -then *Un*-Equipped with such "Spreader Technology", -a different kind of String should now hit the ground in a ruffly aircraft shaped pattern. Better than the classic Bomb String pattern, -particularly for spread out Targets. But it still can be Much Improved via such "Spreaders"! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]ScottRezaLogan[/email]

Cluster bombs should do the trick, and are deployed in such fashion from time to time.

Think of it as dropping a cannister full of a couple hundred hand grenades, with a typical spread about 1.5 times the width of the plane wingtip to wingtip, with several planes in V formation.

I'm afraid statisticly it just doesn't work that way. A mortor or howitzer generally hits in a somewhat circular pattern. A crater does provide better protection than just lying at ground level, but the idea of "chasing splashes" as the Royal Navy used to do, works only if you know the bad guys are adjusting fire. It has nothing to do with the chance of two shells landing on the same spot.

He said that if the aircraft had been hit directly or hit by hot shrapnel, they wouldn't have found enough of him left to send home in a cigar box.

Thanks for your Clarification and Information. You *may* be Quite Right! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Woodsloafer[/email]

But do the Cluster Bomblets come in typical Bomb Weights of 250, 500 lbs and up? Clusters indeed are Great for their own purposes, -and indeed have Great Spreadability. But I'm referring to the Needs of typical Conventional Area Bombing, of a Target. [color:"black"] [/color] [email]benjammin[/email]