Re: Ballistics

["Robert J. Hansen" <rjhansen@xxxxxxxx>]

> i believe it was a morale thing more than any expectation of actual
> damage.  they guys had bolt action rifles so the number of rounds in the
> air would have been tiny by modern standards.

You'd be surprised.  It's not hard to hit a slow-moving low-flying object.  
I've seen riflemen shoot skeet with a bolt-action before.  If they can hit 
a 3-inch target traveling anywhere between 45 and 60mph, the first time, 
every time, I don't think they'd have much trouble hitting a 240-inch 
target traveling at 120mph.

As an example, look at the AH-64A Apache.  The body is armored to protect 
from up to 23mm cannon fire, but the cockpit canopy is made of safety 
glass.  (At least they were; maybe they've changed this dumb$h!t design 
since I last heard.)  As a result, the Apache is very vulnerable when it's 
doing NOE flight; an infantry unit on a hilltop is plenty capable of 
putting rounds into the cockpit.

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