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  • #31
    Surely going to Kilworth would save time and money?
    Not allowed even fire 84mm, 12.7 0r 60m mortar in KIlworth any more!

    each module has its own firing, 20 mm s may not coincide with 40/57/76....

    76mm is fired remotely not physicaly. 57 mm gnr courses is a completely seperate animal.....and aimer and cpy of mount i 40/70...can be an O /sea...
    Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safe

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    • #32
      Originally posted by hptmurphy View Post
      Not allowed even fire 84mm, 12.7 0r 60m mortar in KIlworth any more!

      each module has its own firing, 20 mm s may not coincide with 40/57/76....

      76mm is fired remotely not physicaly. 57 mm gnr courses is a completely seperate animal.....and aimer and cpy of mount i 40/70...can be an O /sea...
      For test firing it seems to me that land based on a dedicated range is better than at sea. It is about proving the weapon. From a cost perspective even a drive to the Curragh is cheaper than mounting them on a ship (presumably removing the ships own weapons) and sailing out with all the test personnel on board. Then returning to disembark the test personnel etc. before replacing the ship's own weapons and returning on patrol.

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      • #33
        Like i said, if all you need to do is prove that a ship's small gun can cycle ammunition, you don't need to haul it hundreds of miles away from a naval dockyard. If you really need to fire projectiles, put it on a temporary platform on a smaller boat and take it out of the lovely big harbour it normally lives in and blaze away. It seems to me that this is someone's pet project that has grown legs from a clever idea(engineering-wise) to becoming policy.

        regards
        GttC

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        • #34
          Originally posted by GoneToTheCanner View Post
          Like i said, if all you need to do is prove that a ship's small gun can cycle ammunition, you don't need to haul it hundreds of miles away from a naval dockyard. If you really need to fire projectiles, put it on a temporary platform on a smaller boat and take it out of the lovely big harbour it normally lives in and blaze away. It seems to me that this is someone's pet project that has grown legs from a clever idea(engineering-wise) to becoming policy.

          regards
          GttC
          Whose boat? Who will drive it, is it certified to carry dangerous cargo? Are they crew haz qualified? Can it transit safely to the Danger area in all sea states? What about security for the trip? Who probides it?

          How much will that cost?
          Its slapped on the back of a drops. These are two a penny nowdays.
          You over estimate how specialised a truck with a hook lift is.


          Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

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          • #35
            As you have previously pointed out in other threads, every gas/oil field in the world has such boats and qualified crews on hand which meet those criteria and even the Cork harbour tugs could carry that DROPs platform with those guns aboard in a pinch. Rig service vessels with flat rear cargo decks, as i have been on, could easily do the job and are no strangers to Cork harbour. As for the availability of DROPs trucks, they are in continuous use in every unit that has them and there are not enough to meet basic demand. My opinion of this method of testing serviced guns is that it is a roundabout solution to a problem that should be solved closer to home.

            regards
            GttC

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            • #36
              Rig service vessel vs a tank of diesel in a truck to a presecured range?!

              This particular engineering delight seems to have disproportionally gotten on your nerves...

              Maybe they could drop into you in Wicklow on the return journey from Gormo and sort out your Air Corps navigational problems...I think those pesky choppers are making you grumpy!
              Last edited by Jetjock; 15 October 2012, 03:28.

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              • #37
                There's a good bit more to it, costwise, than a couple of tanks of diesel. The diesel is only part of the equation...... I have a big back garden so they can drop the guns off at my gaff and that'll sort out the heli problem (hint: I'm on nights)..... If it's okay for the Army to fire 30mm and bigger in the Glen, then let the Navy do the same. I still think it's illogical and expensive and pointless to drag two guns on a cross-country tour when they have all they need to do it at home. It smells of "sub run" to me, if not "Eng Officer's pet project". As an employee of a pillar of the private sector yourself, you would be horrified at the potential waste of tax euros, just to make a couple of small guns go bang

                regards
                GttC

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                • #38
                  Ah sure now I get it . Charter a Offshore Supply Vessel , that should cost less . Or get the Naval Dockyard to lash together a few 50 gal oil drums with some buckshee wodden pallets as a deck and have it paddled out to sea by a recruit class . I think we have all seen the Safehaven Video as to what to expect at the mouth of the harbour but It might work .
                  Don't spit in my Bouillabaisse .

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                  • #39
                    Who's to say that these weapons weren't part of a new delivery ??

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                    • #40
                      My opinion of this method of testing serviced guns is that it is a roundabout solution to a problem that should be solved closer to home.
                      Not the issue

                      Its about qualifying gunners of ranks to fire weapons under controlled conditions. From eons ago I remember one young man who needed to fire to pass his SG3..and was so sea sick on the day of the shoot he spent the day in the sick bay. Shooting to qualify should be under controlled conditions to ensure all aspects of training and safety are applied properly and are abled to be monitored without having to factor in factors as mentioned.

                      Its cheaper to bring two guns ona rig to the Glen or Gormanstown than it is to have to have ship put to sea to do it.


                      Who's to say that these weapons weren't part of a new delivery ??
                      me!

                      They aren't, they were bought as part of a job lot from the Germans about four years ago, thus all the ships bar Eithne were re equiped with Rh202's. There were also a couple extra which were retained for training.
                      Last edited by hptmurphy; 15 October 2012, 18:04.
                      Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safe

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                      • #41
                        Slightly related story . Not long after Eithne had been commissioned the two Rhinos onboard had to undergo some sort of test . So off we went for a half day trip in the harbour between Spike and Whitegate with a techie from the manufactuer on board . At this time Spike was in the hands of the Prison Service and some gouger who no longer liked the terms and conditions of his imprisonment legged it up the mast of the navagational aid on the shoreline of Spike and refused to come down . The test took place and many loud bangs later the terrified escapee changed his mind and desended back to earth . He thought the Eithne was sent to shoot him down .
                        Don't spit in my Bouillabaisse .

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                        • #42
                          Well, laners, given how past naval recruits were treated, back when civvie prisoners had better accomodation and the head of Prison Service had more pull than the FOCNS, then i'm sure a raft to escape Haulbowline wouldn't be a bad idea and as you know perfectly well, it is often quite calm at the mouth of the harbour. I've been there plenty of times myself. Like i said, if all you want to do is prove that a gun can cycle ammunition, you don't even need to leave the harbour, or the basin for that matter. No gun manufacturer in the world would tolerate a need to move guns hundreds of miles to test his weapons. If, as Hpt says, you need to qualify or requalify gunners, then you permanently base a gun at the appropriate range instead of dragging it around the country.

                          regards
                          GttC

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                          • #43
                            How do permanently base a gun that works from a fixed mount on a range?

                            I must remind you of the saga regarding the tank that broke down on Cemetary hill many years ago. It was considered too expensive to repair, but as the gun was functioning, it was decided to leave it in situ for crew training. Of course a security detail had to remain with the tank at all times to prevent the gun being stolen.
                            Eventually this was considered too expensive to continue. The DF at the time had no means available to move the tank so they decided to dig a large hole, and pushed(or dragged) the immovile armoured vehicle into it.
                            The Hole was then covered over.

                            Would it not be better perhaps to bolt the gun on some sort of flatbed arrangement and move it to the appropriate range when it needs to be test fired?

                            A test firing is a test firing. It is not the cycling of ammo. Worth noting that there is a similar rig in place to test fire Pilatus mounted weapons, without needing to mount them on the aircraft and fire them at the proper range on the day of the year when weather permits. Or do you think it would be better to lash it onto the back of an aircraft tug and fire it down the ramp?

                            As a whitegate Nimby I will object vigourously to any further wargames taking place in my neighbourhood. I'm sure Philips 66 would have one or two things to say about people test firing cannons at the harmour mouth too, with all the petroleum products and gas pipelines nearby.

                            What happened in the NS of the 1980s is nothing like what happens today, where everyone is treated with the same level of respect, regardless of rank.


                            Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

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                            • #44
                              Would make sense only if said guns are not being swapped in and out of ships for maintenance etc, which I assume is the case. I also assume they are being used as instructional aids pre firing for qualification. Putting them permanently at a range would necessitate moving an entire class there for course duration. Still sounds cheaper for a day trip.

                              It actually looks like a better overall solution if they are indeed a dual purpose calibration/training aid.

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                              • #45
                                store a weapon permanently?

                                build a garage in the armoury in gormo

                                store the weapon, the mount and its trailer there?

                                Just suggesting like...

                                but what do i know, im just a rock ape.
                                "He is an enemy officer taken in battle and entitled to fair treatment."
                                "No, sir. He's a sergeant, and they don't deserve no respect at all, sir. I should know. They're cunning and artful, if they're any good. I wouldn't mind if he was an officer, sir. But sergeants are clever."

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