1966 US Army Vietnam War ARMOR ... - Survival Books

WWW.SURVIVALEBOOKS.COMviding ground elements with low-yield nucleardirect or indirect fire support.9. Method of EmploymentThe Davy Crockett section is employed in7. Factors Governing Employment general support. Control of the section is retainedby the battalion commander. Calls forThe following factors must be considered in fire will be answered from all subordinate eleplanningfor the employment of the Davy ments; however, delivery of fires is subject toCrockett section:the guidance announced by the commander.a. Maximum and minimum ranges of the The battalion commander normally designatesweapon system.the priority of fires.b. Slow rate of fire of the weapon. 10. Fire Planningc. Requirements for registration or adjust- a. The battalion commander is responsiblement to deliver accurate indirect fire.for the planning and coordination of Davyd. The bulk, weight, and security require- Crockett fires. The Davy Crockett sectionment characteristics of the ammunition.leader, however, in coordination with the bate.The coordination, including minimum safe talion fire support coordinator and battalionsafe distances and warning of troops, neces- heavy mortar platoon leader, performs taskssary for the employment of nuclear fires. incident to planning Davy Crockett fire sup-port.f. The time required to dismount and lay the b. Based on the concept and other guidanceweapon.announced by the battalion commander, theg. The requirement for frequent displace- section leader, in coordination with the firement of the section and its teams to minimize support coordinator and the heavy mortar pladetectionby the enemy.toon leader, plans the fires of his section. Atsection level, the fire plan is usually an overlaythat is issued, time permitting, as an appendixother friendly units to assist in the security of to the battalion fire support plan. At team levtheweapons system.el, the fire plan will usually consist of conceni.Ammunition allocations and availability. trations plotted on the team leader's map.y. Relatively low maximum ordinate of pro- c. Fires are categorized either as scheduledjectile trajectory.or on call. Scheduled fires are planned onknown or suspected enemy positions and are8. Fundamentals of Employment fixed in accordance with a prearranged timeschedule, usually expressed in terms of H-hour.On-call fires are planned on known or suspectedenemy targets and are fired as requested bya. The Davy Crockett weapons system supported unit commanders. In addition tosupplements the firepower available to armor scheduled and on-call fires, targets of opportuunits.It must be employed in coordination nity may be engaged.with other fire support elements.d. There are no specific rules as to the typeb. The Davy Crockett should be employed of target to be engaged with Davy Crockettagainst the more dangerous enemy targets ofopportunity because of its responsiveness toweapons. In general, targets should be selectedwhich are vulnerable to the effects of the weaponand whose destruction is essential to the accomplishmentof the commander's mission.c. Authority to fire a Davy Crockett weapon Suitable targets are as follows:is retained by the battalion commander.(1) Personnel targets of platoon and comd.Davy Crockett weapons must be employed pany size. Fires should be plannedwell forward to maximize the range charac-into areas likely to be occupied byteristics of the system.units of this size, such as assembly338