Hammer’s question

After much deliberative research on the bazooka and its types of munition, I came to the same conclusion that Fehrenbach had originally developed. When comparing the stats on the bazooka and the T-34 tank, I found that the bazooka, regardless of the variant, was more than capable of penetrating the steel armor plating of the medium tank. The thickest part of the T-34’s armor plating is the front of the turret, and in times of the Korean war the steel plating was rated to be at 60mm. While the bazooka was rated to be capable of penetrating 89mm-102mm of steel armor plating.

Furthermore, I found that during the time of Korean War, the Army had already mass produced an updated HE round, the M28A2 along with a larger launcher, the M20 also known as the Super Bazooka. However, as told in “this kind of war,” due to budget cuts Task Force Smith was only armed with the older variant of the bazooka, known as the M9A1, and old WWII stockpile of M6A3 ammunition, which was capable of penetrating 3.4-4 inches (89mm-102mm) of armor plating. As mentioned earlier, the variant of bazooka or ammunition should not have been an issue as every bazooka the U.S. produced was rated to destroy virtually all types of medium armor. With that being said, the only conclusion I could deduce that could have contributed to the bazookas ineffectiveness during the TF Smith conflict was the weapon’s shelf life. Unfortunately, I was unable to find much information on longevity of launcher and whether that could have played a significant factor.

As for the steps required to put the bazooka into operation, I was unable to find any contributing factors that would have made the weapon ineffective. Although, there were factors that would significantly limit a gunner’s ability to hit his target or for the round to fire, but nothing to affect the lethality of the rocket launcher.

Steps on how to put bazooka into operation.

The first step in putting the rocket launcher into operation is to have the gunner conduct a functions test which involved engaging the trigger in order to test the electrical circuit. As the gunner would pull the trigger he would be looking for an illuminated green bulb to indicate there being a functioning electrical circuit, similar to the claymore test set. If the bazooka failed to light up when squeezing the trigger, the gunners first remedial action would be to change the batteries that bazooka operates from. During the times of the Korean War the bazooka was powered by two double AA batteries. If replacing the batteries did not fix the problem, the only other step would be to inspect and clean the firing mechanism. If the bazooka failed the functions test after cleaning the firing mechanism, the weapon was considered to be deadlined and unusable.

After inspecting the launcher, the gunner would then ensure that his back-blast area was clear.
Once the gunner had cleared his back-blast area for any obstructions, the loader would take the HE round and insert it in the launching tube. Depending on the type of munition the loader would arm the rocket accordingly. Once the HE round had been properly seated in the tube, the loader would be responsible for pulling the string attached to the firing pin, ensuring that the firing wire was protruding toward the end of projectile and hanging outside the tube. After completing the following steps, the rocket would be considered operable and ready to fire.

One parallel I was able to draw between the Soldiers of TF Smith and our own Soldiers/Leaders is having a sense of lackadaisicalness when it comes to being prepared to fight our enemy from the north. It seems as though, as a fighting force, we tend to underestimate our enemy’s ability to perform in combat and remain passive in our approach to their unethical/unlawful sanctions. Rather than just accept our eminent doom if we were to get hit any type of chemical munition/nerve agent, why not address the issue and resolve it? Time and time again, I’ve overheard subordinate soldiers speak their take on our enemy’s capabilities and how they foresee a future conflict with north Korea will ensue. As leaders in our respective organizations, I feel it’s important to stress the matters of lethargy and the impact it can have within our formations.