We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2010 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:59:23 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2012 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:51:12 -0600
It's been a while since my PMOS was 11H3P, (Heavy Antiarmor Section Leader, for those of you who aren't old enough to remember when 11H was a valid MOS,) but if I recall correctly, the minimum arming range for the warhead on the TOW is 200 meters.  The Missile Guidance Set doesn't send the signal to enable the fuse until enough milliseconds have passed for the missile to have travelled that distance.

What got us in the TOW community a trifle disconcerted was that there was one production lot of live-warhead TOW1 missiles out there in the early 80's which had the annoying habit of doing a 180 degree turn somewhere around 1000 meters downrange.  Of course, the radical turn broke the tracking-head's lock on the IR flare on the ass-end of the missile body, and the MGS would lose control of the missile, which would then crash and blow up.  I don't think anyone ever got hurt by one of those missiles, but there were a lot of guys who wound up having to change their shorts after one of those incidents.


]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108925 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108925 Sun, 01 Aug 2010 10:55:38 -0600 ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108918 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108918 Sun, 01 Aug 2010 06:32:03 -0600 Attila, that *does* have a certain panache, doesn't it? http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108883 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108883 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 07:41:51 -0600
Which means that if the break occurs on launch, it'll do an inside loop and try to re-insert itself into the launch tube, and with a live warhead, you don't want to be in the same neighborhood.

Best place to observe the consternation is from Low Earth Orbit...
]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108880 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108880 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:31:32 -0600 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108878 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108878 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 02:34:41 -0600
When you go to those things, just don't wear any colors that contrast sharply with the surroundings. Of course, if it's a G-model and it goes dumb and then wakes up and locks up on you in the forced-correlate mode, step sideways just before it hits you...it can't make that sharp a turn.
]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108877 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108877 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 02:32:13 -0600 ...an '03 bayonet flew off toward the crowd and artfully arced through the air landing just short of the full stands and quivered in the floor.

I doubt there's any former member of the Pershing Rifles who *doesn't* sport a "PR Scar" from a botched toss...

]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108847 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108847 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:13:57 -0600 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108836 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108836 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:50:40 -0600 Well, at least it was a *manly* bayonet! http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108833 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108833 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:24:14 -0600 ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108806 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108806 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:20:59 -0600 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108797 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/07/a_present_for_t.html#comment-108797 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:09:36 -0600