Angle
Cosine Indicator
BRITISH SNIPER CONTACT WITH IRAQ MILITIA IN
"AZ ZUBAYR" 24 MARCH 2003.
AT ABOUT
0900 ON THE 24 MARCH, MY C/S (call sign), 21E, WAS TASKED TO FIND
AND TAKE OUT A SENTRY ON THE ROOF OF A BAATH PARTY H.Q. BUILDING,
WHO WAS MANNING A 12.7mm HMG (heavy machine gun). OUR D.O.P. (drop
off point) WAS ABOUT 2.5 Kms FROM THE TGT(target) AREA. AFTER OBSERVING
THE TGT AREA FOR MOVEMENT, WE MOVED OFF AS A PAIR TOWARDS THE TGT.
THE GROUND
WAS OPEN AND THE COVER WAS SPARSE. WE CREPT ALONG THE EDGE OF A ROAD,
DOWN THE EDGE OF A SMALL OUT-LYING VILLAGE. WE GOT TO THE FRV (final
rendezvous) WHICH WE HAD CHOSEN FROM OFF THE MAP. THE MAP DISTANCE
TO TGT WAS ABOUT 1Km, BUT I WAS NOT A 100% SURE THAT THIS WAS THE
CORRECT DISTANCE, SO I USED THE LEICA 1200 (laser rangefinder) I HAD
PURCHASED BEFORE I DEPLOYED TO THE GULF, AND THE READING CAME BACK
AS 1080m. I FIRED THE LASER TWO MORE TIMES TO CONFIRM THE RANGE. I
THEN DECIDED THAT I REALLY NEEDED TO GET SLIGHTLY CLOSER, BUT MY OPTIONS
FOR COVER WERE NOW VERY LIMITED, SO I ALSO MEASURED THE ANGLE/COSINE
WITH MY ACI (ANGLE COSINE INDICATOR), IN CASE I WOULD HAVE TO TAKE
A SHOT FROM MY CURRENT POSITION. AGAIN, I HAD PURCHASED THIS ACI BEFORE
DEPLOYMENT, BEFORE THEY WERE ISSUED. WE MOVED OFF AGAIN, TRYING TO
GET CLOSER.
HOWEVER,
UNBEKNOWN TO US, A MILITIA PATROL WAS HEADING UP THE ROAD TOWARDS
US. AT THE SAME TIME AS WE CLEARED A BERM (sand bank) ON THE EDGE
OF THE ROAD, WE BOTH SAW EACH OTHER, AND OUR CLASSIC SNIPER TASK TURNED
INTO A CLASSIC FIREFIGHT!
WE FIRED
AT THEM, MY No2 GIVING A GOOD COUPLE OF LONG BURSTS. THE PATROL FIRED
BACK AT US WITH AK 47s. THE GUY ON THE ROOF THEN FIRED HIS 12.7mm
AT US. NEXT a 14.5mm AA GUN IN THE COMPOUND FIRED. THEN AN RPG (rocket
propelled grenade) TEAM FIRED A ROCKET AT THE CHALLENGER TANK THAT
CAME TO HELP US OUT - TO THIS DAY I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY CAME FROM,
BUT THE ROCKET JUST FLEW RIGHT BY US, AND FOR GOOD MEASURE, THEY GAVE
US A FEW MORTAR ROUNDS AS WELL. OUR TWO TANKS THEN FIRED INTO THE
BUILDING TO RUIN THEIR DAY.
MY SNIPER
TEAM ALSO GOT TO USE THE LEICAS, ACI AND THE KESTREL 4000 (weather
meter), WHILST DOING A COUNTER SNIPING JOB IN BASRA PALACE.
WE ALSO
USED THE PROCHRONO (chronograph) TO LOG AND RECORD MUZZLE VELOCITIES
WHILST TRAINING IN KUWAIT, SO THAT WE COULD USE THE DATA WITH THE
HANDSPRING COMPUTER AND "A TRAG" SOFTWARE.
ALL EQUIPMENT
WAS SUPPLIED BY GLOBAL RIFLE/ SNIPER SYSTEMS WITH PLENTY OF INFORMATION
SUPPORT.
Global
Rifle is based at Woodside Farm, Ashby Road, Stapleton, Leicestershire,
LE9 8JE, UK
Tel 01455 291100, (UK code is 0044) Fax 01455 292626 e mail paul@snipersystems.co.uk
Their website www.snipersystems.co.uk is full of good shooting gear.