Re: [GZG] Slightly OT - Hypothetical weapon question

It's more than likely that the same RPG is involved in each attack.

Most civilians get nervous around pistols.  Someone points a well known 
rocket launcher at them and they'll bet flashes of every war movie 
they've ever seen.  Grenades that go off like 500lb bombs, pistol shots 
that blow a man off his feet and 5 feet away, RPGs that blow up entire 
buildings.

The pirates want the vessel afloat so they can robit.  If they want to 
sink it, it's easy to hit a boat your stood on.

It's damned easy to make civilians surrender if you point an RPG at
them. 

The psychology behind it is MUCH better than the weapon.

Bill Brush wrote:
> I was discussing the pirate situation off Somalia with some sailors
> (civilian) and someone made a comment that an RPG at 100 yards would
> be sufficient to cause an immediate surrender.
>
> Now ignoring the psychological component of having an RPG fired at you
> let's consider the effectiveness of an RPG vs. a sailboat.
>
> My thoughts:
>
> Would an RPG warhead detonate against a fiberglass boat?  I'm unclear
> on the necessary impact needed to detonate one, but I wonder at
> whether or not a warhead designed for impact vs armor would even
> notice a plastic boat hull on it's way through.
>
> Assuming the warhead detonated, what would be the probable effect of
> the blast?  Small hole?  Big hole?  What would be the difference if it
> was a steel hull boat?
>
> Assuming the attackers were operating from some sort of comparatively
> small powerboat, would it be safe to fire an RPG from it?  I
> understand they have a significant backblast, which could endanger
> their own vessel.
>
> Could you even hit a moving boat, from a second moving boat, under
> open sea rollers?  They're a comparatively low-velocity weapon with a
> limited range.  I think it would be exceptionally difficult to get a
> solid hit that was anything other than luck, unless the firer was very
> well trained (unlike most pirates/terrorists.)  I mean the analog
> would be firing at a moving vehicle, from a moving vehicle while going
> over small hills.
>
> FWIW, my comment was that I would be much more concerned by an
> automatic weapon on a pintle , rather than an RPG as it's much harder
> to dodge 400-500 rounds/minute (or more.)  A Ma Deuce would make short
> work of any small craft, and an M60 or M249 would also make for a very
> bad day.
>
> I know we have a lot of current and former military here, as well as
> one combat engineer who is probably ready to go test this out.  :-)
>
> Bill
>
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