> --- Randall Joiner <rljoiner@mindspring.com> wrote:
OK, a lot of people are throwing around terms without defining them.
A "Drop Capsule" is drawn from Starship Troopers. The capsules are shot out
from the orbiting starship (Johnnie makes several references to there being a
significant initial kick) and drop down under power. The capsule then falls
apart (the inside of the shell
is radar-reflective and makes for good decoys) and the
power-armored trooper falls with a parachute. In
addition, the ship fires a series of capsules filled with decoys and jammers
et al to throw off the invader's systems. It is not clear how much maneuvering
ability they have.
The best-known use of Drop Capsules in an SF game was
in Traveller. The RCEG from TNE gives complete details about an entire family
of drop capsules. The Mk I carries a single solder in battle dress (ie,
powered armor). It's powered by liquid fuel thrusters
capable of .75G for 4 minutes. It has anti-radar and
anti-IR decoy launchers, and just for fun it's got a
missle rack with 2 anti-armor missles that the trooper
can use for fire support once he hits the DZ. The MkII familiy is a series of
unmanned varients including decoys, capsules which fall like a standard
capsule but are actually loaded with bombs, capsules which pop open and deploy
ARMs, and cargo capsules for heavy equipment.
So you do need maneuvering power, but the launching ship is shooting them
(how? Who cares, maybe big hydraulic rams. That's not my damn problem) into
the
atmosphere, with maneuvering capability in-atmosphere,
but no one needs to decelerate the capsules because they either have
parachutes or fall apart and the
cargo/passengers have
parachutes/paragliders/parawings.
In other words, drop capsules are for insertions which are going to strongly
resemble parachute operations. Insertion by shuttle will resemble amphibious
operations. The objection has been raised that no military would "throw away"
trained soldiers on a
one-way mission.
That's the mission profile of EVERY airborne operation. Sure, there's an
exfiltration plan or a plan to send in relief, but the likelyhood of that
actually happening is not 100%. Just ask those guys Monty left to die in
Arnhem while the Guards tankers were making tea.
> That's the mission profile of EVERY airborne
When exactly was the last major parachute operation? and why?
The advent of VTOL aircraft pretty much nailed the coffin shut on major para
drops. Special operations is another matter.
It's easy enough to envision our descendents forgetting the lessons of the
past and thinking,"gee it would be really neat to find a cheap way to drop
lots of troops. We can always pick them up after the battle is over..." But
that still differs from the WWII era when there was no practical way to pick
them up until the battle was over.
> When exactly was the last major parachute operation? and why?
I can remember reading in I think Westmoreland's memoirs that there was an
actual drop made in the Vietnam War, and I know there were a few operations by
the French in Vietnam in the 1950's.
Robert Minadeo schrieb:
> But that still differs from the WWII era when there was no
Actually, I don't think there are many who would claim that helicopters can
pick up a large force while a battle is raging around them. They still are too
vulnerable for that. Picking up a small troop, with other craft laying down
suppressive fire is more viable, but still very risky.
And unless make your landers flying AFV, I don't see that for SF either.
Greetings
> --- John Sowerby <sowerbyj@fiu.edu> wrote:
The last brigade-sized (plus Rangers) combat drop that
I know of was conducted in 1989 by a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division
into Panama. Why? To secure airfields to airland the rest of the division.
HOWEVER, I will note that since 1945, no airborne operations have been
conducted against a nation that had anything resembling a real air defense
capability.
> --- Robert Minadeo <raminad@earthlink.net> wrote:
> When exactly was the last major parachute operation?
1989, because the operation was launched from the US which is WAY the hell out
of the operation reach of any VTOL aircraft that I am aware of, in addition to
the minor factor of the speed of those helicoptors being such that it would
take way the hell to long to get to Panama. You can only stuff troops into a
chopper for so long.
> The advent of VTOL aircraft pretty much nailed the
1956 by French and Brits, one or two in Vietnam by the
173rd Abn BDE, some batallion-sized drops by the
French during their interventions in West Africa, Grenada (about a brigade's
worth of troops total), Panama. Oh, and the Sovs dropped some guys all over
Afghanistan, including a regiment on the Presidential
Palace (which was the worst-run decapitation operation
in the history of the universe. Could have been
handled by a platoon of _good_ operators).
> It's easy enough to envision our descendents
If you would like to exfiltrate under fire on a chopper, please go ahead. I
won't stand in your way.
I just don't plan on volunteering to go.
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Panama a brigade (hot war)
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