Early into the war for American Independence, General George Washington, commander & chief of the Army and Navy at the time, knew that in order to reign victorious, it was important to gain naval superiority against Britain. Naval supremacy would give General Washington the ability to keep British vessels from getting safely to harbor to provide supplies, troops, or evacuation efforts for British soldiers fighting inland at the Battle of Virginia Capes, in which General Cornwallis surrendered (Potter, p.52-53). Since then, the United States has continued this long tradition of a strong and powerful Navy. However, in order to take on the beaches of hostile territories, the Navy needs the help of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The Marine …show more content…
These structures of Marine forces serve as a worldwide service and can be deployed anywhere within a matter of 48 hours (The US Marine Corps, Types of MAGTFS). This structure of highly trained Marines and Sailors require several technologies to get these forces from sea-to-shore in a timely manner, while still having the ability to protect the Marines on board, and ultimately get them in a position where they are able to accomplish the mission with ease. Arguably, the most influential piece of technology that has contributed to the MAGTF’s goals of logistical support would be the introduction of the Amphibious Assault Vehicle …show more content…
The introduction of this technology has further enabled to Marine Corps to deploy from a Navy vessel, such as a LHD, with great efficiency (The US Navy). The AAV-7 brought both the capabilities of a small landing boat, such as the Higgins boat, and an armored tracked vehicle with weapon systems that could be easily attached. Along with this, the AAV-7 has the ability to carry more than 5 tons of gear and up to 24 Marines (three of which are the crew) on board. Probably the biggest benefit the AAV-7 has brought is it’s enhancement of armor. The AAV-7 is covered entirely with a heavy aluminum haul, which provides Marines with the protection they need to get closer to their objective. This was a tremendous enhancement to amphibious assaults by ensuring the protection and survivability of Marines against enemy counter attacks (US Marine Corps, AAV-1). Without a versatile vehicle such as this, ensuring the delivery of troops and supplies ashore would be impossible.
Conclusion
As the United States Marine Corps continues its mission at maintaining itself as a global peacekeeper, the need for more technology is going to arise in order to ensure that its goals keep in place. One piece of technology that will continue to be one of the most desired pieces of machinery that the Marine Corps continues to develop would be the AAV-7. Its implementation has improved the MAGTFs goals efficient logistics support
It manned 471 fighting ships of various types. Its primary task was protecting the supply and troops ships across the Atlantic that were headed for Canadian and Britain troops. It carried an ever increasing duty of this, fighting some grim battles that lasted several days with U-boats. They also brought the troops to fight on Normandy beach, which killed many including boat drivers. They lost 24 warships during WW2, ranging from their best to lower quality, and less powerful ships.
This ultimately showed that Marines would prevail, regardless of cost, even when called to serve in places far outside of their traditional roles, and despite having every reason to stop and reconsider the wisdom of what they had been tasked to
“Washington wrote in his Memorandum for Concerning a Plan of Operations “In any operation, under all circumstances, a decisive Naval superiority is to be considered a fundamental principle and the basis upon which every hope of success must ultimately depend”” (Nelson) The battle in the Virginia capes was a battle that American forces did not even participate in. This battle is still considered one of the biggest victories that happened throughout the Revolutionary war. “This battle — called variously the “Battle of the Chesapeake,” or the “Battle of the Virginia Capes” — is one very few Americans have even heard of. This is probably due to the fact that no Americans took part in the battle — or even witnessed it (except perhaps from afar) — because it was a slugfest between the British and the French navies” (Weigant).
General William Westmoreland called the helicopter air assault “the most innovative tactical development to emerge from the Vietnam War” (Carland, 2003). In February 1963 on the recommendation of the U.S. Army Tactical Mobility Requirements Board, otherwise known as the Howze Board after its president LTG Hamilton Howze, the 11th Airborne Division was reactivated as the 11th Air Assault Division (test). Their mission, to train in the theory and evolution of the air assault concept. Training continued until 1965 when the division was deactivated and reflagged as the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Shortly thereafter the division began deploying South Vietnam.
Carey describes in his book “ PV Ventura/Harpoon Units of WW II”, “Night fighting was a complicated undertaking which involved not only the aircraft and crew, but a ground controller (Ground Control Intercept (GCI), using a mobile scr-527A radar) whose task it was to guide the aeroplane to the interception point, where the PV-1 radar operator took over locating the “bogey” (enemy aircraft)”. Staff Sgt. Ralph W. Emerson of Minot, Maine was one of the first marines to be trained and assigned as a PV-1 radar operator. Ssgt. Emerson joined the Marine Corps in September, 1941, and after basic training at Parris Island, he was sent to aviation and radar school.
M4 Sherman Designed after the defeat of the french army the United States engineers this tank transforms into a bulldozer tank but by far this was not the best tank in WW2. M4A4 Sherman
“It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.” These words were spoken by Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general in the Civil War. While the battles during the war were indeed terrible, there was also several aspects General Lee missed in his description. The need to constantly improve during the war allowed for several technological, pharmaceutical, and strategic advances nationwide. However, these changes did not happen overnight.
An average riverine battery consisted of three pontoon barges and five LCMs—three as push boats for the barges, one as a fire direction center and command post, and one as an ammunition supply vessel. “Without these new developments in riverine artillery. U.S. maneuver force activities in the delta area would have been seriously curtailed or often would have had to take place out of range of friendly field artillery” (Ott, 1995, p. 80). Riverine artillery was one example of how artillery commanders made technological advances to overcome the obstacles presented in Vietnam.
This machine had amazing power because of its weaponry and the material it was made out of. The material it was made out of was pure metal, this was a good idea because it would last longer in fights. It would last longer because wooden boats would just get ripped to shreds and metal boats would take longer to break through. Another thing that made it overwhelmed with power would be the turret it had. The turret would be able to move 360 degrees to its target.
They made evident their usefulness on the battlefield not only here, but also when being used to break stalemates in battle such as “Heartbreak Ridge” and “Porkchop Hill.” As AAA units continued to fight, they only proved more and more how essential they were as technology progressed. In Vietnam, ADA had virtually air superiority, but made a name for themselves regardless. ADA soldiers earned some 450 medals for valor and more than 1000 purple hearts. The Army saw just how important air defense was and it became its own branch, and thus Air Defense Artillery was born.
Artillery units assisted in as much as they could including battalions and other companies. Air defense Artillery sections helped defend armor, field artillery, infantry units, and airfields. Weapons were used to fire directly and indirectly, as they were designed to be used for air defense missions. The weapons made and used were the M163 Vulcan, M42A1 Skysweeper, and MIM23 Hawk, meanwhile these
Air Defenders served an important role for the nation during the Vietnam War era. The Soldiers of the era showed great resourcefulness and ability to adapt to changing circumstances when faced with threats and challenges that were unforeseen at the outset of the conflict. By adapting existing technology to serve in roles and tasks beyond what they were originally designed to accomplish and by showing great
The war machine was the next Batmobile. It was created in 1986 and was the first ever Batmobile to go full-tank (Digg). This Batmobile has heavy artillery and rubber bullets. This impenetrable armor would be able to take damage.
The recent technological developments and military operational demands are leading to increasing levels of autonomous weapons systems Autonomous weapons have been used in military operations. There are three categories of autonomous weapons: in the loop, on the loop, or off the loop. We mainly use in the loop and on the loop because they both need humans to operate the machines. However, off the loop is fully autonomous weapons. A fully autonomous weapon is one that can independently detect and attack targets without the need for humans.
This also gave the engine a 35hp/ton ratio. This was all sacrificed for greatly improved firepower. The tank itself weighs 11.5 tons, carries a crew of 3, has 6-13mm armor,400 hp, and a top speed 0f 72 km/h(45