Out of Mothballs: Obsolescent Weaponry on the T2k Battlefield

[Vespers War]

The March-April 1981 issue of the Field Artillery Journal mentions in passing that turretless M103s were used as mobile targets in the HELBAT (Human Engineering Laboratory Battalion Artillery Test) tests of laser designators. No live ammo was used in those tests, so the hulls would have survived, and it shows at least some were in running condition in the late 70s or extremely early 80s. I haven't found any later references to the M103 other than museum pieces.

[Homer]

I think most M103s, other than what was in a museum, ended their lives as range targets. There were some at Peason Ridge and on the Mk 19 range at fort polk serving as artillery or hard targets in the 1990s.

[Raellus]

Does it count if the equipment was never mothballed? Until I read the second article linked below, I was unaware that the Russians are currently using a submarine rescue ship that entered service in 1915! That's not a typo.

It was named the Volkhov before the Russian Revolution.

https://www.twz.com/russias-110-year...a-wreck-report

It seems that reports of the Kommuna's demise were greatly exaggerated.

https://www.twz.com/news-features/ru...claimed-strike

It looks like the Kommuna could make a pretty cool floating pirate base in T2k.

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[Vespers War]

I'd first heard about the ship when she was involved in salvaging Moskva after that ship's involuntary conversion to reef. Kommuna originally served as both a submarine rescue ship (attempting to raise sunken submarines before the crew perished) and as a tender, carrying 10 torpedoes, 50 tons of fuel, and 60 submariners for resupply of submarines at sea. Once submarines became too large for her to lift, she was reclassified as a salvage ship.

It was mothballed in the past and may not have been available for a Twilight scenario. In 1984 the ship was supposed to be transferred to the Russian Academy of Sciences. That didn't happen, she was laid up and looted, and I don't think she re-entered service until 1999 at the same time she was reclassified back to "rescue ship" instead of a "salvage ship," with modernized rescue equipment being added.

[CraigD6er]

Going back just a bit further in time than the WW2 tanks, or even the Russian sub rescue vessel, the Ukrainians are now using caltrops!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX-0518ar5M
Admittedly the Chinese versions of these are dropped by drone rather than thrown by hand, but the tyres on Russian trucks are shredded just the same. When tracked vehicles are becoming a rarity on the battlefield, and soft skin 'guntrucks' are the best some units can muster, then these seem to work just as well now as in the past.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by CraigD6er

Going back just a bit further in time than the WW2 tanks, or even the Russian sub rescue vessel, the Ukrainians are now using caltrops! Admittedly the Chinese versions of these are dropped by drone rather than thrown by hand, but the tyres on Russian trucks are shredded just the same. When tracked vehicles are becoming a rarity on the battlefield, and soft skin 'guntrucks' are the best some units can muster, then these seem to work just as well now as in the past.

You beat me to the punch! Good points, and I might add that caltrops were originally conceived as an area denial weapon for use against horse-mounted cavalry. In T2k, horse cav has made a comeback, so caltrops would also continue to maintain their original raison d'etre.

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[Raellus]

I wonder if anyone would bother trying to use balloons as bomb delivery vehicles during the Twilight War, after aircraft are grounded by lack of fuel and/or spare parts. The concept goes back at least to the 1940s. Both the British and the Japanese used balloons to deliver bombs and incendiary devices during World War II.

https://www.twz.com/news-features/uk...against-russia

Fitted with GPS to add a modicum of predictability and accuracy, Russian and Ukrainian balloon bombs are a little more high tech than their progenitors.

We also have this thread, dedicated to other tactical military uses for balloons (as observation platforms, AA obstacles, etc.):

https://forum.juhlin.com/showthread....light=balloons

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