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Military Urban Legends

One weird one that I had heard was that the Viet Cong would recycle M-72's for use as mortars.

The way the legend goes is that they would pick up a used LAW tube and gerry-rig a base plate using a nail and a piece of wood. These would then be deployed along the FEBA just before an assault. The troops would each have a 60 mm round, then as the assault began they would drop the round into the tube as they passed it, then carry on the assault. As the assault wave moved forward far enough to engage the defenders with small arms, the mortar rounds would be dropping in on the defensive positions.
I heard this story too, as a reason why you are supposed to break the tube afterwards...any truth at all to this? :o
 
Well all I know about the 84mm (and I‘m still convinced that Carl Gustaff was a Cpl in 3RCR in Baden, because that‘s what that Airforce types daughter told the MPs) is that for some reason we received the word on the Rock to keep a close eye on them and I got stuck with commanding an armed escort to go pick one up in Grandfalls, because it couldn‘t be tossed in the regular vehicle run to CFS St. John‘s. :warstory:
 
I heard that the Governor Generals Foot Guards forgot their Carl G on the side of the road after an ex, and when they remembered, an returned, it was gone.


As for the Viet Cong using M72 Laws as a mortar, havent heard of that

but I know they did use them as a home-made bomb, they crammed C4 and/or whatever explosives they could get, they would make bombs out of c-rats cans too. <-- heard about these from my father, who is a Vietnam Vet.
 
these tanks you guys are talking about are probably buried because during the world wars some tanks sunk in deep mud because they were not that great back in the 1940s if you want more info look the battla of verdun and the battle of the somme
 
bilal,

We have been discussing Urban Legends which, by definition, are unsubstantiated stories. Most of the Canadian bases these stories of sunken tanks have been told about were established or expanded to their current expanses in the 1940s and 1950s, they certainly never saw the shellfire that turned the battlefields of the First World War (1914-1918) like Verdun and the Somme into quagmires.

By the way, the dates for Verdun and the Somme were:

Verdun - February to June 1916
Battles of the Somme - 1916 and 1918

As discussed above, the closest match to this particular urban legend is the M113 that was buried in Meaford after an on-board fire.

Correspondents on the fourm include a number of long serving members of the Armoured Corps, if any of their regiments had actually lost a tank sunk in one of our training areas, I am quite sure it would not be lost knowledge. It‘s merely a story told to young soldiers (or officers) who may be susceptible to believing it because their more experienced Regimental brethren would never pull their legs, now would they?

Mike.
 
Wow.

It took me a while to regain my chair.

How did you manage to reply to that, sir?
 
The tank sinking on a sleeping soldier was in the early sixties, it was a Centurion tank in Wainwright Alta. We were on concentration (1PPCLI) at the time, I did not peronally witness it but it was to much panic and horror at the time to be a myth!
 
I have one. Scottish and Highland units that have Hackels (buncha feathers on stick behind the cap badge) on their balmorals. Some say it is to represent a lost battle or something dishonourable. Others say it is a good thing. Anyone know the truth?
 
Friends of mine who served with the Black Watch in Montreal told me much the same story as what The_Falcon has heard. They also added that a yellow hackle was intended to represent cowardice by the unit as a sign of disgrace.
 
I heard the same thing about the yellow hackle; that it represents 100 years of shame or something of that nature.

Other urban legends:

1. The girl who walks into the Junior Ranks Mess who is very pregnant, looking for her boyfriend "Carl Gustav".

2. I heard about a JNCO course in Wainwright who were spending a week in various defensive positions and, deciding that they didn‘t want to dig the trenches themselves, put in an Ad Rep for a digger (that Engineer Trench Digging Machine thing whose name eludes me). Apparently, the course staff, being the sadistic b@stards they are, managed to get the vehicle out to the field, ready for use, and then asked the troops, "Which one of you is qualified to operate this?" None of the troops could, and so they had to watch the thing drive out of the field again.

3. During WWII (not sure exactly when), apparently a patrol came across a stick of British Paratroopers dead on the ground, with their parachutes still intact. Apparently the static line broke in the plane, and they all died on impact. I don‘t think the Brits used reserve chutes in those days.
 
Whoa! Just a doggone minute (about the Black Watch hackle)!!
I‘m going to do this one from memory, so forgive me if it‘s not perfect ...

First of all, I remember being taught about the way hackles represented light and heavy infantry - that‘s why some were white, others were white-bottomed and red-topped.
However, the story I remember about the red hackle worn by the Black Watch dates back to the American War(s) - like I said, I can‘t remember the name of the battle without looking it up (sorry).
Anyway - they ran into a particularly nasty abbitis and were slaughtered - the survivors dipped their hackles in the blood of the fallen.
Sorry for not having a better memory, but I was only attached to the Watch for one year (and ... those gosh-darned aluminum mess tins ... eh? What was I saying ... ?)
 
Bossi the battle you‘re looking for was Fort Carrillon/Ticonderoga IIRC (and if I don‘t one of the two Michaels will be along shortly to correct me).

The white/red thing proabably refers to the fact that in line regiments of the British Army in the 19th Century, all ranks wore a tuft or plume on their shakos (or bonnets for Highland units). Red and White was for Line or regular heavy infantry companies in the Bn. Pure white was for the Grenadier Company and Grenn for the Lt. Company.

We did the whole hackle thing a few months back I beleive. A search on Blackwatch should bring up the details (Hey I sound just like Infanteer)

See CM‘s heard of my old trench buddy Cpl Gustav, and I‘ve the one about the stick of Paras too.
 
Yup, but I was trying to do it from memory ...
(and I remembered it was Ticonderoga, but then the phone rang ... next thing I knew, it was daylight ...)
 
As for the Viet Cong and the M-72 conversion to use as a mortar. Not likely. First off, the M-72 fires a 40mm round and although the VC did have 40mm mortars, they used 60mm stuff most of the time.

Besides, if they captured an M-72, why not just use it as is? They make fairly decent mortars without jury-rigging anything.
 
It‘s off topic, but who-yah for duct tape, as I‘ve learned this past weekend, lol.
 
Hmmm ... I could have sworn the last M72 I saw had "66mm" written on it ...
(but maybe it was "Super Sized" at MacDonald‘s ... ?)
 
Yeah the one about the Yellow Hackle is false as well.
The Lorne Scots wear the PRIMROSE (not yellow) hackle, which is originally the hackle of a British unit, the Lancashire Fusiliers (Primrose was their county colour). They were awarded the hackle for long (since the 1600‘s), outstanding service, after the Boer War. When the Fusilier Regiments were amalgamated in the 1960‘s, they were to lose their hackle, so their allied regiment, the Lorne Scots, adopted it as their own.

And, like someone else said, I heard troops were instructed to jump on the spent M72 tube, so that the enemy couldnt convert them into mortar tubes.
 
There is a rumor going around in Gagetown that an American fighter plane had to drop 4, 500pounders in the impact area because it needed to lose weight in order to save fuel. I have friends that work EOD and in Range Control that say they have heard it.. but other people on base say its false. Anyone know anything about it?
 
HHmm.. FAS says the M-72 is 66mm..

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m72.htm

On a completley unrelated topic, this is post 600 for me.. woo!!! Yes, I‘m easily amused.

(edit: Whoops, I fubared the typing, wrote 62 instead of 66 origionally..)
 
another urban legend I remembered


an officer bought a brand new BMW, but didnt want to pay for the shipping to move it across country or drive it across country, so he talked to the crew of a C-130, that was going to be flying to the base he was moving to.

So, the C-130 is in flight, an experiances problems early in its flight... and they start to lose altitude, and need to ditch some weight...

so, the rear doors on the C-130 open up, an out goes the BMW into the atlantic ocean
 
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