Combat Shotguns
In really close combat, there is nothing better than a shotgun (except maybe a flamethrower!) for hitting power. Marines use three different though similar commercial shotguns for CQB missions. The Remington 870, Winchester 1200, and Mossberg 590 have all been adapted for combat by adding a bayonet attachment, sling, and a phenolic buttplate to soften the recoil. Shotguns are not carried as a primary weapon (like the M 16A2 or MP-5N), but as special secondary weapons for use at close quarters. In addition to the obvious anti-personnel role, they can also be used to blow open a door (by blasting the lock or demolishing the hinges); and they make a fine 'non-lethal' riot-control device. A new family of shotgun shells from MK Ballistic Systems, called Flexible Baton-12, fires projectiles that look like small rubber beanbags. These deliver enough force to knock down a human being, without the blunt trauma often associated with so-called 'rubber' bullets.
Colonel Nance and his staff are now preparing to evaluate a more capable combat shotgun. Though the actual weapon has yet to be selected, it will certainly have a large magazine (thirty rounds or more), and provide a semi-/fully automatic firing capability. When the Marine Corps puts its stamp of approval on this new shotgun, it is likely to be procured by law enforcement agencies all over the world.
Foreign Weapons
Quietly and discreetly, Colonel Nance's Weapons Training Battalion introduces new Marines to some of the weapons that they may face or capture on future battlefields. The first reason is obvious: Marines in the field should recognize the sound of an enemy weapon being fired, and know to get down out of the line of fire. Many weapons, like the ubiquitous AK-47 combat rifle, have a highly distinctive sound signature, and knowing this can help you locate its firing position. In addition, knowing an enemy weapon allows you to identify its weaknesses, possibly giving you an edge in combat. Finally, Marines have to be ready to fight with what they can get if they are lost, cut off, or even abandoned (remember Wake Island and Guadalcanal). To this end, new Marines are indoctrinated in the characteristics of weapons used by other nations. Many of the foreign weapons that Marines learn about at Quantico are of crude but effective design like the AK-47. Thus, knowing how to use them will continue to be an important battle skill for Marines.
Grenades, Mines, Explosives, and Breaching Tools
While firearms are the primary tools of an infantryman, there are times when a gun will not do. Ordnance engineers like to say that there is no condition in the human experience that cannot be solved by an appropriately shaped, sized, timed, and detonated charge of high explosive. Explosive weapons have had an important place in close combat since the invention of the grenade several hundred years ago. Today's Marines can carry a variety of grenades, mines, and other devices in their rucksacks, and we're going to take a look at them here.
Hand Grenades
Shortly after gunpowder reached the West in the Middle Ages, some creative warrior took a handful of the new explosive, packed it into a container, lit a fuse, and threw it at his enemy. This was a good idea when it worked. The problem was that it didn't work all that often. Early grenades were frequently more dangerous to their users than their intended victims. Because of the unreliability of the explosive and fuses, you could never really be sure they were going to go off, or how big an explosion ('lethal blast radius') you would get.
Modern grenades commonly used by Marines include:
• M67 Fragmentation Grenade-Weighing 14 oz/.4 kg, it carries an explosive charge of 6.5 oz/ 184.6g of Composition B. When you pull the pin and release the safety handle (called a 'spoon'), there is roughly a four-to-five-second delay prior to detonation. When it goes off, it spews fragments out to a lethal distance of around fifteen meters/forty-nine feet. The user must either be under cover when it explodes, or throw it far enough to be safe from the blast.
• M7A3 CS Riot Hand Grenade-This is a 'non-lethal' device, designed to deter or incapacitate a rioting crowd. Weighing only 15.5 oz/.44 kg, it is loaded with a mixture of pelletized CS (tear gas) and a burning agent, which helps atomize and disperse the gas. When inhaled, ingested, or exposed to mucous membranes (eyes, mouth, etc.), it incapacitates the victim within fifteen to thirty seconds, with an effect duration of less than ten minutes following exposure to fresh air and, if necessary, water to flush the eyes and mouth. Troops using the M7A3 normally wear a gas mask to avoid exposure themselves.
• M18 Colored Smoke Hand Grenade-The M18 is not designed to kill or wound anyone. It simply marks areas for helicopter landing zones and no-shoot areas during strikes by aircraft and helicopters. Weighing some 19 oz/.54 kg, these grenades come in four varieties: red, green, yellow, or violet smoke. Each M 18 will generate smoke for approximately fifty to ninety seconds, and the volume of smoke is suf ficient for screening squad movements, if the wind is not too strong.
There is little research on improved hand grenades, since these do exactly what is required. The Marines maintain a stock of more than 1,138,000 grenades of all types, showing how important they are to the firepower of the Corps.
M203 40mm Grenade Launcher
One of the problems with hand grenades is that a human being (even Dan Marino) can only throw one so far. In World War I grenade-throwing attachments were developed for bolt-action rifles to provide more standoff range for the infantry. These were not direct-fire weapons, and they were not terribly accurate; the grenades had to be lofted, like a mortar round. During the Vietnam War the U.S. Army introduced the M79 grenade launcher (nicknamed the 'thump gun'). This stubby weapon, resembling an oversized, sawed-off shotgun, fired a 40mm shell, called a grenade, to a range of about 150 meters/492 feet. At this range, a good thump gunner could put a round through a door or window. Each 40mm projectile has about the same lethality as a hand grenade, but with considerably more accuracy and range. There are several different types (smoke, fragmentation, gas, flechette, etc.), with various effects.
The M79 was used extensively in Vietnam, and is still favored by law enforcement agencies for riot control and SWAT teams, but it is an extra weapon the soldier has to lug around that is not useful for anything else. Thus, the M203 grenade launcher was created. The M203 is a 'clip-on' device, which attaches to the bottom of the forward receiver of an M16A2 combat rifle. A Marine with the M203 still has full use of his M16A2, but he can also launch 40mm grenades. You load it by pushing the barrel of the M203 forward, and then sliding a round into the breech. By pulling the barrel tube backwards, you lock the weapon shut and are ready to fire. All you have to do is release the safety, aim the weapon, and pull the M203's trigger, located just forward of the magazine loading chute of the M16A2. Surprisingly, the M203 is quite accurate, and gunners can put rounds through a door or window at quite a good range. Each fire team includes one M203 gunner. It is a deadly little weapon, well liked by Marines.
