The Battle of Saipan: Green Beach

Source: The U.S. Marine Corps

     The Battle of Saipan commenced on June 15, 1944 where the U.S. Marine V Amphibious Corps squared off against elements of the Imperial Japanese Army's 31st. Army situated on the island. The combat raged across the 12 mile long and 5.6 mile wide island for a little over three weeks in one of the bloodiest and costliest battles of the Pacific War. The defenders of Saipan, namely the 43rd. Infantry Division and the 47th. Independent Mixed Brigade (among other assorted units), were commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito. Saito was a skilled commander and prepared the defenses of the beaches well by pre-sighting artillery, emplacing many dug-in machine-gun positions, setting up beach obstacles, and digging trench lines to protect his troops. Despite a long ship to shore bombardment, the Japanese were able to inflict heavy casualties upon the 2nd. and 4th. Marine Divisions which conducted the landings in four locations. Despite the Japanese fire, it was not enough to repulse the Marines who secured a 6 mile wide and nearly 1 mile deep beachhead by nightfall. The photograph here is, perhaps, one of the more famous of the many which came out of the Battle of Saipan. 

     It was taken by Marine Corps Sergeant James Burns and showed a man from the 2nd. Marine Division coming ashore after his LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked) was struck by a Japanese mortar round. The 2nd. Marine Division landed on Red and Green Beaches in the Northern Sector of the island. It is not known what beach Burns took the picture on however, it is possible it is Green Beach. On Red Beach, the 2nd. Marine Tank Battalion went in before the 2nd. Amphibian Tractor Battalion, the latter of which was equipped with LVTs. However, on Green Beach, it was the U.S. Army's 715th. Amphibian Tractor Battalion that brought in Marines. This unit was also equipped with LVTs and in this photograph, we can see two LVT(A) 4 models that were fitted with the turret off the M8 Gun Motor Carriage and thus had a short-barrel M2 or M3 75mm howitzer with which to provide close-support high-explosive firepower against fortified positions. The landings were to be conducted in waves but high embankments and thick tree lines made it impossible for the LVTs and Marine tanks to get off the beach and so the LVTs typically disembarked their troops, conducted support fire, then went back out to sea to their support ships so as not to congest the landing zones and risk being destroyed by Japanese artillery and mortar fire. Often, the LVTs carried the wounded off the beaches to waiting hospital ships when they departed. 

     It isn't known for certain who the crawling man is though some believe that it is PFC Clement William and if so, he was likely one of the crew of the LVT as his helmet lacks the camouflage cover as used by the Marines. The identity of the Marine behind him is also not known and given his uniform does not appear soaked, he may have left his position to help the men from the stricken LVT come ashore. 

     As for Saito, his tactics would draw out the battle for weeks but on July 7, 1944, he conducted the largest banzai charge of the war with over 4,000 men which lasted for fifteen hours and ended with the death of nearly every one of his men. All told, the Japanese lost 29,000 men while the U.S. suffered 2,949 dead with 10,464 wounded. As a note, despite the near destruction of the Japanese forces in the charge, Captain Sakae Oba and 46 other soldiers survived and refused to surrender, conducting guerrilla warfare against occupying U.S. forces until finally giving up on December 1, 1945.

Russo-Ukrainian War: The BRM-1K Korshun

Source: Public Affairs, 117rd. Heavy Mechanized Brigade

     A Ukrainian BRM-1K Korshun belonging to the 117th. Heavy Mechanized Brigade. The BRM-1K is a variant of the venerable BMP-1 IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) which first entered service in 1966. The Korshun (“Kite”) appeared in service after 1973 and is designed as a battlefield reconnaissance vehicle, equipped with an array of apparatus to allow the crew within the ability to gather a wide range of information.

     The 13-ton BRM-1K is powered by a UTD-20 6-cylinder, water-cooled diesel engine that develops 300 horsepower. It is paired to a manual transmission with a 6-speed gearbox (5 forward, 1 reverse). Top road speed is 40 miles per hour while off-road in suitable terrain, the maximum speed is 28 miles per hour. Like the BMP-1, the Korshun is amphibious and in calm water, a top speed of 5 miles per hour can be achieved. A total of 122 gallons of diesel fuel are carried which provide the Korshun with a maximum road range of 372 miles and off-road, 236 miles. 

     For armament, the Korshun retains the same 73mm 2A28 Grom low-pressure, smoothbore gun. The gun mount provides a maximum of 30 degrees of elevation and 4 degrees of gun depression while the turret permits 360 degrees of traverse. As the Korshun is not meant to engage the enemy unless forced to, the Korshun only carries 20 rounds of ammunition. By comparison, the BMP-1 carries 40 rounds. The gunner is provided with a 1PN22M gunsight. The two most common projectiles are the PG-15V HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) and the OG-15V HE-FRAG (High-Explosive Fragmentation) munitions. The Korshun has no provision for ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles). The PG-15V can penetrate up to 400mm of rolled homogeneous armor at a range of .8 of a mile. As for the OG-15V, it has a maximum indirect fire range of 2.7 miles and a direct fire range of .6 of a mile. Secondary armament consists of a co-axial PKT 7.62mm machine-gun which is provided with 2,000 rounds of ammunition in 250 round belts. The Korshun only has three gun ports, one on each side (towards the rear of the vehicle) with the third being in left rear door. This is one means to identify it from a BMP-1 which has three gun ports per side. Thus, the crew can employ their small arms if need be.

     The Korshun uses the same welded rolled steel armor as the BMP-1 to protect the 6 man crew (commander, driver, gunner, two radio operators, and an equipment operator). As such, the front of the hull has a maximum of 19mm of armor, between 16mm to 18mm on the sides, 16mm of armor on the rear of the Korshun, and 6mm of armor on the top. The turret supports 13mm thick frontal armor, 13mm on the sides and rear, and 6mm of armor on the turret top. As the Korshun seen in the photograph is a early production model, it lacks the fittings for the 902V Tucha smoke grenade launchers on the turret sides. However, the Korshun can inject diesel fuel onto the hot exhaust which generates a smoke screen. 

     Of course, the stock in trade of the BRM-1K is reconnaissance. In the back of the turret is a PSNR-5K (NATO reporting name Tall Mike) surveillance radar. When not in use, the dish is housed within the turret, beneath an armored cover (as shown in the photograph). When raised, the radar can detect vehicles at 4.3 miles and infantry at 1.2 miles. To enable communication between units and higher echelon forces, the Korshun has a R-123M, R-130, and R-148 radio set installed (hence, the two radio operators). Other equipment includes a ERRS-1 radio direction finder (37 mile maximum range), DKRM-1 laser range finder (5 mile maximum range), TNA-3 Kvadrat-1 (“Square-1”) navigation system, IMP-1 mine detector, PPChR radiological-chemical detection system, WPChR chemical detection system, 1G11N gyro-compass, 1T25 survey apparatus, and a pair of 1PN33B night binoculars for crew use. To power systems when the engine is off, the Koshun has a small AB-1-P gasoline powered APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) which has a 1 kilowatt output.

Russo-Ukrainian War: M113AS4 Armored Logistics Vehicle (ALV)

Source: ArmyInform

     Australia, as part of the country's military aid to Ukraine, provided a total of 56 M113AS4 armored vehicles. While many are the M113AS4 armored personnel carriers (APCs), it is clear some of the delivered vehicles were variants of the M113AS4. One of them is clearly shown here and that is the M113AS4 ALV (Armored Logistics Vehicle), here in service with the 33rd. Mechanized Brigade. Behind the M113AS4 ALV is another M113AS4 though what model cannot be accurately determined. Because is lacks a turret, it is possible it is a M113AS4 AA (Armored Ambulance). A characteristic of the Australian M113AS4, which is a improved version of the M113AS1 and M113AS3 (that are themselves modifications of the U.S. Army's M113A1 APC), is the lengthened chassis that adds a sixth road wheel. The ALV variant appeared in 2007 and in total, 50 of them were built. 

     Power for the 18-ton ALV comes from a Daimler-Chrysler MTU 6V199TE diesel engine that develops 350 horsepower which is paired to a ZF LSG 1000 R transmission, 8-speed gearbox (6 forward, 2 reverse), and a FFG manufactured final drive. The ALV has a top road speed of 40 miles per hour and with a total of 95 gallons of fuel, the ALV has a maximum cruise range of 310 miles. On the standard M113AS4 as well as the M113AS4 AA, the fuel tanks are mounted externally on the back of the vehicle. These can be seen with the vehicle behind the ALV. However, with the ALV, the tanks are moved inside the hull. The ALV is not amphibious.

     The rear bed has the capacity to carry up to 5 tons of cargo or up to 20 soldiers can pile onto the bed though they would not benefit from any armor protection.

     This particular ALV is not fitted with any armament though the mount for a 12.7mm heavy machine-gun is seen in front of the open hatch. Usually, the weapon of choice is a Browning M2 fitted to the mount along with a small ACAV (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle) armored shield to offer the gunner a measure of protection from the front. As a standard, 2,000 rounds of ammunition is carried though this can be adjusted as needed. The only other armament would be any small arms the two man crew would have.

     For protection of the crew and any passengers, the hull of the ALV sports armor able to resist 14.5x114mm API (Armor-Piercing Incendiary) ammunition which means the ALV has STANAG 4569 Level IV defense. Against 155mm shell fragments, the armor is proof against them at a minimum distance of 25 meters. Finally, the vehicle can withstand anti-tank mines with up to 22 pounds of explosive payload. To improve the level of protection, there are appliqué ceramic armor panels fitted to the hull sides and front and internally, there are spall liners. The crew has added their own appliqué armor in the form of slat armor screens around the hull and portions of the roof as a measure of defense against HEAT munitions.

     Other ALV features include a radio system which complies with MIL-STD-461D (control of electromagnetic emission and susceptibility characteristics), 24V electrical system (which includes four SLABs [Sealed Lead Acid Batteries], twin caliper disk brakes with a dual hydraulic circuit, and a cooling system capable of operating in conditions as hot as 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and the ability to ford up to 5 feet of water without preparation.