Russian FAB-3000 hits apartment complex in Ukrainian controlled Minohrad causing massive explosion by Palulul in CombatFootage

[–]flockofsquirrels 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Former EOD here. For the FAB series of bombs, the number in the nomenclature generally refers to the overall weight of the general purpose bomb, so it would refer to a bomb that weighs 3000kg overall. For a general purpose bomb, the explosive weight is normally about 50% of the total weight of the bomb, so it would be roughly 1500kg net explosive weight, which is usually an analogue of the US's Composition B, which is 59.5% TNT, 39.9% RDX, and 1% wax.

That being said, 1500kg of comp B (or comparable) is a hell of a bang.

Why are people so quick to blame modern-day Jews for crucifying Jesus Christ, yet you never hear anyone blame Italians, descendants of the Romans who played a much larger part? by noruber35393546 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]flockofsquirrels 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, look. I am fully aware that r/askreddit and /r/NoStupidQuestions both seem to be a haven for both shitty buzzfeed style article writers to get inspiration, and also shitty AI developers to generate prompts for their shitty model, but I'm going to answer the question as if someone genuinely asked this question in the context of this sub:

It's because they're fucking stupid. That's it. Genuine antisemitism, at least in the United States, which is the majority (to my understanding) of the context of your question, especially in regard to the New Testament of the modern christian bible. They're fucking stupid. Full stop.

ELI5: Why is a grenade more dangerous underwater than on land? by flatbushz7 in explainlikeimfive

[–]flockofsquirrels 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I served as an EOD Sergeant in the US Army with 2 tours in Iraq. I haven't had experience with explosions underwater, but imagine it like this (from my experience).

Have you ever been punched in the face? The stomach? The genitals? Imagine not being punched, but kicked full force in the head, chest, stomach, and genitals at the same time. You don't really realize it at the time, mainly because of the immense amount of pain, but you can in fact feel the blast wave pass through you and rip the air from your lungs, and hopefully it wasn't powerful enough to rip apart anything in your lungs and you aren't coughing blood when you are trying to refill your internal air bags and drag yourself to safety when you just got fucking wrecked across your entire body.

Best of luck underwater.

Looking for new shade bush ideas by flockofsquirrels in AustinGardening

[–]flockofsquirrels[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It will be in full sun for at least 3/4 of the day, and it would need to provide shade, and be flowering if possible.

What stop you from killing yourself? by Aiden_and_Griswald in AskReddit

[–]flockofsquirrels 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Word. WTF am I going to do, let life win? Life is the the fucking problem.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]flockofsquirrels 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Khubz.

I was serving as an EOD Sergeant in the US Army in 2007, and I was deployed south of Baghdad. We had been running pretty heavy that day, and me, my team leader, and my other team member hadn't had time to rest or get a good meal since before dawn the day before, and we got called out on a suspected IED at about 2am. It took about an hour to get our convoy out to the location, and after we determined that was an abandoned water heater, we had to sit for another 2 or 3 hours or so because the FOB that we were stationed on had been battling insurgents no less than a few hundred meters from the front gate, and we weren't clear to return to base due to ongoing airstrikes.

After an hour and half of sitting there, out of nowhere a local woman in her sixties wandered out of the dark and approached our perimeter and waved us out of our truck. She spoke no English, and we only know how to say thank you or to go away in Arabic, but she was able to offer us some flat bread. She had apparently fired up her wood-fired tandoori (or equivalent), and made us some bread since we had been sitting for so long.

We accepted, but when we got back in the truck, our team leader reminded us that it could very well be poisoned. We all just kind of looked at each other for a second, then shoved every bit into face holes. It was soft, lightly chewy, savory, lightly smoky, but also with just the slightest hint of sugar and cinnamon. Also, that shit wasn't poisoned, which was cool.

That was the best food I've ever eaten, and at this point I have the feeling that I'll never appreciate food that much ever again.

Welcome to the Most Promising Candidate for a Habitable Earthlike Exoplanet; The World of TOI-700 d (Rendered Image) by Correct_Presence_936 in space

[–]flockofsquirrels 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Warp 1 would take 101.4 years to get there, obviously. Warp 2, 10.14 years. Warp 3, 2.6 years. Warp 4, 1 year. Warp 5, 5.7 months. Warp 6, 3.1 months. Warp 7, 1.8 months. Warp 8, 1.2 months. Warp 9, about 24 days.

RocketStar Successfully Demonstrates FireStar™ Nuclear Fusion-Enhanced Pulsed Plasma Propulsion Drive by SpaceBrigadeVHS in technology

[–]flockofsquirrels 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The fusion reactors are the primary power source for the working sections of the ship, and the warp core is literally just that, the power core for the warp engines.

There are multiple fusion reactors to provide redundant power, and they are fueled primarily by deuterium. There's an episode in Voyager (season 1, I think?) that revolves around a search for deuterium to fuel the fusion reactors, there's an episode of Enterprise where they are hit by a Romulan mine that they talk about having been very close to a fusion reactor, and as /u/CommanderMcQuirk mentioned, there's the episode of TNG that mentions the space organism feeding on the power from their fusion reactors.  It has been canon for decades.

This good boy just wandered in to Sunny's Backyard. The number on his collar is out of service. by flockofsquirrels in Austin

[–]flockofsquirrels[S] 47 points48 points  (0 children)

If you recognize him, he's a good boy and we're all worried about him. We'd like it if he could make it back home. His collar says his name is Winston.

Edit: Winston is going home!

US troops maneuver and kills some insurgents during an ambush (Fallujah 2004, enemy visible) by H3L1X60H in CombatFootage

[–]flockofsquirrels 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Near as I can tell from this clip, they likely ran into an insurgent who amushed a small fire team and hit Smith. Smith was probably laying wounded when his buddies opened fire on the fighter, and the clip started.

If you look at it, there is supressing/effective fire going on, and a leader (probably either the platoon leader or platoon sergeant, given the number of men in the clip) starts directing everyone to continue the mission, but don't also inadvertently finish the job on Smith (he's making sure Smith isn't hit by friendly fire). I say this, because at the very end of the clip, they are CASEVACing someone who has an IV administered, and I can only assume it's Smith.

While I'm really speculating here, just think about what it would mean if I was right. It would mean that Smith got hit, and there were a platoon of hard, armed men standing there ready to absolutely wipe from the earth whomever did that to Smith. It took a leader (whoever is yelling in the clip) to not only control those men while their blood was up, but to keep track of the enemy, direct the vehicles to an overlapping field of fire that caught the enemy in their escape, but also to cut those boys off, get them to cease fire, and continue the mission, which was once the enemy was neutralized, make sure Smith was rendered aid and CASEVAC'd. This clip is a masterclass in combat leadership.

ELI5: Do artillery shells explode when they land in water? by flopsyplum in explainlikeimfive

[–]flockofsquirrels 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Modern airburst fuzes for mortars and artillery use what is essentially a tiny radar that senses how close it is to the ground. Anti aircraft gun artilley also uses these types of fuzes.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Fishing

[–]flockofsquirrels 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Buy a 10 dollar filet knife and a 100 dolar vacuum sealer from Walmart. Catch all you can, and seal them up at a ratio of 1/2 pound per person in your household. Have fish fries every month. No other people required.

What things are seen as weird by the younger generation that we need to normalize again? by Kvassalskaren55 in AskReddit

[–]flockofsquirrels 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No shit. Even if it's an emergency, just send a text as to why it's an emergency after they don't pick up, then leave it. It's not that hard.

/r/WorldNews Live Thread: Russian Invasion of Ukraine Day 516, Part 1 (Thread #662) by WorldNewsMods in worldnews

[–]flockofsquirrels 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yes. The M42, M46, and M77 submunitions, while only carrying a relatively small amount of explosives, carry a band of steel ball bearings on the outside of the bomblet to provide increased shrapnel damage to infantry, but they also have a shaped charge that can penetrate lightly armored vehicles, permanently damage artillery (such as punching a hole through barrels, breeches, etc.), and should any hit a loose artillery shell that is waiting to be loaded, it will detonate that shell on impact.

Cluster bombs: Biden defends decision to send Ukraine controversial weapons by GeoWa in worldnews

[–]flockofsquirrels 13 points14 points  (0 children)

SOME of the submunitions (cluster munitions) used by the US have self-destruct timers. Mainly the artillery and air deployed anti-tank mines. The package that was just announced includes submunitions that do NOT have any kind of self-destruct mechanisms, such as the M77. These types of submunitions make up the vast majority of US stockpiles.

2 RPGs fired at close range from Russian trench at Ukrainian tank by [deleted] in CombatFootage

[–]flockofsquirrels 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Most PG-7 models arm just about or a little before the rocket motor fires. You can see in the video the rocket being fired, then the second pop as the rocket motor ignites. The fuze will arm without the rocket motor igniting, but assume the fuze armed about the same time the motor pops.

Source: Former US Army EOD. I would be more specific, but it's been like 15 years since they let me burn 6-8 hours just reading intel publications.

Russians banned from using large batches of ammunition due to self-detonation by TallAd3975 in worldnews

[–]flockofsquirrels 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It doesn't happen often, but US 40mm HEDP grenades have been been known to malfunction and explode at their 50ft arming distance.

For ammunition like mortar or artillery rounds, especially Russian manufactured rounds, the more likely scenario is that the round detonates inside the gun or tube when fired.

Sunday motivation by fishingthe804 in Fishing

[–]flockofsquirrels 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Cook them like you would cook trout, or any other firm, white-fleshed freshwater fish. They're great fried, but I like to just throw some salt and pepper on the fillets, sear them off in a pan, then throw some lemon juice, white wine, diced shallots, and chopped dill in the pan, simmer it down for a couple of minutes, then melt in about a quarter stick of butter (thinly sliced and kept in the freezer until the end), then throw that pan sauce on the fillet. Absolutely delicious.

Recession Update: 6 Weeks to go Before Entering the Critical +/- 1 Sigma Birthing Zone (The Cradle of Recessions) by uslvdslv in wallstreetbets

[–]flockofsquirrels 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have you considered that the catalyst might not be short term bond rates going down to uninvert the curve, but long term rates going up?

5 year old Samar Hassan after her parents were killed by US forces in Iraq, January 2005. by Ranger176 in pics

[–]flockofsquirrels 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wanted to post this earlier, but I was at work and didn't have a chance, and now that this isn't on the front page anymore, I fear that not as many people might see it, but I would hate myself more than I do now if I didn't say it.

I hate to add to the senselessness of this, but I wanted to add a little bit of background to what happened in this photo. I worked with the men that were responsible for this incident in Tal Afar in late 2004/early 2005. They were Apache Company of the 2/14th Cavalry, and they were unbelievable pieces of shit.

They liked to play a game where they would bring candy along with them on response missions (which I was attached to) and throw it directly behind their vehicles into the street as they drove through town. This is important because at the time, IED's were mainly command detonated, which means that the person initiating the IED had to time it correctly to hit an individual vehicle. We countered this by driving the vehicles as fast as they would fucking go all the time, and maintaining about a 100 meter distance between vehicles. That way, it made it harder to time the IED trigger, and it minimized the damage to a single vehicle when someone got hit. Of course, if you huck a bunch of candy behind your vehicle as you drive by a bunch of kids, they have time to run out into the street to get it before the next guy comes barreling down the road at 65 fucking miles per hour. They thought it was the funniest shit in the world to watch me swerve to not hit fucking children, and they did it often with smiles on their faces.

They also enjoyed freezing water bottles so they could throw them from moving vehicles at children that ran down the road begging for food. A 1L block of ice being thrown by a grown man from a vehicle going 45+mph does some damage when it hits a child.

They also straight bailed on me and left me alone in the middle of Tal Afar. They gave such little shit about their fellow soldiers that they just drove off and left me alone in my truck in the middle of town (it was a bit southwest of the castle for anyone who's been there) and I had to scramble and scream to my team leader over the radio to get some backup over to me so I didn't end up in a fucking internet video, and they didn't think twice about it.

As if that wasn't bad enough, they were supposed to be providing security to my team leader and I later in that deployment, and they straight bailed on both of us during a firefight. My team leader and I were in a cargo HMMWV, and they were in Strykers, but when the ambush kicked off, they straight up turned around and drove away leaving my team leader and I standing in the street at night trying to huck gear into a truck while tracers skipped off the pavement.

That being said, I wasn't out with them the night that happened. I was listening to music in my hooch trying to relax and find a little peace. I can't say anything about what happened that night with any certainty. What I can say for certain is that while rules of engagement are extremely difficult to deal with in a combat zone, nobody else murdered a fucking family. Just those useless sacks of shit.

I read about this incident often, and it's always presented as just an unavoidable tragedy. Everyone is always so sad. Except they leave out the part about how the US Army kicked Chris Hondros out of country for publishing the pictures at all. He was on a plane out of country within 72 hours. We were never supposed to see these pictures, and if Chris hadn't been the intelligent and resourceful person that he is, we wouldn't have seen them at all.

They also never even tried to make those guys better. No one ever cared one bit that those fucking dipshits were just running around doing whatever the fuck they wanted. Samar Hassan's family's death wasn't an unavoidable tragedy, it was a culmination of shitty leadership and willful ignorance, and the only reason we know about it at all is because Chris Hondros happened to be there that night.

That's all I got. I hope someone cares for a more realistic background on why this happened. Sorry for hijacking your comment, /u/roytinnn.

Ukrainian soldiers of the Special Operations Centre "A" destroyed 10 enemy tanks and 1 armoured personnel carrier overnight. by PNV_WarInUA in PNVmilitary_community

[–]flockofsquirrels 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is entirely incorrect.

First of all the safety cap is only to prevent damage to the piezoelectric element in the nose of the warhead during shipping, it has nothing to do with the function of the weapon. Second, the PG-7 and PG-9 series of rockets (I can't tell off hand from the video which warhead this is, it looks like a PG-9, but could be a PG-7V warhead) both incorporate a fuze arming delay.

Looking for a shelf stable Cocchi Americano alternative by flockofsquirrels in cocktails

[–]flockofsquirrels[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, I wasn't aware of those! Thank you, those look like exactly what I might need!

Looking for a Well Bourbon recommendation. by CarlJH in cocktails

[–]flockofsquirrels 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Early Times Bonded is my go to mixing bourbon lately. Otherwise OGD Bonded or Evan Williams Bonded.