thedrifter
08-04-04, 09:19 AM
August 02, 2004
Newest raiding craft is strong, (relatively) silent type
By C. Mark Brinkley
Times staff writer
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — One of the first things you notice about the Corps’ newest riverine boat is that you don’t notice it at all.
Despite the twin, 440-horsepower engines that can sneak more than a dozen combat-loaded Marines into your back yard at 50 mph, the new Small Unit Riverine Craft is fairly quiet.
It’s so quiet, you can carry on a conversation with the guy beside you while zooming across the open water at 35 mph. Try doing that on an old rigid raiding craft.
“They’re nice,” said Staff Sgt. Irwin Pollock, 35, platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon, Small Craft Company. “It’s actually nice to have a troop transport that has weapons on it.”
Oh yes, the weapons. The old raiding boats — basically just open-hull Boston Whalers powered by two 70-horsepower outboard motors — had no weapons other than those carried by passengers. They relied on speed.
The new SURCs are longer, about the size of the sturdy Riverine Assault Craft, and armed with as much firepower as their big brothers. Twin gun mounts at the front support two M240G machine guns, while a mount in the back can hold a .50-caliber machine gun or a MK-19 40mm grenade launcher.
“It’s a lot more boat, a lot more power,” Pollock said. “Plus, it’s about the same length as the RACs, but it can do a lot more.”
Decked out in desert camouflage paint, a preparation for their first combat test later this year in Iraq, the SURCs are cutting through the waterways near Camp Lejeune during the unit’s final pre- deployment training.
The fast, sleek boats are perfect for inserting Marines along the base’s riverbanks. Start to finish, an insertion exercise on July 22 took less than an hour.
“They still haven’t ‘delivered’ them to us, but we’re training on them as best as possible,” said Sgt. Travis Hogan, 31, the 4th Platoon guide. “With the rigid raiders, we wouldn’t be standing here right now talking, and that would have taken about two hours.”
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-MARINEPAPER-275181.php
Ellie
Newest raiding craft is strong, (relatively) silent type
By C. Mark Brinkley
Times staff writer
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — One of the first things you notice about the Corps’ newest riverine boat is that you don’t notice it at all.
Despite the twin, 440-horsepower engines that can sneak more than a dozen combat-loaded Marines into your back yard at 50 mph, the new Small Unit Riverine Craft is fairly quiet.
It’s so quiet, you can carry on a conversation with the guy beside you while zooming across the open water at 35 mph. Try doing that on an old rigid raiding craft.
“They’re nice,” said Staff Sgt. Irwin Pollock, 35, platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon, Small Craft Company. “It’s actually nice to have a troop transport that has weapons on it.”
Oh yes, the weapons. The old raiding boats — basically just open-hull Boston Whalers powered by two 70-horsepower outboard motors — had no weapons other than those carried by passengers. They relied on speed.
The new SURCs are longer, about the size of the sturdy Riverine Assault Craft, and armed with as much firepower as their big brothers. Twin gun mounts at the front support two M240G machine guns, while a mount in the back can hold a .50-caliber machine gun or a MK-19 40mm grenade launcher.
“It’s a lot more boat, a lot more power,” Pollock said. “Plus, it’s about the same length as the RACs, but it can do a lot more.”
Decked out in desert camouflage paint, a preparation for their first combat test later this year in Iraq, the SURCs are cutting through the waterways near Camp Lejeune during the unit’s final pre- deployment training.
The fast, sleek boats are perfect for inserting Marines along the base’s riverbanks. Start to finish, an insertion exercise on July 22 took less than an hour.
“They still haven’t ‘delivered’ them to us, but we’re training on them as best as possible,” said Sgt. Travis Hogan, 31, the 4th Platoon guide. “With the rigid raiders, we wouldn’t be standing here right now talking, and that would have taken about two hours.”
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-MARINEPAPER-275181.php
Ellie