AH Challange: DAVY CROCKETT M-388 used in combat

your challange should you chose to accept it is to have this weapon be used in a combat siutation

your pod must be after jan 1 1960

bonus points if ww3 isnt a component of your story
 
yes of course...

this weapon always fell under the what the hell were they thinking area

giving a platoon seargent the ability to unleash nukes?

i could see it being tremendously useful in vietnam against vc and nva company areas or mass charges... propaganda would be a real issue though
 
Actually, a rather hard scenario, given the restrictions.

Basically, it is only useful in the context of a NATO army needing to immediatly stop a massive oncoming conventional advance. Outside of western europe, not to many theatres where this was considered a probable scenario.

You may need a much greater proliferation of nuclear weapons to states allied with the United States, and/or a world in which limited nuclear warfare is considered more acceptable on a tactical level.
 
Deployed during the battle of Khe Sanh in 1968. Although useful during the battle and securing the inevitable American victory, fallout was dispersed by artillery fire and conventional air bombing, which led to high cancer death rates amongst former servicemen from the garrison and a large compensation battle between former servicemen and their families with the armed forces in the courts over the proceeding decades.
 
Using the nuclear warhead in SEA is out of the question for very obvious reasons, so you'd need an alternative warhead or warheads. There's several possibles: one would be obvious: ordinary HE, perhaps with airburst or contact fuzing. Then there's another possible: WP (White Phosphorous) for either target marking or for burning the NVA out of whatever trenches or bunkers they're in....scares the hell out of everyone I know who's been in combat (I know vets from WW II, Korea, SEA, Gulf I and Gulf II). And in a direct-fire mode, if your firebase or base camp is under attack from VC or NVA infantry, there's a beehive round available, packed with flechettes. All those nails flying will turn a company into a platoon pretty fast....after the first use of these in 105 rounds, dead NVA were found nailed to trees, or had their AKs pinned to their bodies.
 
Getting nuclear warheads small enough to fit on a oversized recoilless rifle(which the Davy Crockett basically was) didn't happen until the mid 1950s. The smallest nuclear warhead at the time of Korea was either the Mark-7 gravity bomb used by the USAF, (first tactical nuke for aircraft) or the 280-mm "Atomic Annie" artillery shell (15 KT). Warhead for the Davy Crockett was the W-54, also used in the AIM-26A Nuclear Falcon AAM. Yield .25 KT in the AAM, about 10-20 tons in the Davy Crockett. Production began in '56, but wasn't deployed until 1961. Out of Army service in 1971. The warhead was also used in the SADM (Special Atomic Demolition Munition), with a variable yield up to 1 KT)
 
IMHO most likely non-NATO/WWIII scenario for the Davy Crockett would be N. Korea attacking south some time in the early 1960's, perhaps with some Chinese support. Against troops/armor channelized in Korean valleys could be quite effective. Also, if fired from ridgeline, this allows the crew to get on to reverse slope to protect from blast.
 
Anyone know if there was any thought to giving it a gas warhead? Would have the area to make up for relative inaccuracy without the fragging and some political problems of nukes.
 
Never thought of Korea, but that's a pretty likely scenario. And the ridges would give cover to the firing teams. And after the Davy Crocketts get fired, the division-level 8-inch howitzers and Honest John Rockets add their fuel to the nuclear fire.

From what I've read, a gas warhead wasn't even considered.
 
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