THE PENTOMIC ARMY LONG RANGE FIREPOWER

Between the years of 1957 and 1963, the U.S. Army took on a structure for its Infantry and Airborne branches called the "Pentomic". This was adopted by the U.S. to counter the possibility of enemy forces using tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield. There were five supporting units, which were commonly called battle groups. Pentomic comes from Greek, meaning, of five parts. This orientation film "Long Range Firepower" was produced by the United States Army and dates to the period from 1957 to 1962. It shows a wide variety of Army capabilities, including the M65 atomic cannon, as well as high tech missiles of various types including ground to air, ground to ground, and anti-missile. An animated image of the Earth is shown on screen at 0:47, the narrator begins. (Note: Using the pronoun "him" to describe all of humanity might be offensive today!) There is an image of cavemen fighting at 1:24. At 1:27, an image is shown of a caveman using a bow and arrow. At 1:32, soldiers are shown using a catapult. 1:38 shows a knight using a crossbow, the narrator says that "the people of that time said it was so horrible a weapon, they thought it would end war." At 1:54, an English knight using a longbow is displayed, and at 1:57, the words Crecy Agincourt come on the screen. The prologue ends, and the first section of the video starts, called the "Age of Explosives" at 2:04. At 2:08, a video of an early era infantry soldier is shown using one of the first rifles. At 2:26, a Revolutionary War era soldier is shown using a rifle. At 2:35, a still image of soldiers using an early cannon is displayed. At 2:38-2:44, an image of a forge and forgers creating weapons is shown on screen. At 2:45-3:14, footage of the advancement of artillery appears, culminating in the testing of an atomic bomb. The next section of the video starts at 3:21 "The Atomic Age". Footage of a mobile 105mm Howitzer is shown, the narrator describes that it is a devastating weapon. Then, an artillery unit that carries one low yield atomic warhead is shown at 3:40, and at 3:52, it is shown how many Howitzer HE shells equals just one low yield atomic warhead. At 4:13, full communication equipment is shown being transported by ground and air. At 4:33, the section on "Long Range Firepower" begins. The film shows a rocket, the "Honest John" being towed into place at 4:36. At 5 minutes, the narrator explains that the Honest John is one of the US Army’s "either, or" weapons. Rockets that carry either an atomic, or a high explosive warhead. The next section begins at 5:23, "Wide Range Communications," with the subsection titled "Long Ranging Firepower," and "Far Ranging Mobility!" The Redstone missile is shown at 5:37, the narrator explains its dimensions and that it is a long-range missile. The film shows soldiers arming and firing the rocket at 6:08. The missile launches at 6:27. A new section on dispersion begins at 6:43. The ballistic missile Corporal is shown at 6:50. At 7:17, the missile known as "Little John" is shown. It supports the military in basically any terrain due to its reduced sized, light weight, and mobility. The La Crosse is shown at 7:55, a surface-to-surface missile. The narrator appears on the screen for the first time at 8:33. He introduces the surface-to-air missiles, the Nike family. The first one shown is the Nike Ajax at 8:54. The second missile the Nike Hercules is shown at 8:57. The video shows the Nike Hercules destroying a plane at 9:33. The Nike Hawk is shown at 9:44. At 10:27 the M65 atomic cannon, often called Atomic Annie, is shown being moved and in position firing. A Pershing tank with a 90mm gun, .50, and .30 caliber machine guns is shown at 10:45. The soldiers Dart type anti-tank guided missile is shown at 11:08.

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Transcription

[Music] so [Music] since his time on earth began homo sapiens has been reacting to his environment an environment read with war and rumors of war [Music] so military invention marched with the centuries and the forward-looking and ingenious peoples survived through superior military organization tactics and sometimes weapons [Music] the long-range rapid fire of bow and arrow artillery deepened the battlefield and led to bigger and more powerful propulsive weapons the catapult [Music] the crossbow so horrible a missile that the people of that time said it would end war [Music] and the english longbow which did end the era of the human tank the knight in armor [Music] finally came the age of explosives here indeed was a new environment [Music] it developed slowly [Music] and as the environment changed so did the weapons [Music] with the development of modern metals and machines world environment ominously altered [Music] [Music] then in massive fury came the culmination of the age of explosives the age we live in the atomic age the 105 millimeter howitzer delivering high explosive is a devastating weapon pinpointing a target [Music] but consider an artillery piece delivering one low-yield atomic warhead one low-yield atomic warhead will release as much destructive energy as 21 600 105 millimeter howitzer high explosive shells all communication equipment was made readily transportable by ground and by air including centers and sub-centers which are really network switching stations for wire and radio communication the equipment for an entire command post can be assembled in helicopters 12 channel sets are being phased in [Music] firepower the 762 millimeter rocket honest job is already activated not only at home but also deployed with our forces overseas it is self-propelled on its launching platform so when it's air transported it is ready to go honest john is usually assigned in general support it is one of our either or weapons that is it delivers either an atomic or high explosive warhead [Music] wide-ranging communications long-ranging firepower far-ranging mobility redstone is approximately 65 feet long and about six feet in diameter it is one of our longer range missiles such long-range weapons need not be maneuvered for instant support of combat elements in the fluid situation which will develop on the atomic battlefield in spite of the depth of the modern battle area and the need for wide dispersion in its forward and most accessible portion army command will have here the means of quickly halting and destroying enemy penetration [Music] [Music] now for the [Music] dispersion corporal is a ballistic missile with excellent range and a devastating impact [Music] like honest john its fellow in the media missile command corporal is now deployed overseas well that this is little john due to supplement or perhaps even supplant honest john it is a 318 millimeter rocket self-propelled on its launcher and easily transported by air while little john's caliber is smaller than its big brothers its reduced size lighter weight and mobility enabled it to support troops of the infantry airborne and armored divisions in any terrain at short notice [Music] lacrosse is a surface-to-surface guided missile for both close and general support of ground troops its great accuracy makes it an ideal weapon for destroying point targets such as enemy bunkers and other fortifications the launcher is mounted on a two and a half ton 6x6 truck chassis so the missile can be moved quickly into position when called for it is ready for action within minutes [Music] lacrosse speeds directly to the bullseye selected there's another surface-to-surface dart-type missile which according to plan will become organic to the battle group in all three divisions we'll have a look at it when we get up there meanwhile let's get acquainted with the surface-to-air missile the nike family there is a nike family this is the original nike now called nike ajax and here is the next in line nike hercules which travels faster and further it can intercept an enemy plane flying at a very great altitude and destroy it miles away from the area hercules is defending its warhead he or nuclear is lethal against closely spaced aircraft in formation or single aircraft while nike a jackson hercules are knocking down the high altitude bombers hawk is designed to destroy aircraft that come in at treetop level hoping to be lost to radar's eye in the ground clutter [Music] hawk is a homing type missile [Music] once on its own it homes on its prey as a hawk pounces on a pigeon [Music] which despite its size and weight is readily mobile on the ground and so can speedily move forward to the attack it can deliver a huge nuclear charge with great accuracy however this weapon will be replaced by lighter weapons missiles and rockets able to do the same job in addition armed with the 90 millimeter gun and 50 and 30 caliber machine guns thus providing division troops with mobile and maneuverable firepower which is protected not only from small arms fire and fragmentation but also shielded from the blast radiation and thermal effects of atomic weapons organ this is the soldier's dart type missile an amazingly destructive weapon it weighs less than 100 pounds yet no known tank can withstand the armor-piercing thrust of its shaped charge warhead [Music] the missile is aimed and controlled after launching by sending electrical command through two guidance wires unreeling from bobbins under its bin [Music] [Music] a david among goliaths you

Sources

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