- Joined
- Mar 14, 2015
- Messages
- 477
Not sure if this going to be an acceptable topic of discussion, but here goes.
I'm reading With The Old Breed by E.B Sledge in preparation to teach the War in The Pacific next semester, and on page 88, Sledge mentions a "unit of fire" and discusses the meaning in a footnote: "Determined from experience, a unit of fire was the amount of ammunition that would last, on average, for one day of heavy fighting. A unit of fire for the M1 rifle was 100 rounds; for the carbine, 45 rounds; for the 45 caliber pistol, 14 rounds..."
This is the first I have ever heard of this concept, and I wonder if there is a modern day equivalent. 100 rounds seems low to me. In my day, the standard load out was 210 rounds (M16 using the old ALICE gear), but, as I have been blessed with not ever having to actually be deployed, I don't know how long that was intended to last.
Can anyone speak to how many rounds our guys burn through in a day these days, just to have a comparison?
I'm reading With The Old Breed by E.B Sledge in preparation to teach the War in The Pacific next semester, and on page 88, Sledge mentions a "unit of fire" and discusses the meaning in a footnote: "Determined from experience, a unit of fire was the amount of ammunition that would last, on average, for one day of heavy fighting. A unit of fire for the M1 rifle was 100 rounds; for the carbine, 45 rounds; for the 45 caliber pistol, 14 rounds..."
This is the first I have ever heard of this concept, and I wonder if there is a modern day equivalent. 100 rounds seems low to me. In my day, the standard load out was 210 rounds (M16 using the old ALICE gear), but, as I have been blessed with not ever having to actually be deployed, I don't know how long that was intended to last.
Can anyone speak to how many rounds our guys burn through in a day these days, just to have a comparison?