Questions of policy aside, exactly how difficult were the 3 shots that killed 3 Somalian hijackers the other day? Does anyone have any info as to the specific conditions? What was the distance? The height discrepancy? The seas? How were they coordinated?
I was wondering why this option wasn’t pursued earlier, but decided my ideas of what was possible had been tainted by too many action movies, and figured I couldn’t imagine how tough it would be to pull these shots off. And then - to my surprise - what I had convinced myself was undoable was done!
I am curious too, and I wonder if we’ll ever know.
I had heard the US forces were keeping their distance, and the raft was covered. One wonders if the shots were taken from a closer range b/c our forces were able to get closer covertly, and whether or not infrared needed to be used to see through the raft covering. I’m also curious about whether we are talking about single magic bullet shots simultaneously dropping the pirates (as in the movies) or some more lethal barrage still accurate enough to spare the hostage.
I am guessing those sorts of details are going to be withheld in order to keep some capabilities and approaches private. Bummer.
Some of the news reports I have read list the range at 25M. The life boat was tethered to the ship. Not a real difficult shot on stable ground but I don’t know how rough the sea was at the time. The trick would be for the three snipers to have a clean shot and to fire at the same time. I would bet three simultaneous head shots.
One report said that the pirates put a gun to the back of the hostage and that was when the seals took their shot. One thing I always wondered was - could a shot to the head or body cause the victim to clench their fist and thereby pull the trigger and kill the hostage too? How much risk is there of that happening?
I’m guessing that the gunman holding a gun to the captain moved his gun off the captain for a second and that was the moment the snipers fired. The snipers were no doubt using the exact perfect bullets to transfer maximum energy from the bullet to the pirates skull. The impact would disrupt the central nervous system instantly. A clench could happen maybe but not an intentional act.
That’s what the Washington Post reported this morning. The hostages life was threatened and a moment occurred where all three pirates showed above deck. The team leader gave the call and they all went down together.
Haven’t read widely, but this a.m.'s paper said something about the boat being tethered/towed, which let the Navy realize enough of a target presented itself.
I was wondering both about the difficulty of the shots, as well as the coordination. If all 3 were visible, it would be easy enough to say, “You take the guy on the left …” But a different matter entirely if you don’t know when heads are going to pop up where.
Anyone know of images of the lifeboat/navy ship in question?
If I were the left sniper aiming through my infrared scope at the guy on the left, how would I know exactly when to fire? Isn’t my field of view pretty much limited to the guy I’m taking out? My guess is that they had headsets and the signal was given by a spotter who had a view of the entire situation.
Also, what types of weapons/ammuntion would be used for this purpose? And what would it be like to be just standing there and all of a sudden these 3 guys right next to you have their heads explode? Sounds pretty damned intense!
Edit - great article. Answers a lot of my questions, but I’d still find more discussion interesting.
The traditional sniper rifle would be a heavy barreled bolt action but because the range was so short I wouldn’t be surprised if they used semi autos in case they needed an instant follow up shot. The bolt action rifles are .308 caliber I believe but these guys are the best in the world and could be using some other state of the art equipment.
Also I’m thinking they all had headsets and mics so were in constant communication. Maybe the signal to fire is the first guy firing because in a situation like this, once the first guy shoots the others HAVE to shoot as well. As quickly as possible.
This CNN video has a photo montage of the lifeboat and the Navy ship, an animation of the climactic event, and an interview with Vice Admiral William Gortney, commander of the 5th Fleet.
The shooters were most likely lying together with each verbally communicating when they had a shot on their assigned targets. Use of the .308 round is a good bet, although many in the SEAL community prefer an M-14 which uses a 7.62 round. Which rifle each used is shooter preference. From what we know from news reports (which is only what the Navy wants the media to have) the most significant challenge would have been the movement of the lifeboat. The destroyer would have been fairly stable. Notwithstanding any movement of a target, a 35 meter kill shot is like Tiger Woods dropping a 3’ putt. I do not represent myself as an expert in such matters, but after 7 days of Marine Corp marksmanship training I could very easily hit a 6" target at 500 yds with an M-14. And prior to that particular week I had never fired any type of firearm. BTW, I am not at all equating my skills with those guys. There is no comparison.
You can find all manner of putting stats. Many people think the pros drain a ton of bombs. While they do make more of those than us hackers, their bread and butter is from within 10 feet. And from inside of 5, they should be pretty close to automatic. That is why it is such a shock when you see one of these guys blow a short putt. It just isn’t supposed to happen. (Lefty pushed 2 4-footers yesterday on the final 4 holes of the Masters! :eek:)
There was one period where Tiger went something like a year and a half without missing a putt under 3 feet or somesuch crazy stat.
A shot to the head can cause a spasm that could theoretically set off a gun. The odds are pretty low, but when you start talking about people’s lives, we’re not usually happy with 10% or even 1%.
One factor in the hostage’s favor is that an uncontrolled spasm is as likely to move the gun as pull the trigger.
(Source is an Aussie sniper who consulted with me on an RPG book I wrote).
There is one thing people don’t seem to realize about this. The boat was not an open lifeboat like in Titanic or Lifeboat, it was completely enclosed. They apparently had the opportunity to shoot when two of them stuck their heads out and they could see the third through the window of the pilot house. At night. Very short range but still great shooting.
As impressive as the shots are I’m equally impressed with their ability to covertly parachute onto the ship. I know it’s what they do all the time but still…
