lusus said...
Jun 30 2008 12:58:32
That is not a backfire. That was recoil. A howitzer is supposed to be fired using a lanyard to distance the artillerman from the recoil. What this idiot did was call slap-firing. He pulled the trigger mechanism with his finger. When I was in Iraq, A 1/11 1st Marine Division, back in 1991, we had an idiot corporal named Soto do the same thing. The end result was a shattered hand, he was lucky it didn't kill him. Also, we had an idiot sergeant name Cordova who helped Soto cover up the accident when they claimed his had was injured by an artillery round falling on it. (Slap-firing can gey you in a lot of trouble, especially when there are injuries involved)