Was blackhawk down a bit over the top? - Page 3

Magnum · 10-15-2002, 01:31 PM

As I recall from the book, they had resupply throughout the whole time. They also had constant air support from the little birds. It was much more than that one big fire mission they showed at the end of the movie.

As for the M-14: Everybody was carrying M-16s with new armor piercing ammo. The problem was that the bullets would go through the target and it would require several shots to bring a guy down. He was using the M-14 because it fired a heavy bullet that guaranteed a one-shot kill. Being the highly trained Delta commando that he was, he could make each shot count just as easily with any weapon, so he made a wise choice in terms of stopping power. Of course, with the volume of targets, he would've done just as well to have a flamethrower or Vulcan gatling gun. (OK, sorry for the exaggeration there.)

Bartlett · 10-15-2002, 01:44 PM

hey Gerard, sod the m60, give me the damn minigun!
you're exactly right Magnum about the armour piercing, in fact, there is an out-take from the film which shows Hoot and Sanderson discussing the armour piercing rounds.
And the Delta actually used Car-15s, not M4s, but that means there must be 2 versions of Car-15, right? because I thought there was one that just looks like a short m-16a1 with smooth grip and not "ribbed" grip

Milla · 10-15-2002, 02:21 PM

Gerard they carried extra ammo, thats all they took. Plus M16s since they are semi auto its takes awhile to go through 30 rounds, trust me. They brought alot of ammo, read the book its more descriptive

Captain Bunny · 10-15-2002, 04:39 PM

[quote="Pfc.Green":eb147]Well I know these for sure:

1/2British
1/4Scottish
1/4German[/quote:eb147]

Clearly having the genes somewhere in your body doesnt get to your brain to tell you that Scotland is part of Britian oOo:

Pfc.Green · 10-15-2002, 04:40 PM

Yes Bunny you are correct, I should have put English

Captain Bunny · 10-15-2002, 04:50 PM

Thats better cool:

Vance · 10-15-2002, 05:38 PM

Thats funny, this topic went from BHD to Nationalities to BHD and back to Nationalities eek:

ninty · 10-15-2002, 05:39 PM

ITS NOT FUNNY!

NO SOUP FOR YOU!!

Oddball · 10-16-2002, 02:41 AM

Unfortunately none of you seem to display knowledge of the novel "Black Hawk Down". This describes in detail the various reasons that they had excess ammuntion. BTW the guy in his sig is Delta so he's prolly got a good reason for having an M14, those guys don't screw around.

Anyway, the mission was supposed to last 2 hours, therefore they threw away things that were unecessary such as canteens, bayonets and nightvision. Extra ammo was placed in wherever they could find space. The Ranger who fell on the fast rope had heaps of M-60 ammo too.

Also during the night another Black Hawk actually made a drop of IV bags and i think ammo too. This Black Hawk was shot down too but managed to land in friendly zones. Actually in total 4 Black Hawks were shot down and two of these crash landed at base.

Hope that helps.

Oddball · 10-16-2002, 02:44 AM

BTW I strong believe that the movie was a really crap adaptation of the book. I wish it had been more realistic, the wounds that the US weapons were able to inflict on the Somalis were horrific. .50 cal bullets can punch head size holes through cement blocks and would literally rip people apart. To great an influence of Hollywood in it. Call me picky but it was an actual event and these things need detail.

Magnum · 10-16-2002, 09:20 AM

Oddball, you seem to have missed my post where I mentioned the book.

Bartlett · 10-16-2002, 09:35 AM

Oddball I made the point you did about ammo, they would cram it into every space possible, I estimated that a rifleman will have had about 20-25 mags each if they wanted them, that is quite a lot.
I heard that BHD was meant to be really gory, but I thought it was lightweight, which is a bad thing, it didn't show the extent of the injuries sustained, for instance, was it Smith who got his balls blown off in the event? I remember reading in the book that someone's "testicles were mush" or something like that, but I never saw that in the film

Captain Bunny · 10-16-2002, 11:30 AM

Erm if you want to see real life injuries, become a doctor or join the army. At the end of the day it was a movie, and the main reason for (most) movies is to make money. If they showed injuries as bad as real life, the film would not have a 15 rating, would be viewed by a smaller audience, and as such, not make as much money.
dont get me wrong, it would have been a bit more realistic if they tried to make things more gory, but that wouldnt appeal to much to the BBFC, and the US equivilent of cencorship.

Bartlett · 10-16-2002, 12:04 PM

I thought SPR was much more graphic, I still think that BHD is a good film though

Vance · 10-16-2002, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bartlett

for instance, was it Smith who got his balls blown off in the event? I remember reading in the book that someone's "testicles were mush" or something like that, but I never saw that in the film

Well Smith asks the Medic if his balls are ok, and the medic says ''your balls are fine''