Doctrine, Equipment and Organization for Reserve African Rifles in the Caribbean

DeadParrot · 11-02-2024, 09:02 PM

You mentioned using a Il-76 cargo plane for transport of your equipment purchases. It can lift about 40 tons. A T-34 tank weights somewhat less then that. The T-34 wouldn't survive long on a 90's era battle field but could serve as an artillery platform with shoot and scoot capabilities. Or buy the tank, lift off and keep the turret,gun and loading mechanism, cut out the turret ring and use that as the basis for a pill box gun. Let the dealer resell the remains as scrap.

Also, pretty sure there were still some of the older style 'tramp' freighters sailing in the 90's. A lot of smaller ports weren't fitted with the giant container loading cranes. Such a ship would be a convenient way to transport a load of heavy equipment including the already mentioned helicopters. Helicopters are normally shipped to their bases unless it is a short flight. If you are hiring a ship for choppers, a few tanks and other heavy vehicles could catch a ride as well.

Or hire a ship for "one last voyage". When it arrives, beach it, cut it open and drive the stuff off, scrap the remains. The hull plates could be repurposed as cheap armor plate.

For your mountain hideaway, maybe an overhead cable car setup. Easy access during peace time. Blow the cables if an invasion happens. A motor and transmission from a tank or other heavy vehicle could provide the motive force. (For applications requiring larger diesel engines, surplus tanks and trucks could be cheaper then buying a stand alone engine)

Dirt bikes are also an alternative. Low cost, easy to ship, don't use much fuel and don't normally attract much attention from folks watching where military type equipment goes.

11-02-2024, 09:02 PM	#19
DeadParrot Join Date: Apr 2012	Re: Doctrine, Equipment and Organization for Reserve African Rifles in the Caribbean You mentioned using a Il-76 cargo plane for transport of your equipment purchases. It can lift about 40 tons. A T-34 tank weights somewhat less then that. The T-34 wouldn't survive long on a 90's era battle field but could serve as an artillery platform with shoot and scoot capabilities. Or buy the tank, lift off and keep the turret,gun and loading mechanism, cut out the turret ring and use that as the basis for a pill box gun. Let the dealer resell the remains as scrap. Also, pretty sure there were still some of the older style 'tramp' freighters sailing in the 90's. A lot of smaller ports weren't fitted with the giant container loading cranes. Such a ship would be a convenient way to transport a load of heavy equipment including the already mentioned helicopters. Helicopters are normally shipped to their bases unless it is a short flight. If you are hiring a ship for choppers, a few tanks and other heavy vehicles could catch a ride as well. Or hire a ship for "one last voyage". When it arrives, beach it, cut it open and drive the stuff off, scrap the remains. The hull plates could be repurposed as cheap armor plate. For your mountain hideaway, maybe an overhead cable car setup. Easy access during peace time. Blow the cables if an invasion happens. A motor and transmission from a tank or other heavy vehicle could provide the motive force. (For applications requiring larger diesel engines, surplus tanks and trucks could be cheaper then buying a stand alone engine) Dirt bikes are also an alternative. Low cost, easy to ship, don't use much fuel and don't normally attract much attention from folks watching where military type equipment goes.