Our Most Lethal Sniper

[catspa]

Sarge, since Nikolai Ilyin is listed twice with 494, does that make his total 992?

P1, I think that was Ivanta Knockemoff, but I hear she operated under an alias most of the time so her credits went to somebody else.

No seriously, you're thinking of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, with 309. She was twice featured on Russian postage stamps and was considered quite the hero, and died in 1974.

I'd guess that the Eastern Front of WWII was a "target-rich environment".

Parker

[oldsarge]

Originally Posted by catspa

Sarge, since Nikolai Ilyin is listed twice with 494, does that make his total 992?

P1, I think that was Ivanta Knockemoff, but I hear she operated under an alias most of the time so her credits went to somebody else.

No seriously, you're thinking of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, with 309. She was twice featured on Russian postage stamps and was considered quite the hero, and died in 1974.

I'd guess that the Eastern Front of WWII was a "target-rich environment".

Parker

Oops, I must have read that twice.

I hear that Ivanta Knockemoff had a famous cousin who was a prostitute in Leningrad...Ivanna Humpalot.

[Pathfinder1]

Originally Posted by Lamebeaver

The problem is the "confirmed kills" in order to qualify, the kill needs to be witnessed by a third party, who also needs to be an officer.

Chris has 160 confirmed kills and 255 unconfirmed kills.

Carlos, who operated in Viet Nam, has 93 confirmed kills, and 360 unconfirmed kills.

Kinda reminiscent of the World I and World II air aces. If nobody else saw the kill, it didn't happen.

[MountainMan22]

They should make a sniper movie out of his story. I love those kinds of flicks when they are good. I know it's nothing like the real thing in a movie, but they are entertaining. I've taken a liking to the few sniping documentaries I've watched on the Military Channel as well.

[Lamebeaver]

I suppose they couold make a movie out of it, but I'm afraid they'd have to take quite a bit of "poetic license" to make it interesting.

What that saying about hours and days of boredom and monatony intersperced with minutes of sheer terror?

[dinosaur]

Lethality is the capability of causing death. It's not glamorous and does not involve boredom.

The object of sniping is to kill. The duty of the sniper is to get as close as possible to the target before making said kill. It is a heartless endeavor that does not allow for romance, fright, exhilaration or any other human emotion. It is a job one undertakes to accomplish a goal. The goal is to eliminate a life force.

Properly executed, it is done without emotion. There is nothing sexy about it. Its' fruition results in the end of a life. Bragging about it is at least sacriligious.

[Grandpa]

Originally Posted by dinosaur

Lethality is the capability of causing death. It's not glamorous and does not involve boredom.

The object of sniping is to kill. The duty of the sniper is to get as close as possible to the target before making said kill. It is a heartless endeavor that does not allow for romance, fright, exhilaration or any other human emotion. It is a job one undertakes to accomplish a goal. The goal is to eliminate a life force.

Properly executed, it is done without emotion. There is nothing sexy about it. Its' fruition results in the end of a life. Bragging about it is at least sacriligious.

Exactly, which is why my sgt was home getting the cobwebs out of his head. The emotion crept in.

[ppine]

dinosaur,

Thank you.

Like everyone in our age group, Viet Nam had a large impact on many people because of the upclose and personal nature of the fighting. I didn't go due to a high lottery number, but had plenty of close friends forever changed by jungle warfare.

Sniping is effective, but a very personal way to kill someone. I find the interest in it somewhat ghoulish, but admit to being interested in it. As a long time rifleman, it is the ultimate form of hunting, but I pray that it becomes an out-moted form of warfare. I would like to see wars fought in the skies with hight-tech weapons and few lives lost. Eventually there may not be any wars.

[oldsarge]

Originally Posted by dinosaur

Bragging about it is at least sacriligious.

When I was bar tending back in the 70's, there was a guy who was a Viet Nam veteran who I spoke with a lot. He knew I was interested in going back in the Army and we talked often about the military and some of his experiences. He mentioned that one of his duties was a sniper. Thought he would never elaborate on it.

After I re-joined and was away for a few years, I was home on leave and ran into him again at the same bar. I told him I had attended Sniper school and he proceeded to share some really good info on his time as a sniper. I never took it as bragging, it was solid info that was learned in the field.

I've had the opportunity to meet some real wing nuts who made all kinds of claims about their wartime experience. I took it all with a grain of salt. I have no respect for braggers, but I cherish time spent with skilled individuals who were willing to enlighten me and help me peruse my endeavors.