:: Community Forums ›

#1: Joe...just for you.... Author: Doug_Kibbey, Location: The Great Satan

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:27 pm
----

Light from above. We had a couple of these in my unit up north. On one occasion, our night ambush was deliberately illuminated going outside the wire as a diversion so a Ranger ambush could leave from another path through the wire.

Can you say "bait"? We were seriously P.O'ed.

Last edited by Doug_Kibbey on Wed Jun 03, 2009 12:43 am; edited 1 time in total

#2: Re: Joe...just hor you.... Author: JeffStringer,

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 12:05 am
----
Whoa ... never seen that before.

#3: Re: Joe...just hor you.... Author: Joe_D, Location: Razorback Country

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 12:14 am
----
AN/GSS-14,

Although the suspension bracket looks locally fabricated.

Anyone want to take a guess what AN/GSS stands for Wink

Man I hate being bait, especially when no one tells you are.

#4: Re: Joe...just hor you.... Author: Doug_Kibbey, Location: The Great Satan

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 12:47 am
----

- Joe_D

AN/GSS-14,

Although the suspension bracket looks locally fabricated.

Anyone want to take a guess what AN/GSS stands for

Man I hate being bait, especially when no one tells you are.

Joe,
I think you mean "V"SS....and don't think it's "fourteen". Typo?

I'll take a crack at it as "Army-Navy Visible Searchlight System". But I'm probably wrong....

It sucks to be bait. But you've never seen 12 walking guys become frozen statues so fast in your life. Wink

#5: Re: Joe...just for you.... Author: Kurt_Laughlin,

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:08 am
----
From MIL-STD-196:
AN - Army Navy
G - General Ground Use
S - Special or Combination
S - Detecting/Range and Bearing, Search

The three letters represent Installation, Type of Equipment, and Purpose. It is not an abbreviation. Nor for that matter are the missile and rocket designators such as MIM-1, AIR-2 or LGM-30.

Searchlights are usually AN/VVS, aren't they?
V - Vehicular (ground)
V - Visual and Visible Light
S - Detecting/Range and Bearing, Search

KL

#6: Re: Joe...just for you.... Author: bsmart, Location: Central Maryland

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:12 am
----
Somewhere I have a cheat sheet with all the letters

A/N is Army Navy The other letters described the equipment

First Character

V is for Vehicle, P is Personell (or man packed), A means airborne

Second Character is the type of equipment. I know R was Radio

Third Character was purpose

Ah Heck I just decided to look it up
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...ion_System

Some letters make sense other have been re-used and if you think of the original use it is almost comical (B for Pigeon or Bird Laughing

)

#7: Re: Joe...just for you.... Author: Doug_Kibbey, Location: The Great Satan

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:15 am
----
Kurt,

In this case, I'm pretty comfortable that it's "GSS" and "VSS" for ground and vehicular. Seen mounts on the back of an M151 as well.

The install on the UH-1 is, of course, a lashup. There were several other versions as well, as you probably know...

If people think we're obsessed, the guys over on the "candlepower" forum get positively horny about this stuff. Laughing

candlepowerforums.com/...p?t=110558

#8: Re: Joe...just for you.... Author: bsmart, Location: Central Maryland

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:25 am
----
Looking at the second letter S means 'combination' so a combined Infrared/visible light would be a VSS while a white light only would be a VVS

Least that would fit in 'the system' Rolling Eyes

-> AFV News Discussion Board

All times are GMT - 6 Hours

Page 1 of 1