Modern Snipers (Osprey General Military)

338 Pages·2016·61.11 MB·English

by  Leigh Neville

AUTHOR OF
SPECIAL FORCES IN THE WAR ON TERROR

MODERN SNIPERS

GNM_Modern.Sniper.layout.v8.indd 1 22/04/2016 14:49
DEDICATION
Dedicated to the memory of Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock,
USMC, the father of modern sniping, and to Sergeant Matthew Abbate,
USMC, killed in action December 10, 2010, Helmand Province,
southern Afghanistan.
GNM_Modern.Sniper.layout.v8.indd 2 22/04/2016 14:49
MODERN
SNIPERS
LEIGH NEVILLE

GNM_Modern.Sniper.layout.v8.indd 3 22/04/2016 14:49
This electronic edition published in 2016 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Osprey Publishing
PO Box 883, Oxford, OX1 9PL, UK
1385 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Osprey Publishing, part of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
© 2016 Leigh Neville
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make
available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means
(including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical,
photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written
permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in
relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Leigh Neville has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act, 1988, to be identified as the Author of this Work.
ISBN: 978 1 4728 1534 7
PDF ISBN: 978 1 4728 1535 4
ePub ISBN: 978 1 4728 1536 1
To find out more about our authors and books visit
www.ospreypublishing.com. Here you will find our full range of
publications, as well as exclusive online content, details of forthcoming
events and the option to sign up for our newsletters. You can also sign up for
Osprey membership, which entitles you to a discount on purchases made
through the Osprey site and access to our extensive online image archive.
Front cover: Snipers from 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker
Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division provide overwatch for a fire team
at the Yukon Training Area in 2010 (U.S. Army)
Osprey Publishing supports the Woodland Trust, the UK’s leading woodland
conservation charity. Between 2014 and 2018 our donations will be spent on
their Centenary Woods project in the UK.
www.ospreypublishing.com
GNM_Modern.Sniper.layout.v8.indd 4 22/04/2016 14:49
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements 6
List of Illustrations 7
List of Abbreviations 11
Chapter 1: The Modern History of Sniping 17
Chapter 2: The Modern Sniper 32
Chapter 3; Sniping in Afghanistan 80
Chapter 4: Sniping in Iraq 130
Chapter 5: Snipers of the Insurgency 176
Chapter 6: Police and Counterterrorism Sniping 198
Chapter 7: Modern Sniper Rifles 230
Appendix 1: An Interview with a Special Operations Sniper 282
Appendix 2: References 289
Notes 292
Index 301
Photohraphs 305
GNM_Modern.Sniper.layout.v8.indd 5 22/04/2016 14:49
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always thank you to my wife, Jodi Fraser-Neville, for her patience
and support. My thanks also to my editors at Osprey, the wonderful Kate
Moore and Marcus Cowper.
The author owes much to retired Sniper Master and Company
Sergeant Major Nathan Vinson of the Australian Army and retired
Command Sergeant Major John McPhee of the United States Army
Special Operations Command. Both have truly gone beyond the call
of duty in providing answers to my seemingly endless questions. As the
saying goes, they have forgotten more about sniping than I shall ever
know!
Thanks also to Melvin Ewing and his website, the invaluable
snipercentral.com; to Mathew Coombes for his insights into the world
of the police sniper; and to the handful of snipers and operators who
have chosen to remain anonymous due to their chosen profession: thank
you gentlemen.
6
GNM_Modern.Sniper.layout.v8.indd 6 22/04/2016 14:49
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
U.S. Marine Scout Sniper team providing overwatch, Iraq, 2003. (USMC/
Corporal Mace M. Gratz)
British Army spotter using his spotting scope, Iraq, 2004. (U.S. Army photo/
SSG Christopher J. Crawford)
Sniper of the U.S. Army with a 7.62x51mm M24 providing rooftop overwatch,
Iraq, 2004. (U.S. Army/SGT Jeremiah Johnson)
U.S. Marines with a captured Iraqi 7.62x51mm M40A1. (USMC/Gunnery
Sgt Mark Oliva)
Aftermath of a sniper-on-sniper engagement on a ‘civilian’ car, Iraq. (USMC/
Corporal Mark Sixbey)
U.S. Air Force EOD in a bomb suit, Iraq, 2004. (U.S. Air Force/SRA Lakisha
Croley)
Navy SEAL working with Marines, Iraq, 2004. (USMC/Corporal Annette
Kyriakides)
U.S. Marine Scout Sniper set back in a room. (USMC/Lance Corporal James
J. Vooris)
Scout Sniper using a loophole watches for insurgent targets with his
7.62x51mm M40A3. (USMC/Lance Corporal Trevor R. Gift)
U.S. Navy EOD operator maintains his marksmanship, Iraq, 2006. (U.S. Army/
PFC Timothy J Villareal)
Recon Marine Sergeant discovers a weapons cache, Iraq, 2006. (USMC/
Gunnery Sgt Mark Oliva)
U.S. Army Designated Marksman with a 7.62x51mm Mk11 Mod 0, Iraq, 2006.
(U.S. Army/SPC Linsay Burnett)
Australian sniper maintaining overwatch from his rooftop hide, Iraq, 2007.
(Australian Department of Defence)
7
GNM_Modern.Sniper.layout.v8.indd 7 22/04/2016 14:49
Modern SniperS
Designated Marksman of the U.S. Army observes with his Trijicon ACOG-
equipped 7.62x51mm M14, Afghanistan, 2003. (U.S. Army/SFC Milton H
Robinson)
U.S. Army sniper overwatching through AN/PVS-10 Day/Night Sight. (U.S.
Army/SSG Joseph P. Collins Jr.)
Dutch Army sniper team fires a warning shot, Afghanistan, 2008. (ISAF/MC1
(SW/AW) John Collins)
7.62x51mm SR-25 semiautomatic rifle in a sandbagged bunker, Afghanistan,
2008. (Australian Department of Defence/Corporal Neil Ruskin)
U.S. Army Designated Marksmen with 7.62x51mm M14 Enhanced Battle
Rifles, Afghanistan, 2010. (U.S. Army/PFC Donald Watkins)
Italian Army sniper training with a Sako .338 Lapua Magnum TRG-42,
Afghanistan, 2010. (ISAF/SSG Romain Beaulinette, French Army)
U.S. Army Ranger providing overwatch with his 5.56x45mm SOPMOD
Block 2 M4A1 carbine, Afghanistan, 2010. (U.S. Navy/MCS 3rd Class
Jeffrey M. Richardson)
Dutch sniper team wearing Ghillies in the Afghan desert. (ISAF)
Australian sniper with a camouflaged 7.62x51mm Mk11 Mod 0, Afghanistan,
2010. (Australian Department of Defence/Corporal Chris Moore)
British Army sniper with a .338 Lapua Magnum L115A3, Afghanistan, 2010.
(UK Ministry of Defence/Major Paul Smyth)
U.S. Navy SEAL sniper with a .300 Winchester Magnum Mk13 Mod 5,
Afghanistan, 2011. (U.S. Air Force/SSG Ryan Whitney)
Australian Commandos of the Special Operations Task Group in action in
southern Afghanistan. (Australian Department of Defence)
U.S. Army Designated Marksman with a 7.62x51mm M14, Afghanistan, 2011.
(U.S. Army/SSG Ryan Crane)
Australian sniper on overwatch scans for insurgents, Afghanistan, 2011.
(Australian Department of Defence)
British Army Platoon Marksman with a 7.62x51mm L129A1 provides
overwatch, Afghanistan, 2012.
U.S. Army sniper with a .300 Winchester Magnum M2010 providing
overwatch security in the Afghan mountains, 2012. (U.S. Army/Sgt Trey
Harvey)
8
GNM_Modern.Sniper.layout.v8.indd 8 22/04/2016 14:49