SOLDIERS SURVIVE TWO BOMB BLASTS IN TWO DAYS
A PLATOON FROM THE 1st BATTALION ROYAL WELSH WHO SURVIVED TWO BOMB BLASTS IN TWO DAYS IN AFGHANISTAN HAVE SPOKEN OF THEIR ADMIRATION FOR THE MASTIFF ARMOURED VEHICLE THAT SAVED THEIR LIVES.
THE soldiers, from10 Platoon, ‘D’ Company, were on patrol in aMastiff earlier this year in the Babaji district of central Helmand, when their vehicle was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in two separate incidents.
The Platoon Commander, 26-year-old Lieutenant Mark Lewis, later said: “The first IED strike blew the Mastiff across the road. I was top cover at the time and blown out of the turret but stopped from landing in the nearby field by the cam net. Once the dust settled I could hear the lads in the cabin. I dropped down fearing the worst, not knowing what I would see next. Thankfully they were all ok, with only minor injuries ...”
TheMastiff is a heavily-armoured 6 x 6 wheel-drive protected patrol vehicle. It carries eight people plus two crew, and is used to transport troops and protect large convoys as well as directly engaging the enemy with its advanced weapons systems. These twenty-two ton vehicles were first introduced on operations in 2006. More than 250 examples, in a range of different versions, are currently in service with a further 100 planned for delivery.
The seats in a Mastiff are designed to provide blast protection to the troops inside the vehicle. They have a load limiting element, which means they absorb the effect of the blast by dropping down, partially mitigating the upward force. This reduces the upward body force felt by the crew and significantly reduces the chance of injury.
Incredibly, Lieutenant Lewis and his men were back on duty the next day, albeit in another part of the province. “I was more than happy to go out again in the Mastiff after the first explosion,” he stated, “because I knew that it would keepme safe. This time I was out withmy platoon which was split into two separateMastiffs. The area we were in was known to have IEDs and aswewere calling in for supportwe came under fire. As we were manoeuvring my Mastiff to get into a better position we were hit by one of the IEDs ...”
All of the men involved have since returned from Afghanistan after finishing their tour of duty in April 2010. Fusilier Danny Hughes was driving the vehicle during the second blast. He said: “This is a good bit of kit.
When we hit the device we were all shocked but we soon realised that everybody was ok and we just got on with our job. We are confident in the protection that this vehicle gives us against IEDs and we are all living proof that it works.”
• During a visit to Afghanistan recently the PrimeMinister announced £67m of extra funding to be put towards countering the ongoing IED threat. Around £40m of this will be spent on more protected vehicles, including Mastiffs.
ABOVE: Platoon Commander Lieutenant Mark Lewis, on the left, with Fusilier Danny Hughes, centre, and Lance Corporal Kristian Orton on a Mastiff vehicle at the annual stakeholder event held at Millbrook proving ground in Bedfordshire. (MoD/Crown Copyright) BELOW: AMastiff on a test run at Kandahar Air base, Afghanistan. (MoD/Crown Copyright from
www.defenceimages.mod.uk)
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112