The Daily Iraq errors report

[Marcello]

OOB 17

The following units are armed with weapon n.7, the AK-74.
Units 245 407 408 433 434 435 461 462 463 466 467 468 470 471 472 476 477 488 785 786 787 788 789.
This should be replaced with weapon n.8 the AK-47.
Despite the bewildering variety of AKs employed Iraq always sticked to the 7.62mm x 39.
At most an exception may be made for some of the SF units in the 461-472 range and even there it is pretty unlikely.
For its own manufacture Iraq got a license from Yugoslavia
to make Tabuk rifle, but always in 7.62mm x 39 (Sources: Jane's, US Army Iraq Country Handbook and others).
For online references see:
http://www.janes.com/extracts/extract/jiw/jiw_0384.html

Pretty much all the people I have asked to have confirmed me that the old iraqi military, the new one under construction (until phased out by the M16/M4 being issued) and the insurgents use AKs 7.62mm x 39. No AK-74 to be seen, not in quantity at any rate.

A 5.56mm version was also made
http://www.janes.com/extracts/extract/jiw/jiw_0385.html
but as far as been told it was meant for export and never mass produced. No 5.45mm in any case.

[Marcello]

Now to the RPGs

The following units are armed with weapon 19, the RPG-7V.
269 408 413 434 435 461 462 477 488 518 519 520 703 740 762 770 770 774 777 779 787 988.
These should be rearmed with weapon 18, the RPG-7.

The RPG-7V is probably supposed to represent one of the high end RPG warheads. In reality however the iraqis had to make to do with the usual PG-7G/PG-7M and the likes, capable of roughly 330mm of penetration.
Some higher end weapons have been used by the insurgents but in very small quantities only and definitively were not in widespread service in the old iraqi army (or the new one for that matter).
Weapon 156 should be enough to represent those few modern RPGs.
You can read the naval explosive ordnance disposal division reports here:
https://naveodtechdiv.jeodnet.mil/IraqOIG/iraqoig.asp
The RPG warheads are under the "rocket" list. It is a very comprehensive list of the ordnance found in Iraq.

[kevineduguay1]

Staff, please read this post!

[DRG]

Yes, yes, it's been read and noted...

Don

[Marcello]

There are some issue with the availability dates of soviet weapons.
The mistake the OOB designer did was assuming that Iraq purchased soviet weapons in the postwar period. In reality this only happened after a coup which took place in 1958. Before that Iraq was strictly an US-UK client and the UK was the main source of arms.

Units 1-15-16-41-574-572-570-349-347-345-330-311-211 are AFVs. Their availability date should be changed to to february of 59.

The first shipment of armor, together with the related advisors and tech support,arrived in february of 1959.
It was composed mostly of T-34-85 but others types were present. T-54 were noted in a british intelligence report dated march 1961 and may have been shipped together with the T-34s and the SU-100s.

The following are artillery units 53-76-86-93-101-103-171-173-177-231-232-235-238-266-296-297-307-309-428-430-550.
January or february of 1959 should be an appropriate starting date.

Units 138-140-153-187-255 are aircrafts. The first planes were delivered at the end of 1958, not at the beginning.
In any case if at least a minimum of familiarization time is allowed january 1959 should be an appropriate
starting date.

Unit 340-341 JSIII. They should be eliminated. If not availability date should be changed to 2 of 1959.

Sources
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-f...article03.html
(the british intelligence report)

Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948-1991 by Kenneth Michael Pollack, pg 156 (it gives the date and some data about the first shipment of soviet armor)

The World's Armies, by Christopher Chant

http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_207.shtml
(for the iraqi air force)

[DRG]

Marcello said:

The following units are armed with weapon 19, the RPG-7V.
269 408 413 434 435 461 462 477 488 518 519 520 703 740 762 770 770 774 777 779 787 988.
These should be rearmed with weapon 18, the RPG-7.

The RPG-7V is probably supposed to represent one of the high end RPG warheads. In reality however the iraqis had to make to do with the usual PG-7G/PG-7M and the likes, capable of roughly 330mm of penetration.
Some higher end weapons have been used by the insurgents but in very small quantities only and definitively were not in widespread service in the old iraqi army (or the new one for that matter).
Weapon 156 should be enough to represent those few modern RPGs.
You can read the naval explosive ordnance disposal division reports here:
https://naveodtechdiv.jeodnet.mil/IraqOIG/iraqoig.asp
The RPG warheads are under the "rocket" list. It is a very comprehensive list of the ordnance found in Iraq.

This is all useful but as you note some of the higher end units have made it to the insurgents albeit small quantities and If I removed every weapon in every OOB that was only supplied "in small quantities" there would be some howling from the " if they had it it should be in the OOB" crowd. Therefore unit 740, which isn't an army unit, doesn't qualify. Nor does 787 really but a case could be made for having them in and out

Now, this just lists the 7V's. OK, I can accept that the Iraqi army did not use the 7V. Do I assume that since you didn't mention the RPG-16 and PRG-18 also in the OOB that these were available ?? or not ?? They are a "very small quantity" item in the OOB used by only a half handful of units

Don

[Marcello]

Unit 782, ambush sappers uses weapon 156 RPG-7VR.
I purposefully did not mention it because I thought it could fill the role of "limited availability, high end RPG" for the insurgents. A PG-7VR was probably used to disable at least one Abrams after 2003.

"Do I assume that since you didn't mention the RPG-16 and PRG-18 also in the OOB that these were available ??"

RPG-16/18 were available in some numbers (not huge but some) to the iraqi military and have been found in insurgents caches. There are pictures floating around of RPG-18 toting insurgents.

[Marcello]

As I see it the RPG-7V is a questionable weapon to arm anybody in the iraqi OOB.
The denomination itself is debatable, given that the closest match in the real world (600mm of RHA penetration, single warhead) would be the PG-7L as it was discussed here in the past.
And regardless of naming conventions I have found no mention of PG-7L use in Iraq. On the other hand it seems some PG-7VR may have been used.
So I am in full agreement that one or two odd insurgent units should be armed with something better than basic
RPG-7 (or occasional RPG-18/16), but no more than that and weapon 156 RPG-7VR is the best candidate for the role.

[DRG]

OK, Sounds resonable

Don

[Marcello]

Now some random stuff.
Formations 725 and 726, Recalled Republican guard.
I do vaguely remember the issue being raised at some point during either the Garner or Bremer administration with the intent to use them to restore order, but nothing was done of it, given the uproar it would have caused. They should be deleted.

Formation 749, Guer Tanks (Guerilla tanks).
There are no reports of the post 2003 insurgents having ever used armored vehicles (there are a few reports of some technicals but that's it). The Peshmerga had some tanks but that since much before 2003, presumably captured during the 1991 struggles.
This is an old example (I can dig more recent pictures if you are interested).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:K...Iraqi_Tank.JPG

So this formation should be either deleted or made available much earlier.