M667 Launcher & Lance Ballistic Missile

Commentary: Mike Gawell 

        The Lance, at least as it was used by the US Army, and the Germans,was envisioned as a shoot and scoot weapon, so we never dug in. The platoon was based upon the same "TO&E" as an infantry platoon, and our chief weapon was stealth, and hiding. It was anticipated that in a fire mission we would have pre surveyed firing points, and the Platoon leader would then located these pre-surveyed points, and based upon his recommendation to the FDC, would have missions run in a certain order upon the 5 or 6 points in a given area. (nothing like locating a 1/4 inch stake in a field the size of a grid square at o dark thirty...) The last year I was there we were using the satellite for getting a 8-10 digit # for the stake as a over the stake we were with in one inch of center on the towing eye.

The fire mission would usually be under 10 minutes from pulling over the hub until launch, and the standard was 12. (Our best was 6 minutes to pull over, lay the missile on target, and prepare to fire.) Before this we would have the platoon officer, and the driver put up the survey equipment, and take an initial tangent to target. After that, it was expected that we were to break it down, and get out of the area in under 3 minutes before all hell would be raining down upon us. Lance usually operated 3-5 clicks behind the lines, but the airmobile concept as from the photo was designed to take us behind the lines to hit targets deep in the enemy's rear. (These of course would be a nuke, and our ticket was expected to be one way.) The LZL fit inside a Chinook along with the crew.

Our last launcher was painted in the summer of 1986, and the last support vehicle followed the next summer. The interior was solid OD Green, and the interior of the drivers compartment and the engine were everyone’s favorite puke lime green color. A Lance Battalion had 5 Batteries, 1 HQ, 1 Service that held the re-supply of missiles for the batteries, and 3 firing batteries. Same concept as a Infantry Company/Battalion. 

Each battery had 2 launchers, and 2 Assembly and transport vehicles (same frame, but with the crane.) The A&T platoon had 5 extended wheel base 5 ton vehicles, and would store up to 22 missile bodies, and warheads. The anticipated time to unseal, inspect, and mate a missile body to warhead was 15-20 minutes, but with motivated platoons, it could be done in about 10.

The A&T vehicles could ride 2 ea. mated missiles on them. We would find a place away from the battery main, and drop one onto the launcher. (Appx 10 minutes and done MUCH quicker in order to get out of the area by both platoons. These were random areas away from any other battalion activity since a crane operating in the middle of a battle area is rather obvious.

The firing platoons with one launcher, one jeep/HUMVEE, and one M880 or like vehicle, (appx 10 soldiers) would never even see the battery main area under battlefield operations, and operated independently from the battery, and each other. By the time I left, I also was experimenting with having my A&T sections (2 ea. 10 soldiers apiece) operating away from the battery main in order to "hide" my depot area. Supposedly each firing platoon and the A&T platoons would have had a platoon or so of infantry attached for fire support in actual ops, but we expected fully not to have them. Soviet Spetznatz was our greatest anticipated foe, and why we would "hide". Our hiding was passive, and our greatest asset. We also would have a hide location immediately adjacent to the firing areas we would move up to. This would limit our exposure to accidental over flight to only 6-10 minutes while over the hub, plus any travel time from the hide area to the firing hide area usually no more than 3 km, and the firing hide area was within 100 m of a firing hub location. 

The MLRS/ATACMS system has replaced it.