Third Party, Fire & Theft

Kneeling behind the wall of sandbags I was beginning to feel nervous. It wasn't the high explosive missile that was sat on my shoulder although that should have been enough. It was the fact that a couple of minutes earlier I'd been told that the missile was worth the same as a small family car and in a couple of minutes it would be worth nothing. To make matters worse the three previous firers had all missed the target and suffered the consequences - derisive laughter from all the instructors.

The LAW anti-tank weapon is just one of the specialist weapons that the infantry soldier learns to fire during his Phase 2 training. Designed primarily for destroying tanks it could also be used for blowing up bunkers. Sat on my shoulder the thought that I might be aiming this at a 40 tonne monster heading directly towards me with all guns blazing did nothing to calm my nerves. The missile comes with 5 spotting rounds - apparently this helps you get your aim. I missed with 3 out of 5 - then slid the lever forward to select the High Explosive round. Looking back I'm not sure if I shut my eyes or not - I think I might well have done. I pulled the trigger, heard one of the largest bangs I'd ever witnessed, felt the weight lift from shoulder, breathed a sigh of relief. The thing that makes me think I'd shut my eyes was that the next thing I can remember is a small cheer. Apparently I'd hit the rusting hulk of an ancient tank we were aiming at. To this day I have no idea how I achieved this.