The great British Army has earned a place in the record books by killing two Taliban machine gunners from more than a mile and a half away.
The record-breaking sharpshooting, by sniper Craig Harrison of the Household Cavalry, felled the insurgents with consecutive bullets - even though they were 3,200ft beyond the effective range of his rifle!
The soldier's kills from a distance of 8,120ft eclipsed the previous sniper record, set by a Canadian soldier, by 150ft.
Craig used the British-built L115A3 Long Range Rifle, the Army’s most powerful sniper weapon.
The shooting was from such extreme range that the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to hit their target, despite leaving the barrel at three times the speed of sound.
British sniper shoots dead two Taliban fighters... from more than 1.5 miles away
By Ian Drury
2nd May 2010
Daily Mail
Hero: Craig Harrison saved his Army colleagues by killing two Taliban machinegunners from more than 1.5 miles away
A British Army sniper has earned a place in military history by killing two Taliban machine gunners from more than a mile and a half away.
Craig Harrison's record-breaking sharpshooting felled the insurgents with consecutive bullets - even though they were 3,200ft beyond the effective range of his rifle.
The Household Cavalry veteran's kills from a distance of 8,120ft eclipsed the previous sniper record by 150ft.
His pinpoint accuracy saved the life of his troop commander who was trapped in a vehicle under fire from the enemy in Afghanistan.
In an extraordinary tour of duty, Corporal of Horse Harrison cheated death twice - surviving being shot in the head by a Taliban bullet and escaping with two broken arms when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.
The elite marksman killed the two insurgents with his British-built L115A3 Long Range Rifle, the Army’s most powerful sniper weapon.
The shooting was from such extreme range that the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to hit their target, despite leaving the barrel at three times the speed of sound.
The firearm, which has slayed scores of Taliban fighters, is so deadly that it has been dubbed 'The Silent Assassin'.
It is only designed to be effective at up to 4,921ft - just less than a mile - and capable of only 'harassing fire' beyond that range.
But Cpl Harrison made his record-breaking shots after his commander and Afghan soldiers came under enemy fire during a patrol south of Musa Qala, in the Helmand Province badlands, in November last year.
His vehicle was further back on a ridge, with his sights trained on a Taliban compound in the distance.
He said: 'We saw two insurgents running through its courtyard, one in a black dishdasha, one in green. They came forward carrying a PKM machinegun, set it up and opened fire on the commander's wagon.
'Conditions were perfect, no wind, mild weather, clear visibility. I rested the bipod of my weapon on a compound wall and aimed for the gunner firing the machinegun.
'The first round hit a machinegunner in the stomach and killed him outright. He went straight down and didn't move.
'The second insurgent grabbed the weapon and turned as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down, too. They were both dead.
'A third shot clipped the weapon as I hoped to render it unserviceable.'
Deadly: The L115A3 sniper rifle has been a great success for British forces
He added: 'It was just unlucky for the Taliban that conditions were so good and we could see them so clearly.'
The married father-of-one, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, only discovered he had set a new record after returning to his UK barracks last month.
The previous best for a sniper kill was 7,972ft, held by Canadian soldier Corporal Rob Furlong who shot dead an al-Qaeda gunman in March 2002.
Cpl Harrison went on to be a scourge of the Taliban, killing 12 and wounding seven others.
The L115A3 rifle - based on a weapon used by the British Olympic shooting team - was introduced onto the battlefield two years ago as part of an £11million upgrade by the Ministry of Defence.
It fires a heavier bullet to much longer ranges and has a state-of-the-art telescopic sight with enhanced magnifying power to identify the enemy even through the heat haze of Afghanistan.
Tom Irwin, a director of Accuracy International, the British manufacturer of the L115A3 rifle, said: 'It is still fairly accurate beyond 4,921ft, but at that distance luck plays as much of a part as anything.'
Later in his six-month stint on the frontline, Cpl Harrison survived a bullet going through his helmet when his patrol vehicle was hit 36 times in a Taliban ambush.
He said: 'One round hit my helmet behind the right ear and came out of the top. The impact knocked me out cold for 20 seconds.
'Two more rounds went through the strap across my chest. We were all very, very lucky not to get hurt.'
He also broke both arms when his Jackal 4x4 vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) - but insisted on returning to the warzone after making a complete recovery.
Even though his arms were in plaster for six weeks, Cpl Harrison said it had not affected his ability as a sniper.
He said: 'The doctors said I couldn’t do enough press-ups to pass the combat fitness test, which is about 20, I think.
'I just dropped to the ground and cracked out 60 in front of them. They sort of rolled their eyes – they had to let me back after that.'
dailymail.co.uk
The record-breaking sharpshooting, by sniper Craig Harrison of the Household Cavalry, felled the insurgents with consecutive bullets - even though they were 3,200ft beyond the effective range of his rifle!
The soldier's kills from a distance of 8,120ft eclipsed the previous sniper record, set by a Canadian soldier, by 150ft.
Craig used the British-built L115A3 Long Range Rifle, the Army’s most powerful sniper weapon.
The shooting was from such extreme range that the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to hit their target, despite leaving the barrel at three times the speed of sound.
British sniper shoots dead two Taliban fighters... from more than 1.5 miles away
By Ian Drury
2nd May 2010
Daily Mail
Hero: Craig Harrison saved his Army colleagues by killing two Taliban machinegunners from more than 1.5 miles away
A British Army sniper has earned a place in military history by killing two Taliban machine gunners from more than a mile and a half away.
Craig Harrison's record-breaking sharpshooting felled the insurgents with consecutive bullets - even though they were 3,200ft beyond the effective range of his rifle.
The Household Cavalry veteran's kills from a distance of 8,120ft eclipsed the previous sniper record by 150ft.
His pinpoint accuracy saved the life of his troop commander who was trapped in a vehicle under fire from the enemy in Afghanistan.
In an extraordinary tour of duty, Corporal of Horse Harrison cheated death twice - surviving being shot in the head by a Taliban bullet and escaping with two broken arms when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.
The elite marksman killed the two insurgents with his British-built L115A3 Long Range Rifle, the Army’s most powerful sniper weapon.
The shooting was from such extreme range that the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to hit their target, despite leaving the barrel at three times the speed of sound.
The firearm, which has slayed scores of Taliban fighters, is so deadly that it has been dubbed 'The Silent Assassin'.
It is only designed to be effective at up to 4,921ft - just less than a mile - and capable of only 'harassing fire' beyond that range.
But Cpl Harrison made his record-breaking shots after his commander and Afghan soldiers came under enemy fire during a patrol south of Musa Qala, in the Helmand Province badlands, in November last year.
His vehicle was further back on a ridge, with his sights trained on a Taliban compound in the distance.
He said: 'We saw two insurgents running through its courtyard, one in a black dishdasha, one in green. They came forward carrying a PKM machinegun, set it up and opened fire on the commander's wagon.
'Conditions were perfect, no wind, mild weather, clear visibility. I rested the bipod of my weapon on a compound wall and aimed for the gunner firing the machinegun.
'The first round hit a machinegunner in the stomach and killed him outright. He went straight down and didn't move.
'The second insurgent grabbed the weapon and turned as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down, too. They were both dead.
'A third shot clipped the weapon as I hoped to render it unserviceable.'
Deadly: The L115A3 sniper rifle has been a great success for British forces
He added: 'It was just unlucky for the Taliban that conditions were so good and we could see them so clearly.'
The married father-of-one, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, only discovered he had set a new record after returning to his UK barracks last month.
The previous best for a sniper kill was 7,972ft, held by Canadian soldier Corporal Rob Furlong who shot dead an al-Qaeda gunman in March 2002.
Cpl Harrison went on to be a scourge of the Taliban, killing 12 and wounding seven others.
The L115A3 rifle - based on a weapon used by the British Olympic shooting team - was introduced onto the battlefield two years ago as part of an £11million upgrade by the Ministry of Defence.
It fires a heavier bullet to much longer ranges and has a state-of-the-art telescopic sight with enhanced magnifying power to identify the enemy even through the heat haze of Afghanistan.
Tom Irwin, a director of Accuracy International, the British manufacturer of the L115A3 rifle, said: 'It is still fairly accurate beyond 4,921ft, but at that distance luck plays as much of a part as anything.'
Later in his six-month stint on the frontline, Cpl Harrison survived a bullet going through his helmet when his patrol vehicle was hit 36 times in a Taliban ambush.
He said: 'One round hit my helmet behind the right ear and came out of the top. The impact knocked me out cold for 20 seconds.
'Two more rounds went through the strap across my chest. We were all very, very lucky not to get hurt.'
He also broke both arms when his Jackal 4x4 vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) - but insisted on returning to the warzone after making a complete recovery.
Even though his arms were in plaster for six weeks, Cpl Harrison said it had not affected his ability as a sniper.
He said: 'The doctors said I couldn’t do enough press-ups to pass the combat fitness test, which is about 20, I think.
'I just dropped to the ground and cracked out 60 in front of them. They sort of rolled their eyes – they had to let me back after that.'
dailymail.co.uk
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