[Ron Smith]

Evidently they are doing something right.


April 05, 2003

Sniper tells of long-shot success



A BRITISH sniper told yesterday how he killed an Iraqi gunman from more than half a mile. Corporal Matt Hughes, 28, a Royal Marines marksman, was ordered to â??take outâ? an Iraqi holding back a vital advance during a fierce gale.
He pulled off an incredible feat of marksmanship by gauging perfectly the wind speed to bend the bullet to its target. The 7.62 calibre round from his L96 sniper rifle curved 56ft in the air before striking its target in the chest, killing him instantly.

Next to him, another Royal Marines sniper killed a second Iraqi at exactly the same moment.

Corporal Hughes, of the Marinesâ?? spearhead brigade patrol troop, said yesterday: â??It was a bit like David Beckham taking a free kick. I knew I only had one shot and had to get the angle exactly right. It was hot and the wind was blowing strongly from left to right as we crept up to a vantage point about 860 metres from the target.

â??I saw I had a clear shot at my man â?? he was in what he thought was a secure position, but his head and chest were exposed. He was still wearing his green Iraqi uniform and was holding the rifle heâ??d been using to shoot at Marines.

â??My training then took over and I got myself quickly, but calmly, into the perfect sniping position. We follow a set pattern, placing parts of our bodies in the optimum position, starting with the left hand followed by the elbow, legs, right hand and cheek.â?

His sniping partner fixed a separate sight on the target, then the pair calculated the bulletâ??s trajectory by studying the movement of heat haze and dust across the arid desert landscape.

â??I was concentrating so hard that I didnâ??t have time to think about him as a person or the fact that I was about to kill him. He was just a distant shape magnified ten times in a telescopic lens. He was a target â?? the enemy.â?