Plunging fire
{{Short description|Indirect gunfire fired at a high angle trajectory to fall on to a target or enemy,}}
File:Plunging fire on armoured warships (Warships To-day, 1936).jpg
Plunging fire is a form of indirect fire, where gunfire is fired at a trajectory to make it fall on its target from above. It is normal at the high trajectories used to attain long range, and can be used deliberately to attack a target not susceptible to direct or grazing fire due to not being in direct line of sight.{{cite journal|title=A State of War, Plunging Fire and Naval Construction, and more|journal=Scientific American|volume=116|issue=13|year=1917|pages=320–321|issn=0036-8733|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican03311917-320|bibcode=1917SciAm.116..320. }} {{Subscription required}}[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-22-68/c05.htm Global Security, CHAPTER 5, COMBAT TECHNIQUES OF FIRE]
In naval warfare, plunging shellfire was theoretically capable of penetrating an enemy ship's thinner deck armor rather than firing directly at a warship's heavily armored side.
Plunging fire in terrestrial warfare allows attacking a target not in direct line of sight, for example over the brow of a hill engaging in a reverse slope defence. Artillery weapons such as howitzers and mortars are designed for this purpose. Machine guns and belt-fed grenade launchers may also use plunging fire.
The Vickers machine gun was used for indirect fire against enemy positions at ranges up to {{Convert|4500|yd|m|0|abbr=on}} with Mark VIIIz ammunition. This plunging fire was used to great effect against specific features or points of interest that might be observed by a forward observer, or zeroed in at one time for future attacks, much to the surprise and confusion of the enemy.
The Australian Army still trains specialist infantry units, called Direct Fires Support Weapons DFSW teams, to perform an indirect sustained fire role with the MAG 58 GPMG, fitted with a C2A2 Support Weapons Sight{{Cite web |title=C2A2 Support Weapons Sight – Hall & Watts Defence Optics |url=https://www.hallandwatts.com/products/c2a2-support-weapons-sight/ |access-date=2023-11-11 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=4 June 2007 |title=Contract Notice View - CN18255: AusTender |url=https://www.tenders.gov.au/Cn/Show/bc8e155e-9bf2-9124-69e6-57daa9554110 |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=www.tenders.gov.au}} - similar to a mortar sight.{{Cite book |url=https://www.contactairlandandsea.com/adf_weapons_pt1.pdf |title=WEAPONS OF THE ADF Handy Reference Guide Part 1 – Revision 2 {{!}} Contact Air, Land & Sea |publisher=CONTACT Air, Land & Sea |date=24 February 2016 |edition=2nd Revision |location=Australia |pages=8 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=MAG58 {{!}} Australian Army |url=https://www.army.gov.au/equipment/small-arms/mag58 |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=Australian Army (army.gov)}} In this role the MAG 58 can fire a beaten zone up to a range {{Convert|3000|m|mi|abbr=on}}.{{Cite book |last=Maj Thomas |first=Russell B. |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/AD1071020.pdf |title=Infantry Magazine |publisher=Department of the Army |editor-last=Eno |editor-first=Russell |edition=Number 4 |series=October–December 2017 |volume=106 |pages=19–21 |language=en |chapter=An Infantryman Down Under }}
== See also ==