Elevatable weapons platforms

[ChernayaAkula]

Found these in an imageshack account:

Panther







Mobile Kampfplattform (mobile combat platform) on MAN 8x8 chassis
Apparently, the elevatable part is manned! Wonder why? On one hand, you've got drawbacks in size and weight and the missile could be launched just as well by an operator in the vehicle. On the other hand, you have a pair of very valuable Mk.1 eyeballs at a height, which should provide a good view of the surroundings (battle field awareness).



Challenger with Trigat



Yugoslav M-95 Kobra test bed - 9M113 Konkurs/AT-5 Spandrel on M-84 chassis



Giraffe (Marder chassis, HOT ATGM)



M113 chassis, TOW ATGM

[ChernayaAkula]

Gnaaah, just when I hit the "Post!"-button, I found more stuff!  







ADATS on Leo 1 chassis



To my knowledge, none of these systems have ever been fielded. Apart from the obvious application in tank hunting, I wonder whether systems like these would also be suitable for urban warfare? Take the Challenger/Trigat combo, for instance, delete a few Trigats and install a machine gun and/or Mk. 19 40mm grenade launcher in there. You'd have the advantage of having the vehicle with the troops at all times (even in camps) and provide the troops with the ability to recon and attack adversaries from above (without using airborne assets) in built-up areas, where the lines of sight for ground troops are usually very short.

[NARSES2]

There's always the London Fireman's turntable ladders issued to the US Rangers for D-Day with BAR's mounted. Don't think they were used.

And the Bren Carrier with elevatable mg mounting..."Praying Mantis" ?

[GTX]

The Panther Anti-Tank/Anti-Helicopter vehicle was a project of the (then) West German Army during the late '80s/early'90s. It was designed for anti-tank and anti-helicopter warfare roles and was based on the hull of the Leopard 1 chassis converted by removing the turret and fitting an elevating arm with weapons/sensors that could reach a height of 12m. There seems to have been some variance in exact weapons carried - some sources refer to TRIGAT whilst others mention HOT3 and Stinger. The sight was down-linked to a gunner's position in the hull, which guided the missiles via a TV monitor. There was a hatch on the centre front deck for the driver, one on the right deck behind the driver for the commander, and a large hatch behind the elevating arm for reloading of missiles.

The then Wegmann was selected in 1987 as the winner (this was apparently quite a surprise) but the program was cancelled in the early 1990s after only one prototype was built.

Regards,

Greg

[rickshaw]

The manned elevating platform has advantages in that it is easier and cheaper to produce than an unmanned one. Weapons integration is easier and you can utilise existing sights and controllers.   I remember during the 1980s when these things were being proposed.   Most armoured people looked on them a bit askance, as interesting but a bit unworkable.

Their only legacy has been in the proliferation of elevating observation masts that various recce vehicles now carry.

[Weaver]

It'd be an advantage if the turret could function in the DOWN position as well as when it's extended, otherwise you've got an rather specialised (posssibly over-specialised) vehicle.

[ChernayaAkula]

Weaver's reply regarding unguided rockets in the direct fire role in the rocket artillery thread got me thinking. You could also use a rocket pod on an elevating mast.  Think Apache- or Kiowa-on-a-pole. For applications where the supply of ATGMs wouldn't suffice/be too expensive. And with these new laser-guided FFARs, you could even engage pin-point targets at long ranges and realtively low cost.

How about a trailer-mounted, stationary elevating weapons platforms for camp defence? With the camps surrounded by HESCO barriers, that elevating arm could be helpful. You can find a couple of pics were platforms have been bulldozed for AFVs so their turrets can be brought to bear, but are still hull-down behind the HESCO barrier. In such a scenario, an elevatable wepaons platform could supply all-round defence, 24/7 and without tieing up AFVs that could be used somewhere else.

[ChernayaAkula]

IDF Akrab (Scorpion), an M60 hull with an armoured cab on a mast as a mobile armoured watchtower:



This is apparently a test set-up for the Chinese WZ-10 helicopter gunship. Wouldn't look out of place on a mobile platform, tracked or wheeled.

[pyro-manic]

It'd be an advantage if the turret could function in the DOWN position as well as when it's extended, otherwise you've got an rather specialised (posssibly over-specialised) vehicle.

This was my immediate reaction. Maybe reverse the way the arm folds, so it lies over the engine deck when flat, allowing the weapons pod to sit at the front and able to fire?

[buzzbomb]

.. and the grand daddy of them all

Mr Tapps Preying Mantis.. on the to do list over our summer




oops... sorry Narses.. missed your post.
I love this sort of odd AFV thing