M1A3 SPAAG

[Scotaidh]

In the '70s and '80s there was concern in the US Army that there were no embedded anti-aircraft assets.  Oh, there were a few  Chaparral units, both towed and self-propelled, but they were of doubtful efficacy.



and there some M113s with Vulcan turrets on top



and there was this thing they called a "Stinger" that they hoped would down an MI-24, but no-one was real hopeful on that score since those are armored like a JS-3 tank.





Then there came along the Sgt York DIVAD - better than sex or a politician's promise. 


But, it was a non-starter from inception, mounted as it was on an M48 chassis - how was that going to keep up with the new Abrams?  And after all the time and money spent on this thing, it didn't work and was cancelled.

No-one since has really attempted a replacement.  Oh, they've got some Humvees with a chain-gun (single barrel, low rate of fire) and some Stingers on the roofs, and have more or less talked themselves into believing that SPAAGs (Selp Propelled Anti Air Guns) are obsolete, but I wonder ... The Naval Powers That Be also thought that back before the Falklands War - remember that?  All the ships in the task force were, after day 1 of the Argentine air attacks, screaming - Screaming! - for AAA, to the point where they had the Royal Marines on the upper decks with their FN MAGs, blazing away in desperate hopes. 

I'm sure the best equipped Army in the world (just ask my drill sgt) could afford a real solution.  Mine is this - a new-build / refurbished M1A-whatever with a GAU-8 cannon - swiped from Air Force spares - in place of the main gun.  It'll shoot 6 nautical miles - 12,000 feet.  So far it's chewed through everything in its way.  Effective against troops, emplacements, armored/non-armored vehicles - I'm sure it'd do for a Hind.

I'm not done yet, but this is what I've got so far:

[kerick]

Lookin' good!
I've seen something like this before but it's been a long time ago. Maybe it was just some sort of article.
How about a Bradley derived ammo resupply vehicle?

[Old Wombat]

Sgt York's biggest issue, I seem to recall, was its targeting radar, which kept trying to pick fights with the pointy bits of its own guns.

[kerick]

That thing was a real fiasco. I was on the range at Fort Hunter Ligget for the tests. It would just sit in the middle of an open field with different aircraft flying around it and do nothing. I do recall stories in articles talking about how the radar would try to lock onto just about anything other than enemy aircraft, including as you said, it's own gun barrels.

[Scotaidh]

One of the problems with the Navy's CIWS is, last I heard, that in 'Automatic' mode it will lock-on to anything that doesn't respond with a correct IFF - including seagulls.  Mind you, after seeing what gulls do to cars at the sea-side, I'm inclined to see that as a good thing. 

[zenrat]

One of the problems with the Navy's CIWS is, last I heard, that in 'Automatic' mode it will lock-on to anything that doesn't respond with a correct IFF - including seagulls.  Mind you, after seeing what gulls do to cars at the sea-side, I'm inclined to see that as a good thing. 

I may forward this information to Australia Post.  It's exactly what Mornington Post Office needs on the roof.

[AS.12]

The naval Goalkeeper CIWS uses the GAU-8 and dates from 1979 / 80, so you could swipe the radar and FCS from that for your timeline

[NARSES2]

One of the problems with the Navy's CIWS is, last I heard, that in 'Automatic' mode it will lock-on to anything that doesn't respond with a correct IFF - including seagulls.  Mind you, after seeing what gulls do to cars at the sea-side, I'm inclined to see that as a good thing. 

I may forward this information to Australia Post.  It's exactly what Mornington Post Office needs on the roof.

Only problem is you are likely to start an arms race with the flipping things, and I know who my monies on 

That's looking really good Scot'

[rickshaw]

Lookin' good!
I've seen something like this before but it's been a long time ago. Maybe it was just some sort of article.
How about a Bradley derived ammo resupply vehicle?

You might be thinking of my M111 Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun, armed with a 37mm Vigilante Gatling gun.

[rickshaw]

That thing was a real fiasco. I was on the range at Fort Hunter Ligget for the tests. It would just sit in the middle of an open field with different aircraft flying around it and do nothing. I do recall stories in articles talking about how the radar would try to lock onto just about anything other than enemy aircraft, including as you said, it's own gun barrels.

My understanding was that it locked onto the ventilator fan on a toilet block on the range, behind the dignitaries who were there to witness it firing.  It could have been fixed, if sufficient time and funds had been available.

What killed it in the end though, was that the Soviets extended the range of their AT6 ATGW missiles on their helicopters, which allowed them to be fired outside the range of the DIVADS system.   

[PR19_Kit]

One of the problems with the Navy's CIWS is, last I heard, that in 'Automatic' mode it will lock-on to anything that doesn't respond with a correct IFF - including seagulls.  Mind you, after seeing what gulls do to cars at the sea-side, I'm inclined to see that as a good thing. 

Could it be tuned to lock-on to BMW's, Mercs and Audis too? In which case I want one mounted on the roof of my car! 

[Rick Lowe]

One of the problems with the Navy's CIWS is, last I heard, that in 'Automatic' mode it will lock-on to anything that doesn't respond with a correct IFF - including seagulls.  Mind you, after seeing what gulls do to cars at the sea-side, I'm inclined to see that as a good thing. 

Could it be tuned to lock-on to BMW's, Mercs and Audis too? In which case I want one mounted on the roof of my car! 

Have someone infiltrate the factories and fit a Narc Transponder in every one of them... future-proofing for when you get the approval to mount the CIWS.

[AS.12]

I worked with an NCO that had knowledge of the systems.  He explained to me the problem was one part of the system was digital and the other was analog.  They couldn't get the systems to talk well to each other.  Take it for what it's worth.

Interesting, that makes sense as the early / mid-80s were a transition period between the two eras of technology.

Also a problem was taking an APG-66 radar, splitting its antenna into two and trying to make it see through clutter.

[Scotaidh]

Well, I'm calling this one done.  I could do more - black washes, weathering, and so on, but I really don't feel like getting into all that, so I'm saying this is a one-off prototype with the usual teething problems and cost-overruns, so this was the only one made.  It now sits in the museum at the Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Last pics:

[zenrat]