an ineffective system: the m247 sergeant york

8/10/2019 An Ineffective System: The M247 Sergeant York

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An Ineffective System: The M247 Sergeant YorkAn article by Russell Phillips

In the late 1960s, helicopters with anti-tank missiles started to be deployed, and a new tactic known asa pop-up! was de"eloped# $he helicopter would ho"er behind co"er, then climb %ust hi&h enou&h to

'ire a missile, be'ore droppin& down behind co"er a&ain# (ewer missiles such as the American $)*allowed the helicopter to per'orm such a manoeu"re +uickly, limitin& its eposure to enemy 'ire# y19.., the /o"iets had introduced the 911 /hturm missile 2known to (A$) as the A$-6 /piral3,which had a ran&e o' 4km#

$he 5#/# armys anti-aircra't systems at this time were the ulcan, which had a maimum ran&e o'only 1,700 metres, and the 8haparral, which couldnt lock on to the helicopter be'ore it dropped backdown behind co"er# As i' to add insult to in%ury, the /o"iets introduced the /5-7:- /hilka, whichwas able to en&a&e 5#/# helicopters per'ormin& pop-up manoeu"res, e"en while the 5#/# army hadnothin& capable o' doin& the same# $he /5-7:- pro"ed to be e''ecti"e durin& 19.: ;iddle e'ense


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Requirement

$he 5#/# army issued the Ad"anced Radar-directed =un Air >e'ense /ystem! 2AR=A>/3re+uirement, which was later renamed >i"isional Air >e'ense! 2>IA>3# 5nusually, the re+uirementspeci'ied that the system was to use eistin& parts# $his was done in an attempt to cut down onde"elopment time, since the problem was considered to be etremely serious and a solution wasur&ently re+uired# It was belie"ed that this approach would cut de"elopment time by anythin& up to

'i"e years#

$he re+uirement was 'or a "ehicle based on an ;? tank chassis pro"ided by the army 2there weremany spare ;?s in depots which could be used 'or this purpose3# It was to be armed with a &un o':0-0mm calibre, capable o' en&a&in& a tar&et within 4 seconds o' it comin& into ran&e, with a 40@chance o' hittin& the tar&et with a :0 round burst# It was to ha"e all-weather capability and an opticalaimin& system e+uipped with 'orward lookin& in'ra-red 2BIR3 and a laser ran&e 'inder# $he 'i"esecond en&a&ement time was later relaed to ei&ht seconds#

Entries$here were se"eral entries 'or the competition# /perry Rands entry used their i&ilante &un 'irin&:4mm )erlikon ammunition, as used by se"eral other (A$) countries# $he &un was 'ed 'rom ama&aCine holdin& 1,6 rounds and was mounted in an aluminium turret# $wo radars and an Isystem were mounted on top o' the turret#

$he entry 'rom =eneral espite bein& desi&ned to be 'itted to a Beopard I, Raytheondemonstrated that the turret could be 'itted to an ;? with some modi'ication#

$he =eneral >ynamics entry used the same twin cannons as the Raytheon, but mounted them side byside in the middle o' a new aluminium turret# $hey were 'ed 'rom 600 round ma&aCines and couldachie"e a combined rate o' 'ire o' 1,100 rounds per minute# Radar and 'ire control were based on thesystems used on the Phalan ship-board 8I*/ 2close-in weapons system3# $he search radar wasmounted on top o' the turret, with the trackin& radar net to the &uns#

ord Aerospace entered a system usin& two o'ors 0mm BD.0 cannons, mounted in the middle o' theturret# $wo radars 2one search, one trackin&3 were mounted on booms on top o' the turret, allowin&them to be 'olded down 'or tra"el# $he trackin& radar was based on the *estin&house A(DAP=-66 , as'itted to the -16 'i&hter# $he turrets armour was proo' a&ainst small arms 'ire and artillery splinters,and the "ehicle had (8 protection 'or the crew#

$he choice o' a 0mm &un in the ord desi&n was the sub%ect o' some contro"ersy# /ome maintainedthat ord chose it because they had a marketin& a&reement with o'ors, and could there'ore makemore pro'it 'rom o'ors &uns# )n the other hand, A88 had de"eloped a 0mm round with aproimity 'use, and the lar&er round meant a &reater +uantity o' hi&h eplosi"e# $hese both led to ahi&her probability o' a kill#

In early 19.?, =eneral >ynamics and ord were &i"en G.9 million contracts to produce prototypes,desi&nated the H;76 and H;7. respecti"ely# In 19?0, each company deli"ered two prototypes 'ortestin& at ort liss# $he tests lasted 'i"e months, and it was said that the =eneral >ynamics "ehicle


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had out per'ormed the ord "ehicle consistently in the tests, but the ord was contro"ersially chosenas the winner in 19?1 2there were accusations that the ord was only chosen due to intense lobbyin&3#ord were &i"en a 'ied-price contract 'or the completion o' de"elopment and the initial productionrun# $he "ehicle was o''icially desi&nated the ;7. /er&eant ork# $he contract included an option'or the army to buy up to 7.6 "ehicles o"er three years, and it was epected that the army would buy atotal o' 61? "ehicles#

ro!"ems

$he ;7. was "ery ad"anced# $he 'ire-control system automatically handled all aspects o' e"aluatin&threats, selectin& ammunition and aimin&, takin& into account tar&et speed and en"ironmental 'actors#;anual o"errides were included 'or all automatic systems# $he operators display showed the tar&etsin priority order, and the operator simply had to select which one should be tar&eted#

Problems became apparent almost immediately, particularly with the trackin& radar# It had di''icultydi''erentiatin& between helicopters and trees, and when the &uns were trained to a hi&h de&ree o'ele"ation, the barrels caused more di''iculties 'or the radar# $he speci'ication had ori&inally called 'oran en&a&ement time o' 'i"e seconds, and althou&h this was increased to ei&ht seconds, the system still'ailed to meet this re+uirement# A&ainst helicopters it only mana&ed 10-11 seconds, and a&ainst hi&h-speed tar&ets the en&a&ement time was 11-19 seconds#

As testin& went on, more problems became apparent# $he electronic counter-counter measures suitewas simplistic and easily 'oiled, the turret su''ered 'rom hydraulic leaks in cold weather and couldnt

turn +uickly enou&h to track a 'ast mo"in& tar&et# $he &uns were taken 'rom 5#/# Army stock andwere 'ound to ha"e been stored badly# inally, the "ehicle was too slow to keep pace with the new ;1Abrams and ;7D;: radley, which it was intended to protect on the battle'ield#

Photograph by Ryan Crierie (CC-BY), via Wikimedia Commons


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In a demonstration 'or o''icers and IPs, the system locked onto the "iewin& stands, causin&somethin& o' a minor panic as the obser"ers di"ed 'or co"er# $he technicians made se"eral attempts tosol"e the problems, but the test system didnt mana&e to en&a&e any tar&ets# A ord mana&er claimedthe problems were due to the "ehicle ha"in& been washed 'or the demonstration, and that this hada''ected the electronics, causin& a %ournalist to wonder sarcastically i' it e"er rained in 8entral e'ense, ordered a series o' battle'ield condition tests, monitoredby the new )perational $est and


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A!out Russe"" hi""i%sorn and brou&ht up in a minin& "illa&e in /outh orkshire, RussellPhillips has li"ed and worked in /outh orkshire, Bincolnshire, 8umbriaand /ta''ordshire# Fe writes books and articles about military technolo&yand history# Fis articles ha"e been published in ;iniature *ar&ames,

*ar&ames Illustrated, and the /ociety o' $wentieth 8entury *ar&amersQournal# Russell has been inter"iewed 'or the American edition o' $heoice o' Russia# Fe currently li"es in /toke-on-$rent with his wi'e andtwo children#

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an ineffective system: the m247 sergeant york

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