museum ordnance jan 96

8/18/2019 Museum Ordnance Jan 96

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3.00

January 996

Museum

Ordnance

Thli Magazine for the

U S

Army Ordnance

Museum

Promoting the preservation and colfection

o

information and artifacts

o

military ordnance from around the world


2/30

The

leader in defense, aerospace and transportation information.

Jane s products

include

Jane s Fighting

Ships,

Jane s All

The World s

Aircraft and Jane s Defence

Weekly.

Jane s also offers

its

yearbooks,

directories, binders and magazines

in

electronic format.

For a complete product list

r

a CD-ROM sample disc contact:

Jane's

INFORMATION GROUP

1340

Braddock Place, Suite

300

Alexandria, VA 22314-1651

Tel: (703) 683-3700 Fax: (703) 836-0029


3/30

Dr. 'Jack' Atwater

The

Curator's

Column

My editor tells

me

that

space is

limited

in this edition and that I am

to

be mindful

of

Shakespeare's dictum

that, , , "Brevity is the soul of wit.

Thereisalotgoingonwithinthe museum

on

the

preservation of our

vehicles

that are stored outside . I

am

reluctant

to write

about

this subject at this time

because

of the many

imponderables

that,

unfortunately,

still exist. Still I

hope to report

some

very exciting and

good newswithin the

next

few months!

I

have been

asked

upon several

occasions

to

write

about

our

medals

display.

t is

one

of

the most colorful

and complete displays we

possess

in

the museum. George Washington

established our

country's

first award

on

7

August 1782. The Badge of

Military Merit was probably the first

offiCial award given to soldiers and

officers

without

regard to

rank.

The

original

award was

a

piece of cloth in

the form

of

a purple heart and is the

forerunner of

the current

medal

re-

ceived for wounds.

The

Medal

of

Honor was

created

during the

Civil

War

but

none of the

other medals of

our

"Pyramidof

Honor"

were

created

un til

1918.

Mili

tary

decorations come in distinctive shapes

a cross, a star, a "starburst: or a

hexagon and are conferred

on

an

indi-

Continued on Page 10

n The Cover

Living

in the past.

Like

many

times before,

American soldiers find themselves fighting

this year's war

with last

year's weapons.

Makeshift

protection

for

security duty.

use

u

Ordnance

Features

Haven't We Learned Anything In The

Past Thirty Years?

By

dam

Geibel

4

More

Syrian

Use of

German

Armor

By LTC. Richard

A.

Williams

7

Armored

Combat of the Nigerian

Civil War 1967-1970

By David Spencer

12

Special Forces/Special Operations Vehicle

HMMWV

16

The Common Chassis Revisited

The U.S.

Army's

Advanced

Field

Artillery

System

"Crusader"

By

Lawrence

D

Bacon

and

Dr Asher

H

Sharoni

17

1995 Editorial

Index 31

Departments

Curator's

Column

3

Bookshelf G-2

1

Book Reviews

SHADOW WAR

The CIA's Secret War in Laos

GERMANYSPANTHERTANK

The Quest

for

Combat Supremacy

11

15

The Ordnance

Museum

Foundation 26

Miniature Ordnance:

Commanders

Model CA.1

Schneider

WWI

French Tank

By

Steve Zaloga

27

Classified

Ads

31

Museum Ordnance

ISS1\ 1083-9577

Volume

6,

Number 1

January 1996

Jeffrey

D. McKaughan

Editor

Adam Geibel

Associate Editor

Jan

uary 1996

Museum Ordnance is published six·times per year by Darlington Productions, Inc. , P.O. Box 5884, Darlington,

MD

21034. (410) 457·5400. AU righls are reserved. Copyright 1996.

No

part

of

this publication may be copied or

reproduced without the expressed wrillen permission

of

the publisher.

This publication serves the interests and needs of the U.S.Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground,

Aberdeen, MD.

Subscriptions: One-year (six issues)

is

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aU

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um

Ord uJnce is not responsible for unsolicited manu scripls, artwork or photos sent to the office. Material

will be returned to the author only if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The opinions and views expressed

by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum, the publisher, or the editor.

3


4/30

Haven t We

Learned Anything

In The Last

Thirty Years?

Adam Geibel

In response to Viet Cong ambushes on

supply

convoys.

the

US

Army

In Viet

nam used

field

expedient armor

to pro

tect their trucks. This included sand-

bag lined

cab

floors and

beds to counter

landmines. Th

Irty

years later

US forces

are committed

across the globe. from

Haiti

to Somalia. with

essentially

the

same

unarmored

rear

echelon vehicles

that they

went

to

Vietnam with

Interestingly

enough. these photos

from Haiti

show

that

the

US

Army

is

responding

the same

way.

with the

same technology. While the workman-

ship

displayed

on the

lOth

Mountain

DiVision

truck appears

to

be of the

highest quality. the

real

answer lays

beyond

field expediency.

In

an

era where mine protected

vehicles

-

Including those

specifically

designed

for convoy and resupply

use.

are already available. using thirty

year

old

technology to protect American

sol

:diers is criminally

stupid.

The armored capsule sits in the bed oJ the truck necessitating that the tail gate

remain lower ed to use

the

rear door.

The armor plate

is

supported with

vertica

strutsfixed in

the bed walls,

where

the wooden stake

bodies

are

usually

mounted

Note

method

oj

attaching anti-grenade screen to

armor

plate.

An

uparmored 1 th Mounta in Division five-ton truck taken in Haiti 1994. There are

fiveftring

ports left. right and

rear

Note anti-grenade screen

over

troop compart

ment

4

useum Ordnance


5/30

Eve OJ Destruction, a

well-known

five-ton M53 truck ar

moredJor convoy

duty

in Vietnam. Four

M

.50 Brownings

providedmassivesuppressivejirepower,

but

the

truck had no

overhead protect on from handgrenades. US

Army

Three black-spray stenciled insignia,

from

left to

right;

Tri

angle with bullet ricocheting

off oj

curasier s breastplate,

ARPA (Tactical Armor Integration Laboratory) centered on

stylized

globe, Conquest

OJDarkness.

From this angle,

the

anti-grenade

screen

lacing is clearly visible.

An

American

rifleman demonstrating the

use oj

firing port

Note

the method oj

attaching

the

rooJ beams and lateral

reinJorcements to

the one

inch

by

8 inch boards.

January 996

Publisher's Note:

n

March. 1995. at IDEX '95 in Abu Dhabi the South

Africans demonstrated the protection and survivability of their Casspir

Mk. II. For five con secut ve days the Casspir was paraded in front of the

viewing stand before being driven out into the firing range (top photo).

There

it

was dri ven over a landmine and towed back showing the damage

(middle photo). It was then taken to arevetrnent where within 25 minutes

it was repaired and driven back under its own power (bottom photo). The

same vehicle withstood this abuse for five straight days

I spoke with a Canadian businessman who volunteered to sit in the

vehicle as a passenger during the demonstration that these photos were

taken from. Although a rough ride, he and the orthers were not injured

other than being "shaken up."

Why is the U.S. Army still bolting together make-shift protection for

troops in security and patrol operations? While

troops

in the field are

doing what it takes to ensure their safety. off-the-shelf equipment is

available from a number of sources that could do a better job.

"No More Task Force Smiths'" needs

to

e taken a little more

seriously

5


6/30

6

Do any

Museum

Ordnance

readers

have

other

photos

or information on either of

the

vehicles

shown

here?

The photo above is obviously

a modified Gennan 251 half

track

with

an

A-frame lift

ing

rig and

built-up super

structure

over

the

body.

t

also appears to have been

pressed

into service by Rus

sian soldiers.

The photo

below

was taken

in a vehicle

park after date

unknown.

useum Ordnance

:


7/30

More Syrian

Use ofGerman

rmor

LTC. Richard

A.

Williams

In

more than three years as

an

Assis

tant US Army

Attache in Israel,

I have

made over 150 trips

to the

Golan

Heights.

I

therefore

read Mr.

Steven

Zaloga's fascinating

article

on early

Syrian armor (July 1995) with great

interest.

Since

then, Russ Vaughan

and I have made a trip to another

This destroyed StuG

III

in

a

small dug-

in position,

remains where

it w s de

stroyed.

ABOVE RIGHT:

Cleartracesojzimmerit

coating

are still evident on

the [>-LKpjiv

N

(unlike the tank t

Tel

Aziziatj.

The rubber tires o road wheels

from

both

the Mk N and the StuG

III

were

clearly marked

Hutchinson,

Made

in

France W

proViding

further

evidence o

Steve's comments about France s

source

o

rebuUt

German

vehicles.

January

996

former battlefield location which pro

duced some Interesting finds bearing

on that subject.

The site, known

as

Nuheilla

(or

Nukheila) was a fortified Syrian posi

tion

about one kilometer north

of

Tel

Dan

on

the Israel-Syrian border.

(Is-

raeli armor

buffs

may remember the

area as the scene

of several armor

engagements from

Nov.

1964

through

August 1965

which resulted in and

validated then-Col. Israel Tal's

devel-

opment of long-range

tank

gunnery

techniques, which laid the foundation

for

the outstanding

performance and

reputation of IDF tankers

in

subse

quent

wars

.

*

I had recently

been in

-

formed

by

an

IDF

military historian

that

the position, with which Iwas very

familiar

but had not

previously

visited,

• A

good

source for further

informa

tion

on this series

of

engagements is

the article,

Tel

Dan Incident:

New

Con

cept

in

Israeli

Tank

Warfare, by

Yosef

Argaman

in

the #20 issue (Summer

1990) of the now-defunct lDF

Journal.

formerly published in English by the

Israeli

Ministry

of Defense.

7


8/30

The

Syrian Renault 35.R tank at

Degania. mentioned in Mr Zaloga's ar-

ticle. MG Tal said that.

aJew years

ago.

he

settled

a decades-old controversy

over which oJthe deJenders' weapons

had

knocked

outthe tank-a

PIATora

20mmATgun. Using

the

same methods

he pioneered which have been used by

the

IDFOrdnance Corps to analyze thou-

sands oj

other

knocked-out

tanks.

he

conclUSively proved that

the

PIATgun

ner h d been

responsibleJor

the

kilL)

still contained three

Syrian

vehicles.

We hit th e

jackpot;

no t onlydid the

position

contain

another

destroyed

PzKpfw IV Similar. but not identical. to

the

one

at

Tel Aziziat.

but

also a StuG

III. burned

but

basically intact in its

revetment.

The PZKpfw V

clearly

suffered a

catastrophic internal explosion only

the

roof and right side

of

the turret

remain . The tank

appears to

have been

moved from

its

original location and

the gun and possibly the

turret

re-

mains

piled

onto

the wreck of

the

hull.

LEFT: The StuG III

has

been

modlfred

with a mount Jar a heavy MG. as

shown

in Steve s article.

To

the

left

oj

the gun mantlet on

the

StuG III are

two

penetrations. one entr

an d

one exit hole. Apparently. ammunition cooking oJj inside

the

tank during th

ensuing fire caused the exit hole. The entry hit marked the rear oj the fightin

compartment with shrapnel. Two more (Israeli) rounds penetrated to the right

o

the

mantlet.

The

FzKpJw N

at

Tel Aziziat, shown previous in

Steve

Zaloga's article.

Museum Ordnanc


9/30

An lDF modified M3

half

track which

remains

where

it was

knocked

out dur

ing the une Golani Brigade attack

on

Tel

Fakher a

stronglyjortlfzed

posi

tion overwatching Tel Aztzlat

from the

east . The.J1.oor o the vehicle is still

covered with lumdreds o casings and

projectiles from

.50

cal. 7.62mm, and

9mmammunitton

that explodedduring

thefire.

BELOW: This photo shows an M4Al

semi·concealed

in a small

park

near

KibbutzEinZiwanon theGolanHeights.

This tank

was ex·

French

Army equip

ment,possibly brought Israel

in

one oJ

the clandestine French arms shipments

prior

to

the

1956 Sinal

invasioTL

The

tank bears

a

partially readable French

data plate inside in headed ·Char

M4Al."

Assuming

that

this tankJought

on

the

Golan in the Six-Day War,

French-supplied Shermans may have

engagedFrench-suppliedGermanequip-

ment. Mod ftcations to

the

basically US-

issue

M4Al

include the Jour turret-

mounted

smoke

grenade

launchers and

a

curious angled port drilled into the

turret

rooJ

near

the mantlet,

possiblyJor

lTing

f lares

from inside

the

tank.

one

of the

tracks

is lying

about fifteen

meters from

the

vehicle. The StuG

seems to

have remained

where it

was

hit, although the

IDF

tank(s)

that

hit t

must

have been

firing

from

an

elevated

position, as

the assault

gun is pro

tected by

a berm

in front of the

vehicle

which

is

higher

than

the location

of

the

hits.

I

hope the above sheds

additional

light on

the

interesting ex-German Syr

ian armor subject.

There

was one

error.

probably a typo

in

Mr.

Zaloga s

article:

The

tank at Tel Aziziat was knocked

out

in

the 1967

war,

not the 1973 war

as

the photo caption says. The

body

of

the

article also mentions the use of the

Mk V on the

Golan Heights

in the

1973 War. The

Heights were in

Israeli

hands

between the 1967

and

1973

wars,

so

any Syrian armor used there

in 173 was part

of the

attacking force.

If

Syria

still had any

Mk

IVs left

by

then, they would certainly have been

In

secondary

or tertiary

lines

of

defense

well inside Syrian

territory.

January

996

9


10/30

Curat

or s

COIUIll

D

rContiru Ledfrom Page

3

vidual

for a designated

achievement.

Their achievements can either be in

combat

or

for

noncombatan

t

actions.

The decorations are in distinctive

shapes to distinguish them

from ser

vice

medals which

are circular.

Ser

vice

medals are

awarded

for

a

par

ticular campaign. expedition.

occu

pation duty, or emergency service.

Under normal circumstances "deco

rations"

are

conferred

for a specific

act of

gallantry

and "medals" for

participation

in a deSignated war or

for performing

a

meritorious

service.

This

can

be confusing

because

the

highest decoration awarded

for

gal

lantry is the Medal of

Honor

.

Small auxiliary

insignia are

worn

on the ribbons of medals to

indicate

various

things.

In the

army

a

bronze

oak-leaf indicates a

subsequent

award of

the

same medal. A

silver

oak-leaf

indicates

five identical

awards. Bronze

stars

on

a

campaign

medal indicate participati oninbattles

or various campaigns

within

the

con

text of

the

larger

conflict. A

bronze

"V" is

worn

to

indicate participation

in

combat on the Legion of Merit.

Bronze

Star,

and

Commendation

medals.

A bronze arrowhead

indi

cates

participation

in

an invasion.

Decorations and medals

are

not

"badges."

A

badge

is given for

some

special proficiency, such as marks

manship, parachuting,

being

SCUBA

qualified. or

being an aviator

or a

member

of

a flight

crew.

Decorations

and

medals stand

for more that the Nation's

grateful

acknowledgment offldelity. They are

a constant incentive to performance

of

outstanding deeds. When

Antoine

Thibaudeau. an ardent French revo

lutionary, objected to Napoleon's

awarding

medals as

mere

"baubles",

the

Emperor

replied, "You are

pleased

to call them'baubles;'

well,

t is with

'baubles'

that an army's

esprit

is

maintained and strengthened."

Come and visit us at the Ord

nance

Museum!

Museum Ordnance Bookshelf G 2

news and notes about AFV resources

by

Tom.Laemlein

Back again for

another

round of news and notes on AFV-related

resources

and

entertainment.

The

most

significant

development

of the

fall

has

to

be

Edward R Hamilton's

Superstore

Catalog (Edward R Hamilton Bookseller,

Fall s Village, CT

06031-5000).

Incredible!

Hamilton

is

now

offering

most

of the

SchilTer line of

hardbound

books at significantly reduced prices (Le.:

Rommel In the Desert,

by

Kuhn -

$24.50,

A History of the Panzer Troops,

by Haupt - $17.46). Even better news is his pricing on some

of

Hunnicutt·s

Presidio releases:

Sherman

at $64.95,

Abrams

and

Patton at

$42.00. I've

counted over 20 well-priced books

of

direct interest to

armor

fans in this

catalog. so I strongly

suggest

you get a

copy

and make some cost-effective

additions to your library.

Veteran

armor

author George Forty has two releases this fall. The first,

Tanks: World War Two Fighting Armor ($29.95)

was

mentioned

in

my last

column and is yet to arrive in bookstores. The second:

Tank

Action: From

the

Great War

to

the Gulf

($39.95) has arrived, but Without much fanfare.

That's

unfortunate,

because

It's

an outstanding

work,

with

detailed, well

illustrated

accounts ofvarious

tank

actions throughout the 20th

century.

My copy came from

Zenith

Books (1-800-826-6600).

Panther fans have two new books to choose from

well-establlshed authors.

The first, Germany's

Panther

Tank: The

Quest

For

Combat Supremacy, by

Thomas Jentz

($45.00 Schiffer) is a highly detailed

account,

primarily

of

Panther

deVelopment and production. A solid book with excellent drawings

by H.L. Doyle. (see book review in this issue.) The

other

volume is Panther,

by Uwe

Feist and

Bruce Culver

($75.00

Ryton Publications).

Fans

were

lukewarm

on

their expensive

1992

publication of TIger, so I hope this

Panther

edition (272 pages. over 500 photos and illustrations) breaks some

new ground. Of course, Ryton books are beautifully published.

Motorbooks has released The Imperial

War Museum

Book

ofthe

DesertWar

1940-1942, a well-illustrated, but general

history of that

campaign from a

British

perspective. Motorbooks

has

also published

Mussolini's Soldiers,

by Rex Tyre ($29.95). It's a good start. well-illustrated, but lacks

the

details

on Italian armor

and artillery that

many of us are

looking for.

Last column I mentioned Across The Rhine. a WWII tank simulator for the

PC from MicroProse. Now

comes

Steel

Panthers

from

Strategic

Simulations,

Inc. ($39.95). While Across

the

Rhine tried to be an on-the-battlefield tank

simulator (and

genera lly failed), Steel

Panthers updates older

"board game"

technology, reminiscent

of

Avalon Hill's

Squad

Leader. Offering a top-down

view of outstandin g graphics (plus video footage and digital sound effects)

Steel Panthers Is easy to learn (the

computer

does all

the

math)

and

fun!

Armor

fans will love

the

depth

of historical

de

.tail - including al

~ _ . ~ ~ ~ _ i i i i ~ : l m o s t every major ve

" hicle from

the combat

ant nations of

WWII.

These

t § ~ : ; ; ; ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ L ~ ~ p e o P l e

have done their home

; "

work. The battle-builder al

lows you to create your own

........ engagements (try Italiansvs.

Japanese armor ifyou

want).

Head-to-

head

modemplay

and

s ~ ~ ~ additional historical scenarios

are coming soon. You'll need a

486/33 PC or

better,

8MB

of RAM

2X CD

ROM, and at least 12MB available hard-drive space.

10

useum

Ordnanc


11/30

Museum Ordnance s Bookshelf Book Reviews

SH DOW W R

The CIA's Secret

War

In taos

The CIA's Secret War in Laos

By Kenneth

Conboy

with

James

Morrison

464

pages, photos,

maps

1995 ISBN 0-87364-825-0

Paladin

Press

P.O.

Box

1307

Boulder,

CO 80306

(303) 443-7250

49.95

This

is

a large book:

In

physical size it's

8.5

by 11 inches, in thickness

it's

464

on

previously

known

situations

is punc

pages,

and in content it

is

fully packed

tuated with information

not

disclosed

Indicative

of the

title, the war

in

before.

Laos was

fought

in

the

shadow

of the

The

book begins

just

after

the end

fighting

in Vietnam.

As such, informa

ofWWII.

but

the coverage intensifies in

tion

on

the war

is

hard

to come

by and

the 1950's and continues through to

difficult to research. The

authors spent

1974. The CIA along with

a variety

of

more

than

ten

years

interviewing

par

military

and

civilian

agencies

ran

a

ticipants and combing through

field

large, mostly covert

operation.

This

reports and formerly classified docu

activity

was split between trying to

ments. Their effort pays off for

the

"save" Laos from the evils of commu

reader

as

a

wealth

of

new information

nism

and serving

the larger

plcture in

GERMANrSPANTHERTANK

The

Quest for Combat Supremacy

Thomas Jentz, drawings by Hilary Doyle

156

Pages, 140 Photos,

16 sets

of drawings

plus

35 other drawings, 20 charts

and

graphs

1995

ISBN 0-88740-812-5

Schiffer

Publishing Company

77 Lower Valley

Road

Atglen, PA 19310

45.00

Numerous charts

and

graphs also

Review by Frank De

Sisto

present this

information in an easily

digested

form. This information Is es

Quite

simply, this

new book rendered

pecially useful to

modelers

who wish to

nearly every other

book

ever written on

be able

to

depict

a specific vehicle

at

a

the

Panther

obsolete.

For the first

time

specific

time

and

place

. All of this

the complete genesis of

the

Panther

informatio n is cross-referenced using

a

series

is correctly presented.

system of numbers in a way familiar to

To do

this

the author has con engineers,

an d

easily

used by

the reader.

sulted

with only

original

source

docu The

excellent

selection of

photo

ments and inspected

nearly

every graphs (most of which

are

NOT new)

available

surviving

vehicle on public with

complete captioning,

allow

these

display. Aside from constantly citing

to shed new light on a subject which

documents used throughout the text, many might think is "done to death ."

the

author explains

how

the

use

of

Mr. Doyle's drawings

are

in a

class by

parts

stock

numbers

helped to identity themselves

and cover

many variations

various models of the Panther. All of with

four complete

views.

this

is

presented

in

chronological

order After action

reports by users

and

to show

what

changes were made

and

an

assessment

by American tankers

when they occurred.

give a biased (the author

plainly states

January

1996

Vietnam. This book is full of strategic

level plans, facts,

and

figures

but easily

transitions

to tactical

combat informa

tion and

covert action

details.

Never before known

facts

on White

Star

operations (including

a

gripping

and detailed account of the PAVN as

sault

on

the

UASFTSQ-81

radar

site

at

Phou Phathi),

raids on Dien Bien

Phu

in 1968, the first use of a

homemade

BLU-82 bomb from a C-130, tank

ac

tions with

PT-76's, US-run sites as

basecamps

for

missions Into China,

and

the

war along the Ho Chi

Minh

Trail to name just

a few.

The book includes

a

comprehen

sive index, alongwith a glossary. Nicely

done

maps

are done in a separate

sec

tion

in the back that give basic geogra

phy

and

distance

references,

while

mixed among the text are

several

tacti

cal

maps of various battles.

The

endnotes

are

listed

at

the end of each

chapter and are

extensive

and

informa

tive.

The

endnotes

also take

the

place

of a bibliography. Although I would

have preferred a separate listing of

sources.

the

actual notation would

probably have

been

small

as much of

the

research involved Interviews

with

veterans and participants as opposed

to

books,

reports, and

documents.

The photographs are

best

described

as rare.

even

for someone who

is

a

student

ofIndochina.

They represent a

good

selection

of personalities, eqUip

ment,

locations,

and

actions.

Kenneth Conboy has traveled and

studied this area and this conflict for

many years and his experience

shows.

readers of the Osprey series of books

maybe

familiar

with his

work

as he has

authored

a number

of

subjects cover

ing

Southeast

Asia. James Morrison is

an

ex-Special

Forces

officerwho

served

in Southeast Asia.

This book

is hi hly recommended.

such in his

introduction) but

neverthe

less accurate account

of

the Panther in

battIe.

Production statis t ics ,

units

equipped with the Panther,

and avail

ability and casualty rates allow the

reader

to

draw

his

own conclusions

regarding the

efficiency

of

the

design in

combat. In that respect, the

author

does us a service: he forces us to think

for

ourselves.


12/30

Armored

Combat

of

th

e

Nigerian

Civil War

1967-1970

David Spencer

Biafra,

the richest oil-endowed

prov-

ince of

Nigeria

declared independence

from

Nigeria

in

May,

1967.

The war

wasn t only

about oil,

but also tribal

and

religious

domination.

The Biafrans

were

mostly

Ibo and

Christian, while

the

Federalgovernment wa s

dominated

by

Hausa

northerners who were pre

dominantly

Islamic.

The

two and a

half

year war that

followed,

was one of the

toughest

and

bloody

wars

in African

history. This was due to the sheer

determination, tenacity and ingenuity

of

the

Biafran

army

which refused

to

give

up.

Biafra's

principle

disadvantage

was

its

lack

of arms.Most of the world s

major arms

suppliers

sided with the

Federal government.

Britain, the

So-

viet

Union, and

Islamic

nations

aided

Nigeria.

The

United

States remained

neutral.

France

sold

limited

numbers

of

weapons

to Biafra.

Portugal,

Rhode-

sia,

and South Africa gave

aid to

Biafra,

but

they

were all limited

because

of

arms

embargoes

against

all of

them for

their

policies

of defiance

in Africa.

As a

consequence,

Biafra

had

to

use

surreptitious

means to

obtain

weap-

onry

from

anywhere they could. What

they couldn t smuggle

in,

they made,

and

the

results

were

Impressive. But

the

latter

is the

subject for a

seperate

article.

Noticeably

lacking

from the

Biafran

arsenal were armored

vehicles.

Biafra

scoured Europe

for

sources of

weap

ons, and

found

them

in the

scrap yards

12

still

existing of

World

War

II

refuse.

France, the Biafrans purchased

p

haps

a

dozen decrepit examples

of

t

Universal

and Bren carrier

family.

Som

came

from

scrap yards,

and

perha

even

a

museum. The

vehicles

reach

Biafm through

Port Calabar. In

Biaf

the vehicles were put into running

co

dition

and

then

modified for

comb

The

original armor was

considered

t

thin,

so a

tall

box

armor superstru

ture was built

up

around the open

t

of

the carrier and

prOvided

with

g

slits

.

The

vehicles

were

armed

with .

caliber

machine

guns. The Biafra

called

them

The Red Devils.

The

Nigerian

Federal Army

h

been supplied

by France

and

Brita

The

Nigerian

armored

vehicles includ

Ferrets, Saladins, Saracens,

and Fren

A JV1L armored cars.

While

the Fren

ceased

prO\ision

ofeqUipment

to

Nig

ria shortly

after

the war

began, Brita

provided :\igeria with

numerous Salad

and

Saracen

armored cars,

and

the

became

the dominant

vehicles of t

war,

spearteading every

major

Ni

rian attack.

The

first armored

vehicles to s

action was

a

squadron of

Nigerian F

ret armored

cars

th at supported t

advance

on

i\ sukka. On

July 6, 19

the

advance

began. The Ferre

sucessfully ambushed some trucks

f

of Biafran

sol

diers.

However. as t

column advanced on Nsukka

a

Fer

gunner

panicked

and opened

fire

Nigerian

troops,

killing eleven.

The Biafrans

responded

with

counter-attack

of their own

in

the

M

west. SDme Red Devils

were

slated

use in

the battle.

However

they su

fered

mechanical breakdown

before

th

reached

the

battlefield

and

could not

repaired

in time.

The

Biafrans subsequently ma

an

attempt

to drive

on

Lagos. The

ope

ing

pl

ay

of

this

offenSive

was an atta

on the are region. Before

the batt

Biafran soldiers disguised

as

Yoru

tribesmen

carried

out

careful

reco

na i

ssa

nce

to

locate the

Nigerian po

tions.

However,

just

before

the Biafr

attack

a

Nigerian

force

under

Iluyomade moved forward

fifteen mi

to

Ofusu

and set up a

concealed

po

tion.

This

was

not detected by the

rec

elements.

The

advance

began on

A

gust

11.

1967.

Led by a

Red

Devil.

the Biafr

move

was taken by surprise. Althou

raw recruits, the Nigerians held th

fire

until the

Biafrans

were

close.

T

opening Nigerian

fire

drove ofT t

useum

Ordnan


13/30

.,

-

Map

from The Brothers War by John

de

st JOrTe Houghton Mifflin Company.

1972. An excellent

book

covering

much ofthefrghting and the political intrigue

sUrTounding this civil war.

bombers

and

the Red Devils.

the

Nige

rian garrison was

forced

into

a

small

pocket

on

the edge of the

sea. The

Biafran

attack

bogged down

around

Christmas

1967

because

of

a dispute

between

the two major Blafran com

manders. They went to Port Harcourt

to

resolve

theirdispute.

Meanwhile

the

Nigerians

took

advantage

of

the lull to

replace the commander

on

the island

and

bring

in

reinforcements. The new

Nigerian force

launched

a

counter

offensive.

By the time the Blafran

leaders returned. their troops were in

full

retreat and

by early 1968. the Is

land was completely back

In Nigerian

hands.

On March 25. 1968.

Colonel

Joe

"Hannibal" Achuzle

of the

Biafran forces

set his men up on

either side

of

the road

at Abagana down

which

the Federal

column was

travelling.

t

consisted

of

102 vehicles.

Including armored

ve

hicles.

and

was escorted

by 6.000

troops.

When

the column reached the

midpoint

between

either end of

his

forces he

ordered his

men

to open

fire.

A chance

mortar

bomb hit a fuel

truck

and exploded 8.000 gallons offuel

that

shot

a

400 meter tongue of

flame

back

down

the

column.

The

Federal troops

panIcked

and in their attempt

to es

cape.

ran right

into the

guns of

the

Blafran soldi ers. Very few sUIvived.

Meanwhile.

the

Biafrans

began

re-

Biafran infantry. However. a Biafran

mortar

fired a lucky

shot that

knocked

out

the

Nigerian

81mm mortar. The

Red Devil

continued to

advance. It

was

peppered by withering

small arms

fire

which

failed to penetrate the

added

on quarter inch armor

plate.

The

Red

Devil penetrated the position

and

be

gan

to chew

up the

Nigerian

troops

with its

machine guns.

At

this point

the Nigerians

had

nearly

exhausted

their ammunition. In desperation they

doused the

vehicle with

gasoline and

set

it

on

fire. This

stopped the

vehicle.

killed

the

crew.

and

effectively

stopped

the Biafran advance.

After

an

all

night

battle.

the

Biafrans withdrew. leaving

their

dead and the

burnt out

Red

Devil.

On September 10.

1967. the

Biafrans launched

a

bid

to

retake

Nsukka

.

Several

Red Devils led the

attack.

Nsukka

was defended

by

the

Nigerian 1st

Brigade

eqUipped

with

re

coilless rifles. Against

small arms

and

raw recults the

Red Devils

could pre

vail.

but neither condition existed at

Nsukka. Against

these

Nigerian troops

the vehicles proved to

be

slow. blind.

cumbersome. hard

to

maneuver. and

dangerous to accompanying troops be

cause of the amount of

fire they

at

tracted.

Three of

the Red Devils were

destroyed by

recoilless rifle fire

and

close-in Infantry

attack.

The Blafrans

were thrown back. leaving

their

three

destroyed

Red Devils behind.

Another

Biafran offensive

was

the

attempt

to

retake the island of

Bonny.

Thiswas an important

oll

terminal that

the Nigerians

had

taken early In the

war. Due

to

operations elsewhere. the

Nigerians

had reduced the

garrison to

a minimal force .

The

Biafrans

took

advantage of this

weakness and

launched an amphibious attack.

ferry

ing over a large force including four Red

Devils. The

attack on

Bonny

was sup

ported

by B-26

bombers.

Between

the

Armor

Modeling

and

Preservation Society ..

or AMPS, is a non-profit organization whose

purpose

is to "associate interest ed

individua ls and organizations in both sharing an interest in the history of

armored vehicles

and

in cultivating interest in armored vehicles

and

related

subjects via the hobby of modeling

"

I30resight the Society's publication, is issued six-times per

year and

is full of

articles, reviews, and other information useful to the military modeler.

A one-year membership is $20.00 (U.s.),

Canada

$25.00,AlI Others: $25.00 surface

and $35 airmail. All payments must be in U.s. funds, no credit cards.

AMPS

P.O.

Box 331

Darlington,

MD 21034

r

Plan

on

attending AMPS 96, the 2nd Annual National Conven

tion of the Armor Modeling

and

Preservation Society on April

19

20, 1996

at

the Aberdeen, Maryland, Sheraton

Four

Points.

January

1996

13


14/30

c

eh

in g ant i -tank

rock

ets [

rom

:> rance

and 37mm ~ E B rocket launchers from

Portugal. In June 1968, the French

anti-tank rockets were

fired

at Nigerian

ML

armored cars, which were

stllJ

operational despite

France's

embargo

of

spare

parts.

In August

1968,

the

Nigerians at

tacked Aba. The Biafrans blew the

Awaza

and

Imo

bridges but failed

to

blow

a pipeline.

over the river with

a

catwalk

over

the top. The Biafrans

covered

this pipeline

with automatic

weapon fire. However.

when they

ran

outofammunition.

the Nigerians

sent

three infantry

battalions

across and

established a bridgehead before

repair

ing the

main

bridge

to

bring across

their

artlllery

and

armored cars. The

Biafrans

received reinforcements. and

1,000

men under

the

command

of

a

South

African mercenary

Tafty Will

iams launched a counterattack on Au

gust

24.

to

throw the

Nigerians back.

Equipped with small

arms.

mortars.

and

a

Biafran-made

electrically

fired

claymore-type

mine known as the

ogbun ig we

This Blafran-made

mine

was

reported to

have a

200-meter

kill

ing range

in

a 90 degree

arc.

The

Biafrans took ground but were coun

terattacked

by

Federal forces

led

by

Saladin

armored

cars. The Biafrans

stopped vehicles with anti-tank ditches

and

fired

40 ogbunigwes on the first

day.

ASaladin's tires were shredded by

these

mines and

forced to withdraw.

However. the Biafrans

ran

low on am

munition and were forced to

halt.

They

resisted

frontal

Federal

attacks

for two

more days. mostly

by clever employ

ment

of

their mines.

Finally

the Nige

rians hooked around

to the

right and

broke

through

the

weak

Biafran

flanks

with

their armored cars. This force

took Aba.

In

the attempt

to

break out,

Colonel Achuzie. the hero of Abagana

had a near head on collision

with

a

Federal Saladin. However, In

the con

fusion

he escaped.

By

this

time.

the

Biafrans had no

armor oftheir own. but soon had a two

car armored battalion of captured

armored cars. The first armored car

was captured in

the

Onitsha

sector

after t was immobilized by a prOjectile

fired by Corporal Nwafor. When the

elated

Corporal ran

forward to examine

his prize. he was killed. Th e vehicle was

named after him.

The Corporal NwaJor

was soon joined by the OgutaBoy This

vehicle was

recovered

when the 14th

Blafran division

was aSSigned to

clear

Oguta. where the Nigerians had unex

peeledly landed

and

taken the town

.

This operation was successful

and

in

their withdrawal.

the Nigerians drove

an

armored

car

into

the river

to

prevent

Its

capture.

However.

the

vehicle

was

recovered by the Blafrans

who

named

it after

the town

where it was

captured.

The

Corporal NwaJor

and Oguta Boy

turned

the

tide

of

many encounters as

the Nigerians

did

not

expect the Biafrans

to

have armor.

and

since they were of

the same type

as

Nigerian vehicles.

often thought they were Nigerian ve

hicles that had

gotten

confused when

they

opened fire. The

hesitation

and

confusion

were often enough

to

turn

Ll Je tide of

battle.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian 1st Divi

sion was assigned to take Abakaliki.

They

were stopped

when

the

Biafrans

blew the

Ezello bridge.

Under the pro

tection

of supporting fire. the Nigerians

set up a bailey

bridge

and crossed the

river

spearheaded

by

their

armored

cars. This

force

took

Abakaliki.

In

April

1969

.

the

FederalIst

Divi

sion, led

by their

armored

cars,

made

a

drive

on Umuahla.

They

broke

through the Biafran

64th

Brigade and

then Into

the rear of the Biafran

55

Brigade around Uzuakoli.

The

Og

oy was dispatched to assist the Blaf

defense.

The

crew of OgutaBoywant

to

set

up

in

a

concealed position, so

vehicle could Withdraw if threaten

However, a colonel ordered

the

Og

Boy to

attack,

exposed

and

unsu

ported.

The

crew

explained

the

folly

this command,

but

the

colonel

insist

The Oguta Boy

carried out his

or

and

in

short

order was knocked o

and recaptured by the Nigerians. Ov

confident. the Nigerians

launched th

own

armored thrust against

Biaf

positions on April 6 at Aflkpo.

T

attack was stopped by

Biafran an

tank

guns

and

the Nigerians los

Ferret, Saracen. and a Saladin armo

car.

This was

only

a

temporary

setba

as eventually

the

Nigerians

to

Uzuakoll.

The

war ended in

January

19

Led

by

armored

cars

, Federal for

slowly

took town

after town after to

until

Blafra

ceased

to exist.

A form

cease fire was declared

on

January

and

the

Lagos

government

declared

end to hostilities on

January

15th.

Museum Ordnan

4


15/30

Just before they were to board a flight

from London. a group of

primarily

Brit

ish

and

Australian

veterans

were in

formed by the Libyan government

that

their visas

had

been withdrawn.

The

group.

planning

to visit

and pay

tribu te

to their fallen comrades in

and

around

Tobruk. seemed to be caught in

the

political battle between Libya

and most

other

countries over

the

investigation

into the bombing of Pan

m

103 over

Lockerbie.

Scotland.

t appears that

Libya reacted to

comments made by President Clinton

at

the unveiling of a monument to the

victims of that terrorist attack.

Kenya's

President

Daniel

arap

Moi

charged that

Uganda was

allowing

South African mercenaries to use their

country as a staging

ground

for an

attack

on Kenya. Kenya and Uganda

have traded

verbal assaults

since 1986

when the current

Kenyan

regime came

to power.

For its part. Uganda denied any

knowledge or involvement in such a

plot

and

chided Kenya for accusing it of

such. A leading Kenyan newspaper

stated that the

funding and planning

for the planned coup came from an

"unnamed"

Kenyan opposition party.

Further.

in

mid -November Uganda

claimed that

at least 200 Kenyan

troops

along with Ugandan rebels were

on

the

border ready to strike into

Uganda.

t

seems likely

that

fighting will

happen

along the border sometime.

even

ifboth

sides stumble

into it

acci

dently.

The French Army recently lost one

of

their Puma helicopters to ground fire.

Actually.

it was

a very angry. and re

portedly

very

drunk. French farmer

armed

with

a shotgun upset at

the

low

altitude of

the

helicopter over his prop

erty.

Would this

be

considered

friendly

fire??

I t

has been

recently

reported that Rus

sia

will

begin delivering

modem.

so

phisticated weaponry to South Korea

to

pay

down

the $1.56

billion

debt to

January 1996

the

Asian nation.

Reportedly T-80U main battle

tanks. BMP-3

infantrycombat

vehicles.

Metis-M anti-tankguided missiles.

and

Igla anti-aircraft missiles are included

in the

package.

If the

deal

goes

to

completion.

de

liveries will

span

through 1998.

The Friends ofthe Israeli

Defense

Forces

Is a worldwide organization that seeks

to provide social. recreational. andedu

cational services to active and retired

members of the IDF.

Along

with

their efforts to raise

funds for these causes. The Friends

also arrange and conduct tours of Is

rael. and because of

the

nature of the

organization,

these tours

Include a

number of destinations of

Interest

to

military and armor historians.

The

tours last eleven days (Includ

ing

travel

time).

Among the points of

interest

for

our

readers are Latrun

(me

morial

and museum site of

the

Ar

mored

Corps) . a tou r of the Golan

Heights. Citadel

of

DaVid Museum.

Masada, and at least one active Israel

military

base.

The 1996 tours are planned for

early February

($2.079).

late-July

($2.699). and mid-:.1o\'ember ($2,598).

For

more Information

contact the

Friends

of the

IDF, Mission

Depart

ment. 133

So.

Li

Ving

ston

Avenue;

Livingston, : 1J 07039 or call (201) 535

2671 (1-800-769-6000).

Christopher Foss has

reported in

a

Janes'

Defense Weekly (November II.

1995) article that

the

Russian T-90 Is

in

production

with more

than

100 al

ready

in service. The article includes

one three-quarters right front view of

the T-90.

More importantly is his informa

tion

on the new

Russian

tank under

development, possibly to be called the

T-95. This

tank

will probably have the

crew in

the forward

section

of the ar

mored

hull, with

an

externally-mounted

main gun (possibly either a 135mm

or

140mm).

I t

will most likely place a

greaterimportanceon survivability

than

previous Russian deSigns

and

will most

likely

be

diesel-powered.

Foss says

that

this new

tank

could

be introduced as

early

as 1997.

Another military tour that I

have

heard

a tremendous number of good things

about are the

Russian tours

sponsored

by

Robert

Fleming of Panzer Prints in

the

UK. I recently

met with

Bob

and

received a brief outline of his tour.

"The

third Panzer

Prints

'Tank

Tour" to Moscow

took

place in

Septem

berand

twelve

Individualsspentaweek

visiting Russian military

museums.

Sunday

was

a

sightseeing day with

visits

to the

Kremlin

and the

new Great

Patriotic

War Museum on the

Poklonnaja Hill. a five minute bus ride

from the hotel. The next two days were

spent

examining the

incredible AFV

collection at

the

Kubinka

Proving

Ground followed by a

visit

to the

Cen

tralArmed Forces

Museum

on Wednes

day."

"In additional to a

guided

tour of

the museum. the

group was invited to

explore

the

"fonts"

or

archives of each

department within

the

museum. They

saw and examined

objects

which

they

could only dream about. including

Hitler's

uniforms. Zhukov's

medals

and

the ultra

rare 2cm Luftfaust. a one

man

AA

weapon.

Thursday morning

saw the group at

the

Aerospace Mu

seum

at

Monino before returning to the

CAFE for

lunch and the

chance to

explore the fonts again. Current AFVs

such as the

T-80MU. BMP-3.

and

BTR

80 were examined at

the

Academy of

Armoured

Forces

on Friday.

The

final

daywas spent in military

book shops or

shopping before

the return

flight to

London."

Panzer Prints is planning at least

twotrips

in 1996.

thefirstinearlyMay

and the second in mid-September. Cost

from

the

U.S.

is

estimated at

about

$2.000 For

more

information. contact

Panzer

Prints.

The Falcon. Leverton

Road.

Sturton-Ie-Steeple. Retford

Notts. DN22 9HE.

England.

_ . . . . . . ~ t I t

We carry many, many - : : ; ; ~ ~

books on

m i l i t a r ~

tanks

t

"

,

-

t r ~ ~

~

combat \'ehicies .. with

many tit es

a\ '

ailable

o n l ~ t h r o u ~ h us

Plus a l a r ~ e s e l e c t i o n

or

technical manuals on

military trucks. jeeps and otherWW2 and post

war i l i t a r ~ \'I.'hicles.AII issues of

AFTER

THE

BATTLE

and WI EEL TRACK m a ~ a

l . i n e s

are

stocked. Send $3 t o d a ~ tllr

our

4 page catalog.

sent "'irst Class. ($5. overseas

by

air)

[f

PORTR Y L

PRESS

P.O. Box 1190-D

Andover.

NJ

07821

15


16/30

Special Forces/Special Operations Vehicle

HM WV

The

M998A2

is the improved

and

up -

graded

variant

of the now well known

Hurruner. The A2 includes a new 6.5

liter 160 hp diesel engine. a new

fourspeed automatic transmission.

larger

and improved brakes.

increased

payload.

and an

improved

human

fac-

tors package.

Using the basic platform.

M

Gen-

eral

has

built

and is

demonstrating

a

prototype for a Special Forces/Special

Operations variant

At least

on paper

the

SOY

variant

has

basically the same performance

specifications

as

the basic Hummer. In

appearance the obvious difference is

the large roll cage with

Integral

rotating

ring.

articulated side

arms

with

7. 62mm

machine guns.

and

smoke grenade

launchers.

To

date the company

has

not an-

nounced any orders from any country

for the vehicle.

nice

left

side

view

of

the SOV HMMWV

showing the

turret ring

with a 50

ca

machine gun. two 7.62 CPMC. one mounted on the left side by

the

rear door

the other

on the

rightfront comer

of the

dashboard.

the

smoke

grenade

tubes.

the central tire inflation

system.

LEFT: The underside

of

the heavy w

ons ring mount. A

number of weap

ranging from three barrel gat/ing g

30mm cannons

and

40mm gren

launchers

can

be mounted.

With the spare tire

swung

to the

and

the

tailgate dropped. you can

the

gunner s platform and farther

ward

the

radio

and

CPS locations.

remainder

of

the space is for extra f

ammunition. and

supplies

for

the

c

Museum Ordna

6


17/30

The

Common

Chassis

Revisited

The U.S. Army s

Advanced Field

Artillery System

Crusader

Lawrence D. Bacon and

Dr. Asher H. Sharoni

At a

recent armor conference at Ft.

Knox. I was amazed to

see

that the

principal topic of

discussion

was

the

Advanced

Field ArtillerySystem AFAS).

otherwise

known

as

the Crusader

Pro

gram. Like any good tanker. I have a

great appreciation

for

the value of ac

curate and

timely

fire

support.

how

ever. I was somewhat

bemused by

its

prominent

role in

this

annual

gather

ing

oftreadhead intelligentsia

Subse

quently. I

decided to explore

alterna

tives to

the

Crusader that

might truly

benefit

both the

Artillery

and Armor

communities.

The quest

for a modern self-pro

pelled

howitzer

has captured the

full

attention and

efforts of

both

the U.S.

Army

and industry. as

CRUSADER pro

gram is one

ofthe very

few

new

starts

in

combat vehicle development. Self

propelled howitzers are key players on

the modern battlefield.

and

once

equipped with

an

effective

and

autono

mous

Command

and Control system.

they are capable of expeditious

deploy

ment and rapid relocation of concen

trated

fire power. To

accomplish

the

fire support

mission under all weather

and combat

scenarios.

a modem self

propelled howitzer must possess

these

basic

characteristics:

Autonomous rapid

firing

reaction

High

operational availability

January

996

M284 CANNON

(MODI FIED M185)

REMOTELY

OPERATED

TRAVEL LOCK

AUTOMATIC FIRE

Optimum

crew ballistic

protection

Significant reduction

of manpower

workload intensity

The

current PALADIN M109A6 howit

zers are

deficient

in range.

lethality.

survivability

and

also lack

the mobility

to keep up with

the

rest

of the

maneu

ver

force.

These

limitations.

combined

with

a

heavy

crew workload. severely

impede

the

Paladin's ability to

engage

in

close support

maneuvers and

effec

tively

demonstrate its

full firepower

potential.

The

revised

post

-cold

war

u.s.

Army

mission

calls for a

new and

revolution

ary way

of

restructuring procurement

and acquisition philosophies

for

mod

ernization of armored

vehicles.

The

ever changing

global political

situation

is

straining

an

invariably decreasing

defense budget.

It is.

therefore

.

para

mount

that

the U.S.

consider new

ap

proaches

in developing.

implementing

and fielding an

advanced

field

artillery

system.

The Crusader Program was

devised

to fully

comply with

the

Army's

opera

tional reqUirements

while

serving

as

a

"Technology

Carrier

for future

combat

vehicles

.

Nonetheless.

due

to

persis

tent

technical challenges.

it is conceiv

able

that

Crusader

will

be

reassessed

and

ultimately

revised.

Without

edito

rializing. compelling

rationale includes:

An

adverse

political

environment

re

lected

by

congressional involvement

and concern

Significant

R&D

costs

High

technical

risk associated

with

the

Regenerative Uqutd

Propellant GWl

RLPG) technology

Controversial selection

of

a water-cooled

powerpack

(ignoring

the Army's

in

vestment in the Advanced Integrated

Propulsion

System AlPS)

technology)

Significant costs

of

procurement & ac

quisition

The

keystone

technology

of

the Cru

sader

Program.

and its overall

weapon

system approach.

is

the revolutionary

Regenerative Liquid Propellant

Gun

(RLPG).

Technical problems

(consis

tent performance. corrosion and

weight

growth) continue

to delay satisfactory

demonstration

of

this weapon.

and fur

thermore. the

U.S. is

undertaking the

RLPG

development on

its own. without

a standardization

agreement

with

NATO.

One

must consider that

a compa

rable and equally potent weapon sys

tem may be

devised

by utilizing avail

able systems and mature technologies

effectively

integrated

and

packaged

to

address

operational reqUirements. For

example. there

is

a

gun

presently

avail

able which demonstratesadequate

long

range performance

(30/40 km with

sufficient built-in

growth

potential.

This gun

is designated

as the 155 mm

L52

and was

developed

and

produced

in accordance with

the

oint

aUistics

Memorandum O Understanding

JBMOU)

endorsed by

France.

Germany.

Italy.

the United

Kingdom

and

the

United States.

Coupled

with the Modu-

larArtil lery

Charge System MACS).

the

17

M1

82 GUN MOUNT

(MODIFIED M178

MICROCLIMATE

COOLING SYSTEM

(MCS)

CONTROL SYSTEM (AFCS)

SEGREGATED

HYDRAULIC

SECURE VOICE

COMPARTMENT

DRIVER'S NIGHT

AND DIGITAL

COMMUNICATIONS

VI SION DEVICE

The

M109A6


18/30

U.S. Army can achieve most

of the

CRUSADER f irepower

goals

while

maln

tainingweapon/ammunition common

ality

within

NATO.

THE

THINKING TANKER'S

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION

TO CRUSADER

In

the mid-1980·s. General

Bob

Sunnell's "think-tank" came

up

with a

concept called the

"Armored

Family

of

Vehicles" (AFV) . Although the

FV

offered

many interesting

life-cycle and

logistics savings. with its $30 billion

procurement price

tag. t

was

preor

dained to

go by

the wayside. Nonethe

less.

the concept of a common chassis

for

frontline

armored fighting vehicles

has

great

merit. and in

todays

environ

ment. where

we

are struggling

to

main

tain some

semblance

of a

tank indus

trial base. we may have a perfect

oppor

tunity

to achieve multiple

kills

with

one

sabot.

M l

COMMON CHASSIS

As

a cost-effective and affordable alter

native

to the

Crusader.

the authors

propose a "system of systems" com

prised of an Advanced Field Artillery

System

and a

companion Future

Ar

mored Resupply Vehicle. both

com

monly based on the readily

available.

battle

proven and reliable Ml chaSSiS.

built

by

General Dynamics Land

Sys

tems.

AFAS/Ml

would

be a

self-propelled

howitzer

equipped

with the 155

mm

L52 conventional

gun

coupled with

an

automatic Ammunition Handling

Sys

tem to provide the required lethality.

survivability and

range with

a much

less manpower intensive gun.

FARV/M . AFAS/Ml's companion

resupply

vehicle. would provide

ample

storage

space under

armor. enhanced

carrying

capacity. excellent

agility and

survivability. and eqUivalent mobility

to its counterpart. This

system combi

nation would have significantly in

creased capabilities over the current

M 1

09-serles

fleet.

Further.

any

reqUirement

poten

tially

provided

by the Crusader. would

be

proVided

with higher confidence

and

less technical risk by the AFAS/FARV

M 1 weapon system at a relatively cost

effective

and

affordable price.

Though

RLP technology may possess an in

herent potential for greater range. rate

of

fire and lethality. t Is not readily

available for near future

implementa

tion.

Declining

budgets. design lmma

turity and enormous technical chal

lenges place

the

RLP

outside the

win

dow

of opportunity

for

the

Crusader.

OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES

OVERVIEW

AFAS/FARV/Ml's performance char

acteristics combined . provide

an af

fordable.

cost-effective. low technical

risk and

extremely potent

weapon

sys

tem

which constitutes a

significant

quantum leap in force effectiveness:

• 155mm L52

Joint Ballistics

Memo

randum Of Understanding cannon.

52 calibers long. currently installed

in

the German

howitzer PzH2000.

Effective range of 30km (unas

Sisted) /40km

(assisted)with growth

potential. Upgraded with an inte

grated laser

ignition

system. En

hanced gun

tube wear

life due

to

a

chromium plated barrel process.

• "MACS"

(Modular

Artillery Charge

System).

X1Il231/X1Il232. Bar

Coded.

to facilitate automation of

propellant

loading.

handling

and

storage. MACS provides incr,eased

tactical llexibility.

improves

gun

per

formance and is more cost-effective

than standard

conventional bag

charges. It promotes faster action

through improved

logistics:

is safer

(more insensitive):

autoloader

com

patible:

non-toxic: lighter: cheaper;

environmentally

safe; requires lower

operational and training costs: oc

cupies

less volume and

demands

less transportation. MACS

does not

leave residue

in

the gun breech

which

can slowdown the rate

of fire. MACS

is a low-risk. low-cost, viable solid

propellant backup and substi

to RLP technology.

.Full operational and

automati

plenishment capability under

clear

Biological Chemical ba

field envirorunentsand sustairu

through

state-of-the-art

resupp

• Autoloader to

provide

an

incre

rate

offire

(Burst rate: 3 rounds

seconds:

Sustained

rate:

9

rou

minute.

thereafter). automatio

ammunition

loading.

handling

storing

and

consequential

re

tion

of manpower

workload in

sity.

•

Autonomous

Command

Con

and Battle Management System

rapid

firing reaction.

independ

tactical mission execution (se

cation. self-computation

of

tec

cal

fire

control.

planning. embe

decision aid capability and fire

port

digital communications).

get acquisition and

prioritiza

effective firepower

on targets

accurate damage assessments

•

Ml modified

chassis for

impr

mobility. agility and

maneuver

ity to keep up

with the

mane

forces and

provide

optimum ba

tic protection with ingrained 20

25%

weight and combat-load gr

potential.

•

An

extensive and highly-effe

"Survivability Suite" comprise

the

following

sensors

and

sub

tems:

environmental control an

support;

supplemental

bal

protection:

detection

avoidance

terials (stealth); early warning:

tection against directed energy

electro-magnetic pulse; counterm

sures; fire

detection. preventio

suppression; and

highly

poten

fensive armament. eqUipment

secondary weapons.

• Future Maintenance

and

Trai

Concepts (e.g.

Modularity. Tes

Test. Embedded Training

and D

nostics &

Prognostics).

AFAS/Ml

would

fire 4

to

8 rou

in

a Simultaneous Impact Mission

between

6-40

km. All rounds

wt

pact

within

4

seconds (first-to

round). This requirement can be

tained with an effective combinati

a Management

BattleSystem.

Fire

trol

System.

Global

Positioning Sy

18

Museum Ordna


19/30

- - - M COMMON CHASSIS

55mm L52 HOWITZER

CONCEPT

PRINCIPLE FEATURES

-Improved overall survivability

4

man

crew

-Improved ballistic armor

UNMANNED

-Segregated/consolidated

crew compartment

WEAPON STATION

-Compartmentalized fuel &

ammunition

-Ammunition handling system

Autoloader)

-High mobility

&

agility

-NBC

protection

& Environmental regenerative

life

-Advanced hydropneumatic suspension

-Cruising

range of 275

miles minimum)

-Gross weight

of

55 tons maximum)

M1 BASED

MODIFIED CHASSIS

CPS) and an autoloader_ AFAS/M1 is

required to perform survivability (250

to 750m) or tactical 4 km) moves after

every

mission

to avoid enemy

counter

battery fire. To perform a fire mission.

crew

members

will

ot

be required

to

leave their

protected

and

consolidated

compartment.

All

operational

activi

ties will be remotely executed to in

clude: target identification

and

acqUi

sition. ballistic

computations. gun

po

sitioning and

aiming

.

ammunition

loading. and of

course.

firing.

Once the

firing mission

has

been concluded.

AFAS/M1 will move quickly to a new

poSition to

enhance

Its survivability

and

provide effective tactical flexibility.

January

1996

AFAS/M1 will carry up to 80

fused

(Multi-Option

Fuse

for Artillery-MOFA)

and pre-coded rounds with correspond

Ing

68 XM231 and

178

XM232 stored

In 41 magazine storage spaces @ 6

MACS/space) for

automated handling

and loading. They are stored In two

ready and accessible magazines located

in the hull below the weapon station s

bearing ring. FARV/Ml will carry up to

180 3

full

complements of 60 rounds

each) fused and pre-coded rounds with

corresponding 153

XM231 and

399

XM232

in 92 storage spaces. They

are

stored

In the primary transfer

maga

zine. below the crew deck level. and in

the secondary magazineabove the crew

level. Compartmentalized ammuni

tion

storage and

blow-off' panels will

be

provided In both

vehicles

to further

enhance

survivability.

AMMUNITION HANDLING

SYSTEM

The

autoloader will

be

compliant with

the

operational requirements to pro

vide the rate

of

fire

and

ammunition

handling safely and reliably.

t

will

have the capability ofdet ermining am

munition type. lot.

fuse

and

weight.

During

resupply.

the

autoloader will

verity the projectile/fuze combination.

Throughout

a

firing

mission. the

19


20/30

M COMMON CH SSIS

FUTURE RMORED RESUPPLY

VEHICLE OVERVIEW

PRINCIPLE FEATURES

-Improved

overall

surv i

vabili

ty

·3 man crew

-Improved ballistic

arm

or

.Seg

regat

ed/conso l

idated

crew compartment

-C ompartmenlalrzed fuel ammunition

-

Ammunition

hand l

ing system Fully automated)

·High mo b ility ag ility

·NBC prolecl ion En vir on menta l reg en era l ive life

supp

·Advanced hydr

op neum ati c suspension

-Cruising range of 275 mi les (min im um)

-G

ros

s

we

ight

of S5 tons

(maxi IT m)

autoloader will independently

verity

the

projectile/fuze

combination prior

to

ramming.

There are a

myriad

of other

benefiCial features that an

autoloader

can

provide

that

are not delineated

here. and all

reqUirements

are attain

able with proven technologies. The

autoloader.

though

designed

to fit a

particular vehicle. contains generic

characteristics that could be tailored

to

meet

virtually

any vehicle configura

tion. t

will be capable of completely

and

automatically

accepting

ammuni

tion

from

the

FARV/Ml at a rate of 12

complete

155 mm rounds

per

minute.

The autoloader will also be capable of

downloading 155 mm ammun itlon and

propellant (MACS) to FARV/M 1

within

20

minutes or

to the ground

within

30

minutes.

Backup

capabilities will be

prOvided for manual upload

and

grace

ful

degradation. The autoloader

will

encompass

redundant

actuators

to

in

crease reliability and functionality.

CONSOLIDATED CREW

COMPARTMENT

AFAS/Ml will incorporate a

consoli

20

dated. four-man superstructure crew

compartment. Chief of Section and

drivers (redundant

controls) will be

provided

with 360

day/nightvisibility.

Close-in vision

will

be within

ten

feet

of

the vehicle due to the higher position of

the

crew

compartment located

at

the

front of the hull. It will also allow each

crewman to

directly

view

the

remaining

crewmen. There will be interior access

and visibility

between the

crew and

the

Weapon

Station

.

The crew

will

be en

tirely

segregated and compartmental

ized from the ammunition

and

the

weapon station

to increase sUrvivabil

ity.

The

Crew compartment will be ad

equately

protected

against

top

and di

rect attack.

high-explosive fragment

a

tion. small arms

and

mines. Crew

members will

be

provided

with pr

ovi

sions

for rest. environmental control

(including N C protection), integral

ration microwave

heater.

hygiene fac i -

ity and water stocks. all built-in and

completely

integrated

Into

the

ir con

solidated compartment. Crew mem

bers will not be

required

to leave their

compartment

to perform

any

ope

ration

unless under

an emergency /malfunc

tion

situation. The turretless. con

dated crew compartment simplifie

stallation

and ope

ratIon

of env

mental conu-ol.

Nb

C and ballistic

tection.

PERFOR.c\1A.i.'ICE ATTRIBUTED

TO

THE

M 1 CHASSIS

AFAS / :'H

must

successfully

kee

'Y,ith

th

e

su pported maneuver

f

The: f 1 mcxlilled chassis

(presently

ered

th a

1500

hp gas

turbine)

w

grant the

same level of mobility

ag

l ty

as the M 1

tank

fleet. Self

pelled

artillery capable of

opera

closer to main battle tanks will pro

unprecedented

level

of

immediate

pon. AFAS/Ml. as

a minimum. w

have

a

highway

speed of 65

kph.

a

sustained

cross-country speed o

kph.

This

is readily achievable wit

tanks

weighing approximately

70

t

f

AFAS/FARV

/Ml combat-loa

weight does not exceed 55 tons.

mobility and

agility will

surmount

of an M1 tank. Ml tanks will prob

remain in

active

service

until 2

2025

before

a

new

armored plat

useum Ordna


21/30

M COMMON CHASSIS

155mm L52 HOWITZER CONCEPT

ENGINE

COMPARTMENT

(VERTICAL REMOVAIJINSTL)

~ 322 IN .

8179mm)

-----------t _---

178

in.

4521mm)

- - - - - - .

1

OVERHANG

REMOTELY OPERATED

BARREL CLAMP

MARCH FUEL TANKS

(AS REQUIRED)

DRIVE SPROCKETS

TENS ONER

COMPUTER CONTROLLED

MULTI·PURPOSE

FRONT RESUPPLY PORT

ANTI-AIR

UNMANNED MAIN GUN WEAPON STATION

MISSILES

ELEV +75

·,

..J· AZIMUTH 3 · (HULL WIDTH

CONSrnA

I

Nn

ELECTRONIC

EQUIPMENT

STORAGE

GROWTH

AREAS

CREW DECK LEVEL

CREW

STATION

(PLAN VIEW)

PAYLOAD

SPECIALIST

68 251N

1734mm ) ; ~ ~ ; ~ ~

= ¥ $ r = g ~

DRIVER S DECK LEVEL

51.75 I

N

1

467mm

l[

EOUIPMENT

BAY

FWD REAR MA GAZINE

INSTA LLATION AND

REMOVAL TffRU FRONT

January

996

FWD PRIMARY ACCESS

MAGAZINE

47

SPCS)

: g ~ ~ ~ \ ~ E S

- - -

-----------

LOAD PORT

L:::::

- - - -

H ~

~ ~

~ r

~

~ ~ _._-

PROJECTILEIMACS

TRANSFER UNIT ACCESS REAR SECONDARY

__

_

__

• _ _ PORTS 2) _ _ ___ . _

M 8 ~ G S A p Z

N ) E

BOTH SIDES

DOUBLE HATCH ACCESS

TO

WEAPON STATION

INSTRUMENT

PANEL

.<

SPROCKETS

OPTIONAL

SIDE ARMOR

WASTE

ELIMINATION

SYSTEM

VARIABLE HEIGHT

HYDRO·PNEUMATIC SUSPENSION

(UPGRADE)

PROJECTILEIMACS

SWING RAMMER

21


22/30

M1 COMMON CHASSIS

FUTURE RMORED RESUPPLY VEHICLE

OVERHEAD M 1 E

NG

INE COMPARn E NT

ANTI-AIR MA INTENANCE WITH E

CS

f IR

SU

PP

RE

SS

OR

FARV REPLENISHMENT

l i - I 1 '11 HAT CH WI TH

ARMORED WINDOWS

{

ti

L ( -

I

.:.'"

c::=:=J c==:J

J

l I

.t

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