A
self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon (
SPAA, also
self-propelled air defense,
SPAD, or
self-propelled anti-aircraft gun,
SPAAG) is an anti-aircraft gun or
surface-to-air missileA Surface to Air Missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft system....
launcher mounted on a mobile vehicle
chassisA chassis consists of a framework that supports an inanimate object, analogous to an animal's skeleton, for example in a motor vehicle or a firearm.- Examples of use :...
. The
RussianRussian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
equivalent of
SPAAG is
ZSU, for
zenitnaya samokhodnaya ustanovka, ("anti-aircraft self-propelled mount").
Specific weapon systems include
machine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute...
s,
autocannonAn autocannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannon often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannon are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a faster rate of fire...
, larger guns, or
missileA missile is a self-propelled projectile used as a weapon. Missiles are typically propelled by rockets or jet engines. Missiles generally have one or more explosive warheads, although other weapon types may also be used...
s, and some mount both guns and longer-ranged missiles.
A
self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon (
SPAA, also
self-propelled air defense,
SPAD, or
self-propelled anti-aircraft gun,
SPAAG) is an anti-aircraft gun or
surface-to-air missileA Surface to Air Missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft system....
launcher mounted on a mobile vehicle
chassisA chassis consists of a framework that supports an inanimate object, analogous to an animal's skeleton, for example in a motor vehicle or a firearm.- Examples of use :...
. The
RussianRussian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
equivalent of
SPAAG is
ZSU, for
zenitnaya samokhodnaya ustanovka, ("anti-aircraft self-propelled mount").
Specific weapon systems include
machine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute...
s,
autocannonAn autocannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannon often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannon are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a faster rate of fire...
, larger guns, or
missileA missile is a self-propelled projectile used as a weapon. Missiles are typically propelled by rockets or jet engines. Missiles generally have one or more explosive warheads, although other weapon types may also be used...
s, and some mount both guns and longer-ranged missiles. Platforms used include both
truckA truck or lorry is a motor vehicle - more specifically a commercial vehicle commonly used for transporting goods and materials. Some light trucks/lorries are similar in size to a passenger automobile...
s and heavier armored fighting vehicles such as
APCsAn armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
and
tankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities...
s, which add protection from aircraft, artillery, and small arms fire for front line deployment.
Anti-aircraft guns are usually mounted in a quickly-traversing
turretA gun turret is a device that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.A turret is a rotating weapon platform...
with a high rate of elevation, for tracking fast-moving aircraft. They are often in dual or quadruple mounts, allowing a high rate of fire. Today,
missileA missile is a self-propelled projectile used as a weapon. Missiles are typically propelled by rockets or jet engines. Missiles generally have one or more explosive warheads, although other weapon types may also be used...
s (generally mounted on similar turrets) have largely supplanted anti-aircraft guns, particularly in the minds of generals and military planners. Anti-aircraft guns are still deadly against aircraft at short ranges (within a few kilometers). This is evidenced by:
- US ground attack aircraft doctrine was built around countering the Russia
Russia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n ZSU-23-4 ShilkaThe ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system . ZSU stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka , meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount", 23 stands for the caliber of the armament and 4 stands for the number of gun barrels. It is named...
, which is found in armies across the world.
- Despite the heavy use of anti-aircraft missiles by the North Vietnamese forces in the Vietnam War, their .50 caliber machine guns were the main cause of US helicopter losses.
- Israeli aircraft casualties in the 1973 war were primarily caused by ZSU-23-4 Shilkas
The ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system . ZSU stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka , meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount", 23 stands for the caliber of the armament and 4 stands for the number of gun barrels. It is named...
.
History
Anti-aircraft machine guns have long been mounted on trucks, and these were quite common during
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
. A predecessor of the WW2 German "88" anti-aircraft gun, the WWI German 77 mm anti-aircraft gun, was truck-mounted and used to great effect against British tanks.
The British
QF 3 inch 20 cwtThe QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun became the standard anti-aircraft gun used in the home defence of England against German airships and bombers in World War I. It was also common on British warships in World War I and submarines in World War II...
was mounted on trucks for use on the Western front
Between the wars the British developed the
Birch gunThe Birch Gun was the world's first really practical self-propelled artillery gun, built at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich in 1925. The gun was never highly regarded by the British High Command, purely for prejudicial beliefs and political pressure rather than any real lack of ability...
, a general purpose artillery piece on an armoured tracked chassis capable of maintaining formation with their current tanks.
Larger guns followed on larger trucks, but these mountings generally required off-truck setup in order to unlimber the stabilizing legs these guns needed. One exception to this rule was the Italian
Cannone da 90/53The Cannone da 90/53 was an Italian designed cannon, and one of the most successful anti-aircraft guns to see service during World War II. It was used both in an anti-aircraft role and as an anti-tank gun...
which was highly effective when mounted on trucks, a fit known as the "
autocannoni da 90/53". The 90/53 was a feared weapon, notably in the anti-tank role, but only a few hundred had been produced by the time of the armistice in 1943.
Among early pre-WW2 pioneers of self-propelled AA guns were the Germans. By WW2, they fielded the SdKfz 10/4 and 6/2, cargo halftracks mounting single 20 mm or 37 mm AA guns (respectively). Later in the war similar German halftracks mounted quad 20 mm weapons.
Other nations tended to work on truck chassis. Starting in 1941, the British developed the "en portee" method of mounting an anti-tank gun (initially a 2 pounder) on a truck. This was to prevent the weapon from being damaged by long-distance towing across rough, stony deserts, and it was intended only to be a carrying method, with the gun unloaded for firing. However, crews tended to fire their weapons from their vehicles for the mobility this method provided, with consequent casualties.
This undoubtedly inspired their Morris C9/B (officially the "Carrier, SP, 4x4, 40 mm AA"), a Bofors 40 mm AA gun mounted on a chassis derived from the Morris Quad Field Artillery Tractor truck. Similar types, based on 3-ton lorries, were produced in Britain, Canada and Australia, and together formed the most numerous self-propelled AA guns in British service.
Interest in mobile AA turned to heavier vehicles with the mass and stability needed to easily train weapons of all sizes. Probably the desire, particularly in German service, for anti-aircraft vehicles to be armoured for their own protection also assisted this trend.
The concept of an armored SPAAG was pioneered mainly by
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, with their "
flakpanzer" series. German World War II SPAAGs include the
MöbelwagenThe 3.7cm FlaK auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen IV , nicknamed Möbelwagen because of its boxy turret , was a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun built from the chassis of the Panzer IV tank...
,
WirbelwindThe Flakpanzer IV "Wirbelwind" was a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun based on the Panzer IV tank. It was developed in 1944 as a successor to the earlier self-propelled anti-aircraft gun Möbelwagen....
,
OstwindThe Flakpanzer IV "Ostwind" was a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun based on the Panzer IV tank. It was developed in 1944 as a successor to the earlier self-propelled anti-aircraft gun Wirbelwind....
and
KugelblitzThe Flakpanzer IV Kugelblitz was a German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun developed during World War II, which was still at the prototype stage at the end of the war...
. Other forces followed with designs of their own, notably the American M16 created by mounting quadruple M2 machine guns on a
M3 Half-trackThe Carrier, Personnel Half-track M3 was an armoured vehicle used by the United States and its allies during World War II and the Cold War.-History:Between the world wars, the US Army sought to improve the tactical mobility of its forces...
.
The British developed their own SPAAGs throughout the war mounting multiple machine guns and light cannon on various tank and armoured car chassis and by 1943, the
Crusader AA tanksThe Tank, Cruiser, Mk VI Crusader was one of the primary British cruiser tanks of the Second World War and perhaps the most important British tank of the North African Campaign. However, due to its reputation for unreliability and relatively thin armour, it was replaced by American tanks for the...
, which mounted the Bofors 40 mm gun or two-three
Oerlikon 20 mm cannonThe Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original designed by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
. Although used during the Normandy landings, by that point German aircraft were contained by the Allies own air forces and they were largely unneeded.
On occasion SPAAGs have been used as very effective direct fire weapons against infantry, for example by American forces during late World War II, in Korea against mass infantry assault, and extensively during the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
, where for example the U.S.
M42 DusterThe M42 40 mm Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun, or "Duster" as it is known, is an armored light air-defense gun built for the U.S. Army from 1952 until December 1959. Production of this vehicle was performed by the tank division of the General Motors Corporation. It used components from the...
SPAAG (based on a light tank) was employed purely for this purpose.
Modern weapons include the
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n
ZSU-23-4 ShilkaThe ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system . ZSU stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka , meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount", 23 stands for the caliber of the armament and 4 stands for the number of gun barrels. It is named...
and
Tunguska-M1The 2K22 Tunguska is a Russian tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon armed with a surface-to-air gun and missile system. It is designed to provide day and night protection for infantry and tank regiments against low-flying aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles in all weather conditions...
,
ChineseThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
Type 95 SPAAAThe Type 95 is a Chinese self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle. It is armed with four 25 millimeter calibre cannons and optionally four fire-and-forget QW-2 infra-red homing missiles. It was first shown publicly at the Beijing Military Parade in 1999...
,
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
CV9040 AAVThe Combat Vehicle 90 or Stridsfordon 90 is a Swedish infantry fighting vehicle designed by Hägglunds/Bofors and currently produced by BAE Systems Hägglunds.-Production history:...
, Polish
PZA LoaraThe PZA Loara is a Polish armored radar-directed self-propelled anti-aircraft gun system. The original PZA Loara prototype was based on the chassis of the T-72 MBT...
, American M6 Bradley Linebacker and
M1097 Humvee AvengerThe Avenger Air Defense System, designated AN/TWQ-1 under the Joint Electronics Type Designation System, provides mobile, short-range air defense protection for ground units against cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, low-flying fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters. The Avenger was...
, Yugoslavian
BOV-3The BOV is a wheeled 4x4 armoured personnel carrier designed and built in the former Yugoslavia.-Description:...
, Canadian
ADATSThe Air Defense Anti-Tank System is a dual-purpose short range surface-to-air and anti-tank missile system based on the M113A2 vehicle. It is manufactured by the Swiss company Oerlikon-Contraves, a member of the Rheinmetall Defence Group of Germany....
, aging
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
GepardThe Flakpanzer Gepard is an autonomous, all-weather-capable German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun . It was developed in the 1960s and fielded in the 1970s, and has been upgraded several times with the latest electronics...
, Japanese
Type 87 SPAAGThe Type 87 SPAAG is a Japanese air defense weapon built around the Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon system used on the Gepard tank...
and similar versions with the British
Marksman turretMarksman is a British anti-aircraft weapon system, consisting of a turret, a Marconi Series 400 radar and two Swiss 35 mm Oerlikon autocannons...
(which was also adapted for a number of other users),
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
SIDAM 25The Sidam 25 is a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun developed in Italy from the chassis of the American M113 armoured personnel carrier. Due to the choice of basic chassis for the Sidam 25, components and spare parts are both cheap, and readily available because of the widespread use of the basic M113...
and
OtomaticThe Otomatic was an Italian prototype self-propelled anti-aircraft gun built by OTO-Melara. It combined the chassis of a Leopard 1 or OF-40 tank with a new turret mounting the Otobreda 76 mm gun along with associated search and targeting radars and their fire control systems...
, and versions of the
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
AMX-13The AMX-13 was a French light tank produced from 1953 to 1985. It served with the French Army and was exported to over twenty-five other nations. Named after its initial weight of 13 tonnes, and featuring a tough and reliable chassis, it was fitted with an unusual and troublesome tilting GIAT...
. Older post-war examples include the
ZSU-57-2The ZSU-57-2 is a Soviet self-propelled anti-aircraft gun . It is armed with two 57 mm autocannons. 'ZSU' stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka , meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount", '57' stands for the bore of the armament in millimetres and '2' stands for the number of gun...
,
M163 VADSThe M163 Vulcan Air Defense System is a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun that was used by the United States Army. The M168 gun is a variant of the General Dynamics 20 mm M61 Vulcan rotary cannon—the standard cannon in most US combat aircraft since the 1960s.The weapon is either mounted on a...
(mounting the Vulcan cannon) and failed
M247 Sergeant YorkThe M247 Sergeant York DIVAD was a self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon , developed by Ford Aerospace in the late 1970s. Based on the M48 Patton tank, it replaced the Patton's turret with a new one that featured twin radar-directed 40 mm rapid-fire guns...
.
See also
- Man-portable air-defence system
Man-portable air-defense systems are shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles . They are typically guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters.-Overview:...
- Flakpanzer
Flakpanzer is a German term for anti-aircraft tanks...
, a collective term for German anti-aircraft tanks, particularly those used in World War II.