Breda M-42 "Duster" SPAAG

[archipeppe]

The old M42 'Duster' SPAAG nearly had a revival in 1992. The Italian firm of Breda proposed fitting their fast-firing 40 mm gun (40 mm L/70) in a new turret with built-in radar and capable of using a variety of 40 mm rounds.

Source: Andrew Hills via X.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1970847584932786393

View: https://x.com/FWD_Publishing/status/1970847584932786393

 

[Atomic Coyote]

Was the vehicle in the original post (not the AI version) planned to be a turret retrofit that could drop into existing hulls? IIRC the US had disposed of their M42s by then, but there were other users (and probably a lot of US hulls sitting out in the desert waiting to be scrapped or used as targets).

 

[archipeppe]

Was the vehicle in the original post (not the AI version) planned to be a turret retrofit that could drop into existing hulls? IIRC the US had disposed of their M42s by then, but there were other users (and probably a lot of US hulls sitting out in the desert waiting to be scrapped or used as targets).

As far as I know this was the plan.

 

[Christopher Wang]

 

[Scott Kenny]

Was the vehicle in the original post (not the AI version) planned to be a turret retrofit that could drop into existing hulls? IIRC the US had disposed of their M42s by then, but there were other users (and probably a lot of US hulls sitting out in the desert waiting to be scrapped or used as targets).

A drop-in turret replacement would make the most sense to design. Plus, it would also fit into any remaining M41 hulls (same turret ring)

 

[archipeppe]

My personal interpretation.

 

[Christopher Wang]

A drop-in turret replacement would make the most sense to design. Plus, it would also fit into any remaining M41 hulls (same turret ring)

One possible option for modernizing the M42 Duster or converting the M41 Walker Bulldog (73" Turret Ring) is installing the turret of the 30-mm Wildcat SPAAG. The Wildcat SPAAG turret was offered with or without radar and MANPADS on numerous tracked or wheeled AFV chassis. These options ranged from the M2 Bradley (60" Turret Ring) to the M48 Patton (85" Turret Ring).

SOURCE: Dzsigolo_Lanty. (2018, November 27). Re: Flakpanzer Wildcat [Online forum comment with image]. Retrieved from https://live.warthunder.com/post/792287/en/

The 30-mm Mauser autocannon used by the Wildcat SPAAG was also one of several anti-aircraft weapons considered by the U.S. Army for its cancelled Division Air Defense or DIVAD during the mid-1970s (DIVAD, 2019).