Gun launched Anti Tank missiles

[uk 75]

Both the US and France (https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/amx-30-with-acra-gun-launched-missiles.1933/#post-16472) developed gun launched anti tank missiles in the 60s.
The US Shillelagh survived with the M551 Sheridans of the 82d Airborne but it was the Soviet Union who deployed them on its main battle tanks.
The UK and Germany prefered to develop the 120mm gun.
Perhaps if a version of Shillelagh or ACRA had been developed for the 120mm they might have been more successful.

 

[Nik]

Reloads ? Same problem as 'external tubes' on a sub...

The recent big muzzle-loading 'mobile mortars' have practicable work-arounds due to shorter projectiles, but ...

 

[Scott Kenny]

Both the US and France (https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/amx-30-with-acra-gun-launched-missiles.1933/#post-16472) developed gun launched anti tank missiles in the 60s.
The US Shillelagh survived with the M551 Sheridans of the 82d Airborne but it was the Soviet Union who deployed them on its main battle tanks.
The UK and Germany prefered to develop the 120mm gun.
Perhaps if a version of Shillelagh or ACRA had been developed for the 120mm they might have been more successful.

The problem is in how the system was imagined.

The US build a gunlike reloadable missile launcher that could also fire 152mm HEAT and Beehive rounds. Problem: recoil from the gun rounds was enough to disable the missile guidance electronics (yes, even in the M60A2).

The Soviets built missiles that they could launch out of guns, from 100mm to 125mm.

All other successful GL-ATGMs have been conceived as a missile you can launch out of a gun.

 

[Rule of cool]

Australia trialled the Sheridan in 1968 and found it unsuitable mainly due to the ammunition. Apparently the combustible cartridge case wouldn't entirely combust and hot, flammable debris would fall back into the turret. This was so dangerous that only a single round of ammo was allowed to be carried during the trials. Also, for a couple of reasons, the effective range ofthe main gun was about 600 metres.

Presumably better ammo in other gun fired missiles would have eliminated the fire hazard in the M551. A rangefinder would also be standard in later GFMs, but the obsuration and recoil from firing might be a real problem.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Australia trialled the Sheridan in 1968 and found it unsuitable mainly due to the ammunition. Apparently the combustible cartridge case wouldn't entirely combust and hot, flammable debris would fall back into the turret. This was so dangerous that only a single round of ammo was allowed to be carried during the trials. Also, for a couple of reasons, the effective range ofthe main gun was about 600 metres.

Presumably better ammo in other gun fired missiles would have eliminated the fire hazard in the M551. A rangefinder would also be standard in later GFMs, but the obsuration and recoil from firing might be a real problem.

The later Sheridans and M60A2 had a compressed air system to blow the entire contents of the gun bore out the tube. This system reduced rate of fire to one round every 30 seconds.

The US Army was not amused by this.