GDLS M6 Bradley-Linebacker

     Notes: The Linebacker is a standard M2A2 Bradley with a modified turret and ammunition bins, designed for SHORAD (SHORt-Range Air Defense) duties.  The turret’s TOW ATGM launcher is replaced with a four-tube Stinger launcher, and internal ammunition bins have been modified to store the longer and thinner Stinger missiles.  The Stinger launcher uses one of the launcher boxes of an HMMWV-Avenger SAM system. Lugs for reactive armor blocks are found on the upper sides of the M2 Linebacker as well as on the glacis. These lugs can also mount bolt-on appliqué armor, bolt-on spaced armor, or the new slat armor if desired.  The weight of the M6 Linebacker increased so much that it is no longer amphibious, and the trim vane and flotation screen have been removed.  However, to cope with the increased weight, the VTA-903T was replaced with an upgraded version of the M2A1 engine, developing 600 horsepower. The M6 Linebacker can mount the BUSK.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: By 1998, 60 units of this vehicle had been completed and delivered.

*Floor armor for the M6 Linebacker is 7.

Cadillac M19

    Notes: The M19 MGMC (Multiple Gun Motor Carriage) was a version of the M24 converted into an antiaircraft tank, with a pair of Bofors 40mm guns in an open-topped turret. (Many believe that this turret is the same as on the M42 Duster, but this is not true, though it does look similar.) The turret has low sides and a gun shield to the front, and is almost entirely circled by equipment and ammunition boxes. There is no other armament on the vehicle other than the crew’s small arms. The engine was moved to the center of the vehicle, with the turret positioned at the rear.  The M19A1 is similar, but has a 1.5kW APU mounted at the rear of the vehicle to allow the engine to be turned off but still power the gun system and the radio. The M19A1 also had brackets to carry two spare gun barrels, and sponsons on the sides of the turret for equipment and radio stowage. In addition to the US, the M19 and M19A1 were used by the Netherlands and Japan.  In US service, it was mostly used as an assault gun, particularly during the Korean War, where it helped stop mass Chinese charges.

General Motors M42 Duster

     Notes: This was one of the first antiaircraft vehicles produced by the US after World War 2, in the early 1950s.  It was designed to produce an M19-like antiaircraft gun vehicle that was based on the newer M41 light tank chassis instead of the older M24 light tank chassis. It had been long out of service by US active-duty forces by the 1990s, but could still be found in small numbers in the National Guard.  The primary users of the M42 were foreign countries; in small numbers by Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Turkey, and large numbers in Austria, Greece, Guatemala, Jordan, Lebanon, Thailand, Tunisia, Venezuela, and Vietnam, and especially Taiwan, who used large amounts of them in both antiaircraft and ground support roles. The M42 saw a lot of combat service in Vietnam by both the US and South Vietnamese forces; they did not use them for air defense, but instead against ground targets and infantrymen.

     The M42 is based on the M41 light tank, but with a redesigned M19 turret to fit the M41’s larger turret ring and basket. Note that the turret does not have any overhead protection, only a gun shield, and the gun crew is not protected by armor in an overhead attack. From the sides and rear, the turret armor only protects the legs and abdomen of a standing crewmember. The M42A1 uses a newer engine with the same horsepower rating (500 horsepower) as the M42 and is less fuel-hungry, but is otherwise identical for game purposes to the M42. (The GM may want to rate the Wear Value of the engine as less than the rest of the M42A1.) Early M42s guns had conical flash suppressors, but these were later replaced with three-prong suppressors. The auxiliary machinegun may be mounted on the right side of the turret, left side of the turret, or the rear of the turret; there are not three pintles, but only a pivot for mounting the coupling point of the machinegun’s pintle. (I guess one could acquire more pintles for the machineguns.) The M42 is equipped with a 1.5 kW APU to power the turret, guns traverse and elevation, and radios while leaving the engine off; on the M42, the APU does not have a muffler, while on the M42A1, a muffler is fitted to the APU’s exhaust. The M42 and M42A1 can be effectively crewed by only five troops, in which case the commander also puts the dope on the sights for firing the guns.

     The Venezuelan AMX-13/M42E1 Rafaga is an antiaircraft vehicle produced by mating the M42A1 turret with the hull of the AMX-13M51 light tank; improvements were also made to fire control and night vision was added. The fire solution computers have been automated, requiring fewer crewmembers. The Rafaga does not have an APU. The result is a much lighter AAA vehicle, but one without the armor of the M42 and with an engine developing half the horsepower of that of the M42. Roughly ten such conversions were made, and it is possible that some Rafagas are still in service.

     Taiwanese Dusters are fed from extended 28-round clips, instead of the seven-round clips of other countries.

General Motors M48 Chaparral

     Notes: This vehicle is a modified M548 chassis with the rear area taken up by a quadruple mount for Chaparral surface-to-air missiles. It should not be confused with the M48 Patton MBT, as it has nothing in common with that tank. It is also known as the MIM-72, though strictly speaking the designation MIM-72 refers to the missile and not the complete vehicle. This system has been in use by US Army forces for almost 40 years, using ever-more capable missiles and better target acquisition and fire control equipment. In addition to the US, the Chaparral is or was used by Egypt, Israel, Morocco, Taiwan, and Tunisia. 

     The Chaparral is basically a Sidewinder air-to-air missile with a minimum of modifications to suit it for the SAM role.  The MIM-72A was based on the AIM-9D, while the MIM-72C missile is roughly equivalent to AIM-9F, and the MIM-72G is roughly equivalent to the AIM-9L (close enough for game work, anyway). The MIM-72D is an export version of the MIM-72C, and the MIM-72E is a MIM-72C fitted with a new smokeless motor. The MIM-72F is an export version of the MIM-72E. The MIM-72J is a downgraded export version of the MIM-72G, using a missile which is roughly equivalent to the AIM-9H. The gunner sits in between the missile rails in a sort of cockpit, similar to that on the PMSS Stinger system. The rear area and cab can be covered by bows and tarpaulin covers, making it virtually indistinguishable from normal M548 load carriers (a lower priority target); the bows and tarpaulins can be removed in 5 minutes.

     The M48 has a Chrysler 75M gasoline engine, coupled with an automatic transmission with four forward speeds and one reverse; the engine has 215 horsepower. The engine of the M48A1 is the same as the engine of the M113A1, a General Motors 6V53 diesel, which develops 212 horsepower. The M48A2 has the engine of the M113A2, a 6V53T turbocharged diesel engine. The M48A3 has the RISE powerpack of the M113A3, and develops 275 horsepower; in addition, the M48A3 has a conventional steering yoke and a brake pedal instead of the differential steering and braking system.  The M48 series is not amphibious; the missile system unbalances the vehicle too much to allow for amphibious operations; it can, however, ford 1 meter of water. All M48 series vehicles have a 9-ton capacity winch, except for the M48A3. Note that only two of the crew ride in the M48; the rest follow in support vehicles.

     In actual operations, the Chaparral is followed by one or more modified M548s, carrying the rest of the missile crew and eight reload missiles each.

General Electric M163 VADS

     Notes: The VADS (Vulcan Air Defense System) was one of two air defense systems designed in the wake of the failure of the Mauler ADS to yield a useful result. (The other system is the M48 Chaparral, above). The hull is a variant of the M113, designated the M741. The hull is similar to the standard M113, but the commander’s station is removed and the large rear deck hatch is replaced with a much smaller one. Besides the US, the M163 is or has been used by Israel (who have modified it into the Machbet), Jordan, Morocco, Portugal, Sudan, Thailand, and Yemen. In many countries, the M163A1 is used as a ground support weapon, being able to saturate an area with large amounts of cannon fire. There have been few aircraft victims of the VADS, though there has been a lot of use against fortifications, buildings, light vehicles, and personnel. The M168 autocannon, and particularly its ammunition, resulted in the VADS being a very short-range weapon, unable to provide proper air defense support against the enemy helicopters it was meant to destroy. An attempt was made to replace the M163 with the M247 Sergeant York, until that SPAAG did not shake out of testing, and it was eventually replaced in US service by the M1097 Avenger and the M6 Linebacker.

     The armament is the M168 rotary cannon, a variant of the M61A1 Vulcan cannon so common on US aircraft. The gun has a linkless feed system, and does not use linked belts. The M168 is capable of firing in bursts of 10, 30, 60, or 100 rounds, or the gunner can go flat out on auto at a fire rate of 1000 rounds per minute; this will expend the entire ammunition supply in about two and a quarter seconds.  The burst modes snap off rounds at a cyclic rate of 3000 rounds per minute. The elevation limit is +80 degrees, while the depression limit is -5 degrees. The gun and its ammunition are virtually the only feature of the VADS; it has only a small ranging-only radar; this radar cannot be used to scan an area for targets, only to calculate the range to a known target. Night vision is limited in early versions, though the A2 variant has a true night operations capability.

    The M163 uses the powerpack and hull of the M113A1, a General Motors 6V53 diesel, which develops 212 horsepower.  The M163A1 improves the chassis of the M163, having the powerpack and hull of the M113A2 and a 6V53T 212-horsepower turbocharged diesel engine; in addition, ammunition storage was rearranged to allow many more rounds to be carried and the sights are improved. The M163A2 PIVADS (Product Improved Vulcan Air Defense System) has a more accurate computerized fire control system, along with a FLIR module to give the PIVADS night engagement capability. The loader of the PIVADS was usually equipped with a hand-held Stinger launcher and two rounds; these are not included in the stats below.

     The VADS and PIVADS can be made amphibious, but this requires the mounting of Styrofoam and aluminum-faced floatation modules on the sides as well as a set of rubber track shrouds and the erection of a trim vane in front, then turning on a bilge pump.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This was one of the standard air defense weapons of the US Army at the start of the Twilight War, though it was being rapidly phased out of US service in favor of systems like the Linebacker and Blazer.