379:, along with two ten-round revolver-type magazines and an auto-loader that allowed it to reach 45 rounds/minute—about one third of what the much lighter Bofors had managed. This was mounted on a large square platform with powered traverse, which also mounted the box-shaped computer and manual gunsights on the right side, and the T-38 radar unit on the left. The T-38 radar had a range of about 30 km and could track aircraft traveling at up to 700 mph (1100 km/h).
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394:(ARAACOM) in the U.S near targets that would have to be attacked by low-altitude aircraft. During the 1950s the Army formed the Army Anti-Aircraft Command (ARAACOM) to operate batteries of anti-aircraft guns and missiles. Most ARAACOM deployments were around cities and used the 90 mm and 120 mm guns, as well as the
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requirement. High-altitude targets require very large guns to get the needed power into the shell to reach those altitudes, but at the same time have the advantage of not needing to move very fast because at that range the change in angle of the target was small—consider the seemingly slow motion of
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and similar weapons, but against modern jet-powered aircraft these were effectively useless because they simply didn't have the speed and weight of fire to be effective against targets that would be within range for only seconds. This led to the need for a new gun to address this intermediate-range
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at cruise altitude. At very low altitudes there were only seconds in which to react when spotting an aircraft over local terrain, so a hand-swung weapon was the only possibility, no matter how inaccurate. The short ranges meant that accuracy was not needed, nor was a large gun needed to cover the
324:
The
Skysweeper system was used for a relatively short period of time, from the mid to late 1950s in the US, and into the 1960s and 1970s in some overseas locations. By that time newer missile systems were closing the range gap, and the Army was busy developing new weapons like the
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This left an intermediate altitude at which a small gun could not be used because the range to the aircraft was too far, and a larger gun could not be used because the targets were moving too fast. During World War II this niche had been covered by the
321:-era systems that were barely effective then and were considered largely useless against jet-powered aircraft. Missiles replaced all of the larger weapons, while Skysweeper replaced all the smaller ones.
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In 1957, ARAACOM was renamed to US Army Air
Defense Command (USARADCOM, ARADCOM in 1961) and, ARAACOM started to dramatically replace gun sites with fewer missile sites (
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438:(all were removed by 1959). The last overseas Skysweeper were deactivated in the mid-1970s, being wholly replaced by other more advanced anti-air missile systems.
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role, and the Army defined this to be a weapon able to defeat aircraft flying at 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h) at altitudes up to 20,000 feet (6 km).
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systems. These missiles were very large and slow to react, which left short-range engagements to guns. The Army's existing guns were a motley collection of
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developed the radar and computer, and development of what would become the
Skysweeper started in 1948. A new 75 mm gun, known as the
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is capable of conducting its own search for hostile aircraft--even in fog or darkness--and can shoot them down as far away as four miles.
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A pair of
Skysweepers in varying states of preservation are on display at the Fort Lewis Museum outdoor exhibit at
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in service in 1953. Most were along the NE Corridor from Boston to
District of Columbia and in Washington State.
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A pair of
Skysweepers are on display outside the gate of Camp Rilea just south of Warrenton, Oregon.
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One
Skysweeper is on display at the American Military Museum, South El Monte, California.
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One
Skysweeper is on display at the International Artillery Museum , St. Jo, Texas.
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Skysweeper deployment began in the early 1950s. Skysweeper was also part of the
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Anti-aircraft guns naturally fall into several categories, each for a different
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The Army publicly announced the
Skysweeper system in the Spring of 1953.
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658:"Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air Defense"
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One
Skysweeper is on display at the JGSDF Shimoshidu base, Chiba. Japan.
663:. Air University Press, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Archived from
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Gun automatic, 75-mm T83E6, and E7, recoil mechanism, and loader rammer
152:
493:– 57 mm anti-aircraft gun that served the same role in the Soviet Army
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Two Skysweepers are on display at the Air Defense Artillery Museum at
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There is a Skysweeper on display outside of the VFW in Elberton, GA.
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were being deployed in the long-range role, replacing earlier
430:(two), and one 90mm and two Skysweeper battalions at
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By the end of 1957 Skysweeper battalions remained at
644:. US Army Armament Munitions & Chemical Command
454:A Skysweeper is part of the outdoor exhibit at the
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16:For the G.I. Joe Battleforce 2000 vehicle, see
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616:RADAR EQUIPMENT - SITES & SPECIFICATIONS
129:4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) 60 caliber
712:Military equipment introduced in the 1950s
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572:
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294:. It was the first such gun to combine a
286:deployed in the early 1950s by both the
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249:13 km (43,000 ft) (horizontal)
42:Skysweeper on 4 wheeled carriage at the
697:Anti-aircraft guns of the United States
642:Redstone Arsenal Historical Information
503:
309:The Skysweeper was introduced just as
518:Jane's pocket book of towed artillery
241:9 km (30,000 ft) (vertical)
7:
636:Moeller, Colonel Stephen P. (1995).
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509:
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552:. Strange-Mecha.com. Archived from
375:, was developed that had excellent
692:Anti-aircraft guns of the Cold War
520:. New York: Collier. p. 247.
263:Skysweeper JGSDF Shimoshidu base,
44:United States Army Ordnance Museum
14:
238:Effective firing range
36:
261:Japan Ground Self Defense Force
550:"JGSDF Anti-Aircraft Gun PAGE"
246:Maximum firing range
233:854 m/s (2,800 ft/s)
1:
578:"Training 'Skysweeper' Crews"
118:8,750 lb (3,970 kg)
656:Warrell, Kenneth P. (2005).
593:. April 30, 1953. p. 3
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618:by Martin Shough (via the
516:Foss, Christopher (1977).
420:Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
392:Army Anti-Aircraft Command
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638:"Vigilant and Invincible"
133:
62:Place of origin
35:
622:). Accessed 9 July 2008.
463:Joint Base Lewis-McChord
365:Sperry Gyroscope Company
157:75 mm (3.0 in)
404:had 896 120mm and 75mm
315:anti-aircraft artillery
311:surface-to-air missiles
306:on a single carriage.
276:Gun, M51, Antiaircraft
267:
219:Rate of fire
413:ARADCOM ended in 1975
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591:Red Bank, New Jersey
229:Muzzle velocity
456:Rock Island Arsenal
428:Savannah River Site
398:missile defense.
458:Museum in Illinois
302:(director) and an
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97:Production history
707:Gun laying radars
586:Red Bank Register
426:(one battalion),
422:, to protect the
284:anti-aircraft gun
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56:Anti-aircraft gun
23:Anti-aircraft gun
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300:analog computer
181:Hydro-pneumatic
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75:In service
70:Service history
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30:M51 Skysweeper
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672:. Retrieved
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646:. Retrieved
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595:. Retrieved
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558:. Retrieved
554:the original
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406:Sky Sweepers
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357:Bofors 40 mm
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319:World War II
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279:
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126: length
83:Used by
333:Development
203:-6° to +85°
147:75 x 539mmR
18:Sky Sweeper
686:Categories
674:2006-10-17
648:2013-11-07
597:2010-12-16
560:2010-12-16
527:0020806000
498:References
386:Deployment
304:autoloader
296:gun laying
192:outriggers
536:911907988
449:Fort Sill
442:Survivors
436:Greenland
424:Soo Locks
396:Nike Ajax
288:U.S. Army
282:) was an
199:Elevation
167:Vertical
78:1951–1975
491:AZP S-60
485:See also
348:airliner
339:altitude
259:Retired
209:Traverse
187:Carriage
145:Fixed QF
102:Produced
351:range.
298:radar,
153:Caliber
534:
524:
265:Chiba.
223:45 rpm
176:Recoil
163:Breech
124:Barrel
92:Turkey
88:Greece
668:(PDF)
661:(PDF)
581:(PDF)
402:CONUS
369:T83E1
343:speed
140:Shell
90:Japan
532:OCLC
522:ISBN
363:The
341:and
290:and
270:The
213:360°
115:Mass
105:1951
52:Type
415:).
373:M35
371:or
346:an
278:or
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640:.
600:.
589:.
583:.
569:^
530:.
506:^
434:,
677:.
651:.
563:.
538:.
274:(
46:.
20:.
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