Re: Soviet tanks and missiles

>
>
>
>>Well, the US used to have one, the M60A2 ,which fired a Shillaleagh
missile,
>>same one used on the Sheridan, from a short tube launcher, along with
HE and
>>HEAT conventional rounds.
>>
>
>Important difference here: the Shillelagh-firing gun/missile launcher
used 
>on the M60A2 and the M551 was a huge-caliber (152mm) low-velocity gun 
>unable to fire effective KE projectiles, whereas the Eastern tanks fire

>ATGMs through more normal-sized guns (115mm and 125mm calibers) which
can 
>also fire APFSDS. As for its impopularity, I bet the Shillelagh's low
hit 
>probability at ranges less than 1 km had something to do with it too...
and 
>so did the tendency of the 152mm rounds to break and spill propellant
all 
>over the fighting compartment :-/
>
There was also a big problem with the Shillelagh system. The gun could 
fire acurately out to
about 600 meters and the missle was inacurate out till about 1000 
meters. This left a dead zone
of about 400 meters.

I also was talking to a tanker who had been a crewman on the Sheriden 
tank who said that if they
fired the gun the recoil messed up the optics and caused problems if 
they switched back to missles.
I assume that this was not a problem on the Shillelagh system mounted on

the M60 tank (a heavier
tank and why add it to the M60 if the problem was found in Sheriden).

Scott Siebold