T249 Vigilante

Infobox Weapon
name= T249 Vigilante


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origin= flagcountry|United States
type= Autocannon
is_ranged= yes
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design_date= 1950s
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cartridge= 37x219SR T68
caliber= 37 mm caliber
barrels= 6
action=
rate= 3,000 rpm (anti-aircraft), 120 rpm (ground targets)
velocity= 915 m/s
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Sperry's Vigilante was a prototype 37 mm six-barrel anti-aircraft Gatling gun designed as a replacement for the Bofors 40 mm gun in US Army service. [http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/RED%20QUEEN.htm "The Red Queen and the Vigilante"] ] It was primarily intended to arm a new self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) to replace the M42 Duster. Mounted on a lengthened M113 armored personnel carrier platform it became the T249 as a complete vehicle, the gun itself known as the T250 to the Army. In the late 1950s the Army decided that any gun-based systems was outdated, and canceled further development in favor of the MIM-46 Mauler missile system that also failed to enter service. Sperry later revived the Vigilante firing NATO-standard 35 mm rounds for the DIVADs contest, but lost to Ford's M247 Sergeant York.

Development

Very little information exists of the Vigilante or the Red Queen projects, and what is known is scarce. It was the largest Gatling gun assembled, firing a large 37 mm round, and being able to vary between 120 rpm for ground targets and 3,000 rpm for air targets. It had a 192-round drum magazine, which in the 3,000 rpm mode would have equated to approximately 5 seconds of fire. The M113-based chassis was designated T249 and the gun itself T250.

See also

*GAU-8 Avenger
*GAU-13 cannon
*GAU-12 Equalizer
*Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23
*M61 Vulcan
*Bofors 40 mm gun
*M113 Armored Personnel Carrier

References

External links

* [http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/RED%20QUEEN.htm Information on the Vigilante and Red Queen projects]