The gun data computer was a series of artillery computers used by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

for

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form o ...

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20 ...

and

anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

applications. In antiaircraft applications they were used in conjunction with a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Variations

* M1: This was used by seacoast artillery for major-caliber seacoast guns. It computed continuous firing data for a battery of two guns that were separated by not more than . It utilised the same type of input data furnished by a range section with the then-current (1940) types of position-finding and fire-control equipment. * M3: This was used in conjunction with the M9 and M10 directors to compute all required firing data, i.e.

azimuth An azimuth (; from ar, اَلسُّمُوت, as-sumūt, the directions) is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. More specifically, it is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north. Mathematicall ...

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

and fuze time. The computations were made continuously, so that the gun was at all times correctly pointed and the fuze correctly timed for firing at any instant. The computer was mounted in the M13 or M14 director trailer. * M4: This was identical to the M3 except for some mechanisms and parts which were altered to allow for different ammunition being used. * M8: This was an electronic computer (using vacuum tube technology) built by

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

and used by coast artillery with medium-caliber guns (up to ). It made the following corrections: wind, drift, earth's rotation, muzzle velocity, air density, height of site and spot corrections. * M9: This was identical to the M8 except for some mechanisms and parts which were altered to accommodate anti-aircraft ammunition and guns. * M10: A ballistics computer, part of the M38 fire control system, for the

Skysweeper The M51 Skysweeper (Gun, M51, Antiaircraft or Gun automatic, 75-mm T83E6, and E7, recoil mechanism, and loader rammer) was an anti-aircraft gun deployed in the early 1950s by both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. It was the first such gun to ...

. * M13: A ballistics computer for the M48 tank. * M14: A ballistics computer for the

M103 heavy tank The M103 Heavy Tank (officially designated 120mm Gun Combat Tank M103, initially T43) was a heavy tank that served in the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps during the Cold War. Introduced in 1957, it served through 1974, by ...

. * M15: A part of the M35 field artillery fire-control system, which included the M1 gunnery officer console and M27 power supply. * M16: A ballistics computer for the

M60A1 The M60 is an American second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 tank series was never officially ...

tank. * M18: FADAC (Field Artillery Digital Automatic Computer), an all-transistorized general-purpose digital computer manufactured by Amelco ( Teledyne Systems, Inc.,) and

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

—

Autonetics Autonetics was a division of North American Aviation that produced various avionics but is best known for their inertial navigation systems used in submarines and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Its 188-acre facility in Anaheim, California, ...

. FADAC was first fielded in 1960, and was the first semiconductor-based

digital electronics Digital electronics is a field of electronics involving the study of digital signals and the engineering of devices that use or produce them. This is in contrast to analog electronics and analog signals. Digital electronic circuits are usual ...

field-artillery computer. * M19: A ballistics computer for the

M60A2 The M60 is an American second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 tank series was never officially ...

tank. * M21: A ballistics computer for the

M60A3 The M60 is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#Second generation, second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from ...

tank. * M23: A mortar ballistics computer * M26: A fire-control computer for the

AH-1 Cobra The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The ...

, (AH-1F). * M31: A mortar ballistics computer. * M32: A mortar ballistics computer, (handheld). * M1: A ballistics computer for the

M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a List of main battle tanks by generation, third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern Armoured warfa ...

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension s ...

Systems

* The Battery Computer System (BCS) AN/GYK-29 was a computer used by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

for computing

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...

fire mission Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are pr ...

data. It replaced the Field Artillery Digital Automatic Computer (FADAC) and was small enough to fit aboard the

HMMWV The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the o ...

combat platform. * The AN/GSG-10 TACFIRE system automated

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20 ...

command and control functions. It was composed of computers and remote devices such as the Variable Format Message Entry Device (VFMED), the

Digital Message Device The gun data computer was a series of artillery computers used by the U.S. Army for coastal artillery, field artillery and anti-aircraft artillery applications. In antiaircraft applications they were used in conjunction with a director. Varia ...

(DMD) and the Firefinder Field Artillery target acquisition

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

system linked by digital communications using existing radio and wire communications equipment. Later in its service life, it also linked with the Battery Computer System (BCS) which had more advanced targeting algorithms. The last TACFIRE fielding was completed in 1987. Replacement of TACFIRE equipment began in 1994. TACFIRE used the

AN/GYK-12 The AN/GYK-12 is an obsolete 32-bit minicomputer developed by Litton Industries for the United States Army. The AN/GYK-12 is a militarized version of the L-3050 computer ruggedized for use in the TACFIRE tactical fire direction system and in th ...

, a second-generation mainframe computer developed primarily by

Litton Industries Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States named after inventor Charles Litton Sr. During the 1960s, the company began acquiring many unrelated firms and became one of the largest conglomerates in the United States. A ...

for Army Divisional Field Artillery (DIVARTY) units. It had two configurations, division and battalion level, housed in mobile command shelters. Field Artillery Brigades also use the division configuration. Components of the system were identified using acronyms: * CPU (

central processing unit A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, an ...

) * IOU (input/output unit) * MCMU (mass

core memory Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber * Core, the centr ...

unit) * DDT (digital data terminal) * MTU (magnetic tape unit) * PCG (power converter group) * ELP (electronic line printer) * DPM( digital plotter map) * ACC (artillery control console) * RCMU (remote control monitoring unit) The successor to the TACFIRE system is the

Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System Project Manager Mission Command (or PM MC) is a component of Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications-Tactical in the United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service ...

(AFATDS). * The AFATDS is the "Fires XXI" computer system for both tactical and technical fire control. It replaced both BCS (for technical fire solutions) and IFSAS/L-TACFIRE (for tactical fire control) systems in U.S. Field Artillery organizations, as well as in maneuver fire support elements at the battalion level and higher. As of 2009, the U.S. Army was transitioning from a version based on a

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, ...

SPARC SPARC (Scalable Processor Architecture) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture originally developed by Sun Microsystems. Its design was strongly influenced by the experimental Berkeley RISC system developed ...

computer running the

Linux kernel The Linux kernel is a free and open-source, monolithic, modular, multitasking, Unix-like operating system kernel. It was originally authored in 1991 by Linus Torvalds for his i386-based PC, and it was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU ...

to a version based on laptop computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system.

Surviving examples

One reason for a lack of surviving examples of early units was the use of

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rathe ...

on the dials. As a result they were classified as hazardous waste and were disposed of by the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

. Currently there is one surviving example of FADAC at the

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landma ...

artillery museum.

References

{{reflist * TM 9-2300 Standard Artillery and Fire Control Materiel dated 1944 * TM 9-2300 Artillery Materiel and Associated Equipment. dated May 1949 * ST 9-159 Handbook of Ordnance materiel dated 1968
Gun Data Computers, ''Coast Artillery Journal'' March–April 1946, pp. 45–47

External links

* http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1988/MJR.htm * http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/BRL61.html#TOC
modern system
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110617062042/http://sill-www.army.mil/famag/1960/sep_1960/SEP_1960_PAGES_8_15.pdf
Article title
* https://web.archive.org/web/20040511174351/http://combatindex.com/mil_docs/pdf/hdbk/0700/MIL-HDBK-799.pdf * https://web.archive.org/web/20110720002347/https://rdl.train.army.mil/soldierPortal/atia/adlsc/view/public/12288-1/FM/3-22.91/chap1.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20110617062233/http://sill-www.army.mil/famag/1958/FEB_1958/FEB_1958_PAGES_32_35.pdf
Bell labs patent
* http://web.mit.edu/STS.035/www/PDFs/Newell.pdf
tacfire
Archived a

BCS components
Military computers, * Military electronics of the United States Artillery operation Applications of control engineering Analog computers Ballistics World War II American electronics Fire-control computers of World War II

Variations

Systems

Surviving examples

See also

References

External links