AFMS-1
The artillery radio measuring station AFMS-1 , abbreviated AFMS-1 . was an artillery reconnaissance radar developed in what was then the Soviet Union towards the end of the 1940s . The Russian name was станция наземной артиллерийской разведки-1 , or СНАР-1 for short . and translates to mean station for ground-based artillery reconnaissance . The radar was used to clear up enemy targets, determine target coordinates and guide one's own fire. Overtaken by the advancing technical development in the 1950s, it was replaced by the successor AFMS-2 ( СНАР-2 ).
development
As the range of the artillery increased, the problem of determining the target coordinates arose early on. At firing ranges of more than 10 km, a real-time optical reconnaissance of targets and the sufficiently accurate determination of their coordinates was difficult, and at night and with poor visibility, it was no longer possible at all. With sound measurement methods have already been in World War II enemy artillery positions tracked even in the absence of direct visual connections and their coordinates are determined. The advantage of this procedure is that it is a passive procedure that cannot be investigated remotely. The disadvantage is the limitation to a range of around 20 km - which was mostly sufficient during the war - and the fact that it can be used to measure the shooting down of enemy artillery. Artillery that has not yet started fire fighting, as well as other military vehicles, cannot be detected with it. However, the advances in radar technology achieved during the Second World War made it possible to develop powerful and compact radar devices that could be used for artillery observation. The SNAR-1 is the first Soviet radar that was developed and used for this purpose. The Artillery Headquarters of the Soviet Army began considering the use of radar technology for this purpose as early as the Second World War. In 1943, the Research Institute NII-244 (НИИ-244) of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union was commissioned to develop a corresponding station. The head of development was AA Raspletin (А. А. Расплетин). The use of radar for the reconnaissance of ground targets is fundamentally problematic, since moving targets must be detected against the background of fixed targets that have a signal strength of the same order of magnitude. The development of the SNAR-1 could be completed in 1947, in the same year the state testing was carried out in September and October. After its successful completion, the SNAR-1 was taken over into the armament of the Soviet Army.
construction
Structure of the station
The system consists of
- the equipment vehicle
- the unit trolley ZIS-151 with unit ALB-8M1-UD2
Basic interaction of the elements of the weapon system
The equipment vehicle holds the essential electronic components of the system and the antenna system in the case. The electrical unit required for the power supply is loaded onto the unit trolley. Antenna and equipment vehicles are wired together.
Basically, the SNAR-1 is used from measured positions. The sector search is used for reconnaissance, a sector with a width of 25 to 28 ° is searched. The enlightened goals are displayed on a panoramic device , on which a representation of the boundaries of the sector is also generated electronically. The station can also work in an all-round search mode. In this procedure, the station can be oriented using known points in the area. The targets to be accompanied are displayed on a viewing device , with the help of which the lateral angle and distance to the target can also be determined. The calculated coordinates are transmitted to the firing batteries by telephone and radio. The target escort viewing device also serves to display the impacts of your own artillery and to measure the stowage area. The determined deposit is also passed on by telephone and radio to the firing batteries for fire correction. An R109 VHF radio and two telephones are available to transmit the information.
Equipment vehicle
The equipment vehicle is built on the basis of the light AT-L chain tractor . Instead of the flatbed, a box body was placed on the chassis, which houses the electronic assemblies, the antenna system and the workplaces of the crew. The vehicle weighs a total of 8.2 t, is 5.52 m long, 2.20 m wide and 3.07 m high. The cruising speed is 30 km / h. The station's crew consists of four or five soldiers.
The rotatable antenna is mounted on the roof of the vehicle. The antenna forms a 0–15 rad wide beam, in the vertical plane the beam is focused to 0–67 rad. When searching for a sector and accompanying the target, the beam is swiveled horizontally in a range of 25–28 ° with a frequency of 7 to 11 Hz.
The transmitter and receiver unit is swiveled horizontally together with the antenna. The transmitter works with a magnetron in the centimeter wave range . Pulses with a pulse power of 35 to 65 kW are sent out.
The installed radar range is limited to 26 km due to the target monitoring device used , although targets could be detected up to a distance of 40 km. Side angles, searched sector and enlightened targets are displayed on the panoramic device. A range of ± 90 ° from the center line of the sector is shown on the target escort viewing device.
The SNAR-1 can detect individual soldiers up to a distance of 5 km, tanks and motor vehicles up to a distance of 16 km and ships the size of a destroyer up to a distance of 35 km. Impacts from 100 to 152 caliber shells can be detected at a distance of 6–9 km on land and 12–17 km on water. The dead zone has a maximum radius of 350 m; targets cannot be detected in this area around the radar station. The error in determining the distance is less than 10 m, in the side angle less than 0–03 rad. The resolving power is 35 m in the distance and 0-18 in the azimuth.
Aggregate trolley
A SiS-151 truck is used as the unit wagon, on which tools, spare parts and accessories are loaded in addition to the units. In addition to the main unit, there is also a reserve unit of the same type. For the march, the units are lashed to the loading area and lowered on rails for use. The ALB-8M1-UD2 electrical unit generates single-phase alternating current with a nominal voltage of 115 V and a frequency of 425 Hz and direct current with a voltage of 27.5 V.
commitment
Operational principles
The SNAR-1 was used at division level to guide the artillery grouped into divisional artillery groups. For this purpose, it was assigned in the structure to the command batteries of the chief artillery or the chief missile troops and artillery. With the SNAR-1, this was the first time that a reliable and fast method for clearing up targets and directing one's own fire was available even at night and with poor visibility. However, the relatively low tactical mobility due to the use of several vehicles and the lack of interference protection options proved to be disadvantageous.
States of operations
The system was introduced in the Soviet Army, but was quickly replaced by the revised SNAR-2 and SNAR-6. The SNAR-1 was also exported to individual states such as the GDR.
Use in the GDR
In the National People's Army of the GDR , the SNAR-1 was used in small numbers from 1956. Deviating from the original name, the designation artillery radio measuring station AFMS-1 was chosen . Here, too, it was quickly replaced by the AFMS-2, and stations that became vacant were eliminated. When the NVA was dissolved in 1990, there were no longer any SNAR-1 in the inventory.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d see Missile and Weapons Technical Service in Kdo. MB III, technical catalog, artillery radio measuring station AFMS-1
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l see Lobanow
literature
- М. М. Лобанов (MM Lobanow): Развитие советской радиолокационной техники. ( Development of Soviet radar technology. ), Издательство "Воениздат", 1982. (Russian)