M247

M247

M163

Imp.Chaparral

M247

M163

Imp.Chaparral

USA

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
9.0	9.0	9.0

Class:

SPAA

Research:190 000

Purchase:520 000

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Description

The Gun, Air Defence Artillery, Self-Propelled, 40-mm, M247 is a Rank VI American self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a battle rating of 9.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.81 "The Valkyries".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour (Hull)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Rear (low), Roof, Turret)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	85-200 mm (59-74°) Front glacis 63-200 mm (13-60°) Lower glacis	76 mm (8-43°) Front 51 mm (0-43°) Rear	35 mm (26-32°) Top 25 mm (61-62°) Bottom	57 mm
Turret	25.4 mm (15-76°) Turret front (Upper) 12.7 mm (40-69°) Turret front (Lower) 25.4 mm (0-87°) Gun mantlet	12.7-25.4 mm (0-19°) Upper 12.7 mm (40-69°) Lower	12.7 mm (18°)	12.7 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 38 mm in the front and 25 mm in the rear.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	52	13	54.4	1065	1,431	19.58	26.31
Realistic	48	12		663	750	12.19	13.79

The M247's turret is installed on the hull of an M48 medium tank, because of this they have roughly similar mobility. The M247 is about 3 tons heavier than the M48A1 (49.3 tons vs. 46.4 tons), and has a slightly weaker engine, which translates into a slightly more sluggish machine compared to the M48A1. The M48A1 has a max engine power of 810 hp, while the M247's engine power is 750 hp. For a vehicle this heavy, it has fairly good mobility. When spaded, it can comfortably hit a top speed of 45 km/h on flat terrain, while in cross-country you will have a top speed of around 25 km/h. While going backwards, the top speed is somewhat less impressive: about -9 km/h.

Armaments

40 mm M266 Automatic Cannon (x2)
Capacity (Belt capacity each)			Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
560 (280)			300	-5°/+85°	±180°
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	52.8	?	?	?	?
Realistic	35.7	?	?	?	?
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
6.5	?	?	?

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
M811	HEFI-T*	5	5	5	5	5	5
M822	HEFI-T*	5	5	5	5	5	5
40 mm AP-T	AP-T	93	90	77	62	51	41

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
M811	HEFI-T*	1100	0.87	0.2	0.1	255	+0°	79°	80°	81°
M822	HEFI-T*	1100	0.87	0.2	0.1	185	+0°	79°	80°	81°
40 mm AP-T	AP-T	1030	0.88	N/A	N/A	N/A	-1°	48°	69°	79°

Belt types

Belts	Shell composition	Combat usage
Default	HEFI-T* / AP-T	Good general ammunition, a hit on an aircraft typically means its destruction while still enough to do damage to armoured ground vehicles, especially if it shoots into the side of an enemy tank (weaker armour). Good to start with until comfortable with other types of ammunition.
40 mm AP-T	AP-T / AP-T / AP-T / HEFI-T*	Very powerful ammunition which can be used against ground targets with significantly more penetration than other 35-40 mm AP-T projectiles. Will easily destroy any target with side shots even outside the point-blank range and can destroy lighter targets and weak spots from the front even against main battle tanks.
M811	HEFI-T* / HEFI-T* / HEFI-T* / AP-T	"Poor man's anti-air ammunition." Unlike the M822 shells these require direct hits to do significant damage, but if problems are experienced with M822 detonating too early this belt may be your best choice.
M822	HEFI-T* / HEFI-T* / AP-T	Proximity-fused shells that absolutely obliterate aircraft when they make contact, though if they detonate too early, they will do little to no damage. Somewhat unreliable in if they detonate within range of the target, but when they do the target will quickly take considerable damage if not destroyed. The only ammunition for self-propelled anti-aircraft guns that which can cause enough shrapnel damage to bring down planes and helicopters even with near misses. This round should be the go-to anti-air ammunition, although the M811 is a good backup if the M822 is problematic for the gunner.

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	M811
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	40 mm AP-T
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	Smoke grenade	NVD
IV	Transmission	Engine		Laser rangefinder	Artillery support	M822

Albis

The M247 uses the Albis tracking radar. The tracking radar director is the circular looking cone located above the leftmost forward of the turret and has a fixed horizontal position and only follows vertical targeting together with the armament. It may look like almost the same tracking radar director as the M163's but it's different.

AN/APG-66 - Target Tracking Radar
Maximum Detection Range	Minimum Detection Range	Max Azimuth Tracking Angle	Elevation Tracking Angle	Minimum Relative Speed
15,000 m	100 m	±10 degrees	-5°/+85°	15m/s (54km/h)

AN/MPQ-49

The M247's uses a modified AN/MPQ-49 search radar. It has the longest search range even when compared to 10.0 SPAAGs, yet it is still questionable if that long search range will be used often or frequently as most ground realistic battles' jets and helicopters spawn already within 10km into the battlefield, this is why most commanders of the M247 have their ranges set to only 10km most of the time, not unless maps like Port Novorossiysk that have airfields that are more than 30kms away. Some helicopters do spawn on the farthest helipad where it is near the airfield, this is one of the reasons commanders of the M247 can set their ranges to 20km which is way above their target locking range and especially engagement range.

AN/MPQ-49
Maximum Detection Range	Minimum Detection Range	Max Azimuth Scan Angle	Max Elevation Scan Angle	Minimum Relative Speed
40,000 m	100 m	360°	17°	10m/s (34km/h)

Locking a target through sniper mode is not needed anymore as long as the target to be destroyed is detected and selected from the search radar while turret is pointed within 200 degrees to the target.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Twin stabilized 40 mm M266 cannon (L/70 40 mm Bofors) have a much higher rate of fire compared to the M42 Duster: Deadlier and more accurate
• Large ammunition count ensures that you will have plenty to fire throughout a match without fear of running out of ammo mid-game
• Has access to 12 x 66 mm smoke grenades, perfect for exiting a dangerous situation
• The M822 ammunition is proximity fused and will detonate if the projectile passes close enough to the target
• The 40 mm's pose a serious threat to lightly-armoured vehicles
• Uses the M48 Patton's hull (armour included) = one of the best-protected SPAA in the game
• Benefits in realistic battles from aim-assistance thanks to the radar
• Has access to night-vision devices for use in night battles
• Large radar sweep range to easily spot targets, as well as a large radar lock-on marker in its scope
• Has the furthest search radar range even when compared to 10.0 SPAAGs

Cons:

• As with all high-rank SPAA, the M247 has very thin turret armour; a shell strike could instantly end the vehicle
  • Turret is also vulnerable to strafing aircraft + rockets
• Armour advantages are nullified due to the inclusion of the Hull Break mechanic
• No thermal sights
• Search radar cannot be folded

History

The M247 "Sergeant York" was designed in the late 1970's as a purpose-built SPAAG. It was designed to fight alongside the M1 Abrams and M2/M3 Bradley, in order to provide cover against aircraft. There were other SPAA vehicles in service at the time; these were the M163 Vulcan and the MIM-72/M48 Chaparral. The former being a 20 mm rotary cannon mounted on an armored personnel carrier, and the latter being a heavily modified armored personnel carrier chassis with a surface-to-air missile launcher. Neither of those two vehicles were designed as SPAA's, and so, did not have the necessary performance to be adequate at their job. The M247 was designed as a replacement for both of the previous vehicles.

Designs from a multitude of companies were entered into the competition. Only two were selected for testing: the Ford XM-247 with twin Bofors 40mm cannons and the General Dynamics XM-246 with twin Oerlikon 35mm cannons. The two prototypes were tested, and the XM-247 was selected as the winner, although the XM-246 had outscored it in all the shooting tests. The M247, as it was soon designated, ran into many problems. The radar was extremely deficient; it had a hard time distinguishing trees from planes, and if the guns were pointed too high, they would get in the radar's way and confuse it even more. In addition, it took too long for the radar to pick up a target and for the guns to actually take aim. In addition, the turret traverse speed was much too slow, the vehicle it's self was too sluggish to keep up the M1's and M2's, and it was unreliable in cold weather. Eventually, the program was cancelled after more testing, where it was proven the system could not even shoot down stationary drones. There was still a need for an anti-aircraft vehicle that could keep up with modern vehicles, so Oerlikon Canada created the ADATS anti-aircraft missile system. This was not as successful as hoped, and was only accepted into Canadian service. The void was eventually filled by the M6 Linebacker, an M2 Bradley with Stinger missiles instead of TOW missiles. The Linebacker was capable of keeping up with modern armored forces, which was the reason for its acceptance, even though the Stingers were not as effective as the ADATS missiles.

Media

Skins and camouflages for the M247 Sergeant York from live.warthunder.com.

See also

• M48A1 Patton
• M42 Duster
• M163 Vulcan
• ADATS

External links

• [Devblog] TAM and M247 Sergeant York
• "Sergeant York", Wikipedia.org, Accessed on 24 March 2020.

USA anti-aircraft vehicles
M3 Half-track derivatives	M13 MGMC · M15 CGMC · M16 MGMC
M24 derivative	M19A1
M41 derivative	M42
Radar SPAAG	M163 · M247
Missile SPAA	ADATS · Imp.Chaparral · LAV-AD · XM975