Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air ...

FROM GUNS TO MISSILES
radar fire-control equipment. Cost killed the radar portion in
1952, but the Army adopted the M42 Duster in October 1952.
A later Army attempt to add range-only radar called Raduster
failed by 1956. The Army then tried to develop a 37 mm Gatling
gun known as Vigilante for this role in both a self-propelled
and trailer version. By 1957, the Army concluded that Vigilante
could not provide all-weather capability, would have a low-kill
probability against the expected opposition, lacked ruggedness
and reliability, and would create mobility and logistics problems.
The United States did develop and field two antiaircraft guns
in the postwar period. The first was the 75 mm Skysweeper
(fig. 36). The pilot model appeared in 1948, and the weapon
went into service in March 1953. 2 Despite its many capabilities,
it was soon replaced by SAMs. The other gun had a longer
and more distinguished career.
The 20 mm cannon was based on the mid-19th century
Gatling gun and German experiments of World War II. In June
1946, the US government awarded General Electric a contract
for a rapid-fire cannon that became known as the Vulcan. The
Figure 36. Skysweeper. The 75 mm Skysweeper was the last American
antiaircraft gun. (Reprinted from USAF Army Air Defense Museum.)
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