Self-Propelled.

This is coolbert:

In the aftermath of the Arab-Israeli war of 1973 [Yom Kippur-Ramadan War] Trevor Dupuy said that he was somewhat surprised at the performance of self-propelled artillery on the battlefield.

Dupuy had been for a long time an advocate of towed artillery [arty] over the self-propelled [SP] variety.

[Almost all self-propelled artillery pieces consist of a gun mounted on a tracked chassis, with a metal box placed over the gun. This box contains ammo and offers protection for the crew from counter-battery shell splinter fire.]

Dupuy's advocacy of towed artillery over self-propelled had several considerations.

* For one thing, you can just make more of the former type in a shorter period of time. Just have a greater number of artillery available for use. A greater number of towed arty of somewhat smaller caliber [but not excessively smaller] that can fire at a much greater rate, creating in the opinion of Dupuy greater havoc.

* And in the estimation of Dupuy, there was an even more important consideration to prefer the towed variety over the self-propelled.

Breakdown.

According to Dupuy:

"until this war there had been a debate among artillerymen abut the value of self-propelled artillery weapons. Some artillerymen - - including this author - - had been disturbed by the almost complete conversion of artillery to self-propelled weapons. They knew that when a self-propelled gun has motor trouble, or has it's engine hit, it is out of action. When the prime mover of a towed weapon is deadlined, or hit by hostile fire, it is very easy to find another truck which can tow the gun into action.

However, the doubters were converted by the performance of Israeli self-propelled artillery in this war. Losses were higher . . . But the self-propelled artillery was never neutralized. If taken under fire . . . The other weapons could move a short distance and fire again . . . Arab towed artillery was often neutralized by the Israelis. And once the firing position was under fire, those weapons could neither move nor shoot until the fire lifted."

There seems to be a further consideration that Dupuy seems to have missed.

A consideration perhaps even more important that the breakdown consideration.

* This is the threat to modern artillery units from up-to-date counter-battery/ counter-mortar fire.

Counter-battery/counter-mortar fire as directed by the most advanced radars dedicated to counter-battery/counter-mortar fire.

This comes as somewhat of a surprise to me. Dupuy WAS an arty officer of the highest caliber. His branch of service WAS arty. And HE WAS a West Point grad, class of 1939. AND did command arty units in the Chinese-Burma-India [CBI] theatre of World War Two [WW2] at a variety of echelons and commands. This even included British arty units that he was in command of. This is UNHEARD of, that an American should command a British unit in combat. Dupuy's skills MUST have been in demand. Dupuy WAS a combat veteran of ability!!

Dupuy, a scholar of modern developments in warmaking technology and the application thereof, surely must have been aware of the vast [??] improvements counter-battery/ counter-mortar radars pose over the tried and true but old-fashioned method of sound and flash ranging to locate and target enemy artillery batteries for destruction.

It is possible for modern counter-battery/counter-mortar radars to determine in very short time, and with great precision, the exact location [with a great degree of exactness] of an enemy arty firing position. This is done by observing an incoming enemy arty shell or mortar round at different points along it's trajectory. Working backwards from this data, the firing position of the arty piece or mortar can be determined, again, with exact precision.

And with speed too.

How much speed you ask??

Consider this!

A modern counter-battery/counter-mortar radar can observe the trajectory of an incoming enemy arty round, determine the exact location that round was fired from, and relay that location to a friendly artillery unit in such a short time that the friendly arty will be able to aim their guns and be ready to reply with counter-battery fire BEFORE that enemy round impacts!!!

That is fast!!

Troops servicing in the open towed artillery pieces subject to counter-battery fire directed by such a radar will stand little chance from high explosive splinters or improved conventional munitions [ICM]. That enemy battery will in QUICK order be put out of action.

A similarly firing arty battery, self-propelled, with the arty troops protected to a degree inside the metal box of the SP arty piece, stand a much, much better chance of surviving and being able to carry out their mission than that towed arty unit subject to radar directed counter-battery fire. Able to scoot and run, and do so with protection [that metal box].

coolbert.