A v a l a n c h e

C o n t r o l ,

R e s c u e

a n d

E d u c a t i o n

• Sighting systemsberedundant in theevent ofpower
  loss orinoperable power source
• Adaptation of"did hit data" toaccurate blind fire ta-
  bles
• Fire weaponwithout primary power using established
  firing tables in simulated night conditions
• SOP of weapon, firecontrol computer, andrelatedrange
  finding equipment as pertaining to avalanche control
• Maintenance of systemsand how they relate tofunc-
  tions of weapon/vehicle
• Maintain Army or establish new firing procedures that
  will not compromise safetyfor crew orpublic in any
  way.

Prepare to fire

Advisors recommended a fixed procedure for"prepare to
fire".Tank guns and sights are designed to beextremely
accurateoverlong distances.Because of this several me-
chanical, hydraulic, andelectrical systems have been built
into the firing system.One orall canfail and the weapon
canstill sustain fire, however accuracywill diminish.How
much accuracy diminishes?At distances over2.5 miles
we witnessed nochangein shot placement, hitting another
tankinthesameholerepeatedly.Thepreparetofire
examineskeyaspectsbetweenfirecontrolsystemsand
weapon.
We have modified this procedure examining elements
thatarecriticaltoavalanchecontrolneedsandwhat
method of engagementare beingused. Whenutilizingblind
fire data prepare to fire concentrates on recoil compensa-
tor operation, breachfunction, azimuth indicator is zeroed
on properreference point,and gunners quadrant end for
end testThis takes less than 5 minutes to accomplish.

Sighting

Primary site forweapon is the passive 105-D sight.This
sight is similar to recoilless and howitzer sights with a few
exceptions.In this sight several rangelines are shown cor-
responding to each type of ammunition the gun canfire.
If distances areknown to targets place rangeline on target
and fire.If notknown,use lasertoacquire range, place
range lines on given range and fire.

It's important to remember, laser beamof the laser range-

Wedesigneda five-point planto make it difficultto start,
operate, oraccess the vehicle orweapon systems.By ex-
ceeding DODrequirementsforstorageoftankstheyap-
proved security proposal.
In many respectssecuring a tankis easier thanrecoilless
rifles, especially75mm.Recoillessrifles canbeeasilytrans-
portedwithoutnoticeinapickup.Unlikeatank....
someone will see it!
One stigma we hadto overcome was, "a tank, a weapon
of war, whatwill thepublic think?"I think recoillessrifles
had the same growing pains, now they are accepted.If it's
acknowledgedasan obsolete weaponbeingusedfor protec-
tionoflifeandproperty,itwillgainacceptance.These
vehiclesarebeingdumpedinto the oceanby the thousands.
Discardingunessentialmulti-million dollar vehiclesby this
approach doesn't seem like wise use of tax dollars.

Implementation of weapon test

Ourintentions from the inception of this project was aug-
mentation of recoilless rifles.Many areas in Washington
Statecan notsupportanothertypeofweapon without
modification to terrainor wideningof roads, both extremely
expensive.If annualrecoilless ammunition consumption
couldbe cutbyusing othertypesofweapon systemsin
area that could accommodate,it would prolong recoilless
ammunition forcritical operational areas.
We've been comfortable with 105mm ammunition's re-
liability in stabilizing snowslides.Implementationof how-
itzers has added to thisconfidence.When the tank idea
first came to mind we were thinking of weapon system,it
just happenedthe weaponcame on tracks.For this reason
vehicle performance wassecondary to overall weaponand
ammunition performance.
Redundantinformationhadbeenconfirmedthrough
many independent sources before testing took place,but
westillwantedconformationofquestionsandproofof
concept.

AREAS OF VERIFICATION OR ESTABLISHMENT:

*Ammunition function (high order) in altra-soft environ-
ment such as snow

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