Bantam (missile)
Encyclopedia
The Bantam or Robot 53 (Rb 53) was a Swedish wire-guided
anti-tank missile developed in the late 1950s. It served with the Swedish
and Swiss
armies from 1963 and 1967 respectively. It can either be deployed by a single man carrying a missile and control equipment or from a vehicle. It has been fitted to the Volvo L3314 and the Scottish Aviation Bulldog
. In the Swiss Army, it was mounted on Steyr-Daimler-Puch Haflinger light wheeled vehicles.
, which transmits commands to the missile via two thin cables that are trailed behind the missile.
On launch, a small gyroscope
is spun up by the firing of a powder pellet. The missile is propelled into the air by a booster motor, which takes the missile to its flight speed of approximately 85 meters per second. As it leaves the launcher box, four wings unfold, which begin to spin the missile in flight, which provides a degree of stability. Once the missile has travelled about 30 meters the gyro is unlocked and operator controlled flight begins. Once 40 meters of wire has deployed from one of the missile's two spools, the sustainer motor is ignited along with up to four tracer flares in the back of the missile. At 45 meters range, the booster motor runs out. Once 230 meters of wire have deployed from the second spool of wire, the missile's shaped charge
warhead is armed.
Commands from the joystick are relayed to the missile along the trailing wires, these commands are amplified by a small transistor circuit in the missile and are routed to vibrating spoilers on the trailing edge of the missiles four wings based on the direction of the command and the gyro sensed orientation of the missile.
On impact with a target, a piezo-electric fuze triggers the shaped charge warhead, which can penetrate up to 500 millimeters of armour. It has a claimed hit probability of 95 to 98 % between the ranges of 800 and 2,000 meters.
The Bantam is broadly similar to the Cobra (anti-tank missile)
and Russian AT-1 Snapper
first generation anti-tank missiles.
Wire-guided missile
A wire-guided missile is a missile that is guided by signals sent to it via thin wires connected between the missile and its guidance mechanism, which is located somewhere near the launch site. As the missile flies, the wires are reeled out behind it...
anti-tank missile developed in the late 1950s. It served with the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
armies from 1963 and 1967 respectively. It can either be deployed by a single man carrying a missile and control equipment or from a vehicle. It has been fitted to the Volvo L3314 and the Scottish Aviation Bulldog
Scottish Aviation Bulldog
|-See also:-External links:...
. In the Swiss Army, it was mounted on Steyr-Daimler-Puch Haflinger light wheeled vehicles.
Description
The missile is carried in a rectangular launcher box, which is connected to a control box by a 20 meter cable, allowing for a degree of separation from the operator. The missile can be setup in around 30 seconds by a single man. The transporter/launcher box is pointed toward the expected direction of the enemy and the control box is attached to it using the cable. The control box consists of an optical sighting device and a joystickJoystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
, which transmits commands to the missile via two thin cables that are trailed behind the missile.
On launch, a small gyroscope
Gyroscope
A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
is spun up by the firing of a powder pellet. The missile is propelled into the air by a booster motor, which takes the missile to its flight speed of approximately 85 meters per second. As it leaves the launcher box, four wings unfold, which begin to spin the missile in flight, which provides a degree of stability. Once the missile has travelled about 30 meters the gyro is unlocked and operator controlled flight begins. Once 40 meters of wire has deployed from one of the missile's two spools, the sustainer motor is ignited along with up to four tracer flares in the back of the missile. At 45 meters range, the booster motor runs out. Once 230 meters of wire have deployed from the second spool of wire, the missile's shaped charge
Shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
warhead is armed.
Commands from the joystick are relayed to the missile along the trailing wires, these commands are amplified by a small transistor circuit in the missile and are routed to vibrating spoilers on the trailing edge of the missiles four wings based on the direction of the command and the gyro sensed orientation of the missile.
On impact with a target, a piezo-electric fuze triggers the shaped charge warhead, which can penetrate up to 500 millimeters of armour. It has a claimed hit probability of 95 to 98 % between the ranges of 800 and 2,000 meters.
The Bantam is broadly similar to the Cobra (anti-tank missile)
Cobra (anti-tank missile)
The Cobra was a Swiss/German anti-tank missile designed by the Oerlikon-Contraves and Bölkow GmbH companies. It entered service with the German Army in the late 1950s...
and Russian AT-1 Snapper
AT-1 Snapper
The 3M6 Shmel is the MCLOS wire-guided Anti-tank missile of the Soviet Union. "3M6" is its GRAU designation. Its NATO reporting name is AT-1 Snapper.Too large to be manportable, it was typically deployed from specialised vehicles or helicopters...
first generation anti-tank missiles.
Specifications
- Length: 0.85 m
- Diameter: 0.11 m
- Wingspan: 0.40 m
- Weight of missile: 7.6 kg
- Weight of missile and launcher box: 13 kg
- Range: 300 to 2,000 m
- Speed: 85 m/s
- Warhead: 1.14 kg shaped charge