Apophenia's Offerings

[apophenia]

Another quickie ... the 1998 Australian Army MRV-2 - aka M113AS4 FSV.

The MRV-2 was an M113AS4 hull fitted with the ASLAV-25's Delco turret for a direct fire-support role. Compared with the original MRV, the Delco turret was mounted at a more central position. This was to better-balance the turret's 4,000 lb weight.

The direct replacement for the original M113A1 MRV was actually the shorter-hulled MRV-3 - aka M113A3 FSV. The MRV-3 mounted a completely different turret - a Cadillac-Gage unit armed with a low-pressure Cockerill 90 mm gun.

[Old Wombat]

I like that!

[GTX_Admin]

 

[Gingie]

Oh man! Had know that the Neva-125 existed, that's what you'd have got 

So I'm imagining the centurion lower hull with the dual "driver" hatches (similar to IDF MLRS MAR-90).

For the Neva-inspired HAWK, take the big block rear part of the Neva and replace it with the square base of the HAWK (minus the wheels, suspension, trunnion thingies, and outriggers). The dual SA-3 missiles and rack system is replaced by the treble HAWK launcher. Connecting the launcher to the squarish box is a large hydraulic ram (a la Neva) and some kind of pivoting brace at the base of the centre launch rail mount.

Pardon my MSPaint

[apophenia]

MSPaint gets the job done 

Only after having a look at the ungainly T-55 based S-125, did I realize the relative size of the V-601 missile versus HAWK! And 4 missiles mounted side-by-side on the S-125 was bonkers! (Try to avoid those narrow village lanes, tovarich!)

Anyway using an unmodified T-55 hull for the S-125 is exactly the sort of cost-efficiency-through-simplicity that we try to avoid here at Apophenia Enterprises! So, instead, here we propose a major redesign of the Centurion hull to accommodate the 'box' and turntable from the M192 HAWK launcher...

(To be continued ...)

[apophenia]

To accommodate the M192 'box', the Centurion's R-R Meteor engine is moved forward into the former turret location. Since the 'box' sits higher than the original driveshaft, the latter can simply be extended back to the final drive system. Power takeoffs from that extended shaft drive twin generators which charge banks of lead-acid batteries to provide power for the the M192 'box'.

In the section views (based on a Bovington drawing), the revised layout is a little hard to 'read'. So, I've colour-coded many of the hull's component changes.

BTW, the view with missiles mounted features a commander's hatch (the lower view had just duplicated the driver's hatch).

[Old Wombat]

That looks very buildable & may get added to the space-time warping list of projects to be done, as I have several Centurions & a Hawk launcher.

Thinks for a couple of seconds;

Mind you, my Royal Australian Marines use Merkavas; & I have a pair of the venerable Tamiya Merkava 1's amongst my 6-or-7 Merkava kits which might make good AAM carriers.

[GTX_Admin]

That also looks very similar to something I have planned with a combination of one of these:



With one of these:

[Gingie]

To accommodate the M192 'box', the Centurion's R-R Meteor engine is moved forward into the former turret location. Since the 'box' sits higher than the original driveshaft, the latter can simply be extended back to the final drive system. Power takeoffs from that extended shaft drive twin generators which charge banks of lead-acid batteries to provide power for the the M192 'box'.

In the section views (based on a Bovington drawing), the revised layout is a little hard to 'read'. So, I've colour-coded many of the hull's component changes.

BTW, the view with missiles mounted features a commander's hatch (the lower view had just duplicated the driver's hatch).

Oh my. Should have sent a poet.

[Gingie]

That looks very buildable & may get added to the space-time warping list of projects to be done, as I have several Centurions & a Hawk launcher.

Thinks for a couple of seconds;

Mind you, my Royal Australian Marines use Merkavas; & I have a pair of the venerable Tamiya Merkava 1's amongst my 6-or-7 Merkava kits which might make good AAM carriers.

The front engined Merk allows for the AD crew to be situated in the rear hull...an ADATS turret on a Merk would be better than real life!

[Old Wombat]

That looks very buildable & may get added to the space-time warping list of projects to be done, as I have several Centurions & a Hawk launcher.

Thinks for a couple of seconds;

Mind you, my Royal Australian Marines use Merkavas; & I have a pair of the venerable Tamiya Merkava 1's amongst my 6-or-7 Merkava kits which might make good AAM carriers.

The front engined Merk allows for the AD crew to be situated in the rear hull...an ADATS turret on a Merk would be better than real life!

Should I mention that I have a M113 ADATS conversion set, too?

[apophenia]

Dunno why but I have a soft spot for the Sunbeam Alpine - the ugly duckling of 1960s British sports cars.

One of the more intriguing variants was the Le Mans series of 'fixed top' mods by Thomas Harrington & Sons - especially the series D with Jag E-Type style rear hatch.. Harrington tanked in 1966. So, I'm reviving the firm as the what-if Harrington & Sons Coachworks circa 1970 to do aftermarket upgrades of existing Sunbeam Alpine and Tiger sports cars.

Here, I present the Harrington series F modification - aka Sunbeam Alpine Le Mans GTE (for Harrington series E).

[elmayerle]

Dunno why but I have a soft spot for the Sunbeam Alpine - the ugly duckling of 1960s British sports cars.

One of the more intriguing variants was the Le Mans series of 'fixed top' mods by Thomas Harrington & Sons - especially the series D with Jag E-Type style rear hatch.. Harrington tanked in 1966. So, I'm reviving the firm as the what-if Harrington & Sons Coachworks circa 1970 to do aftermarket upgrades of existing Sunbeam Alpine and Tiger sports cars.

Here, I present the Harrington series F modification - aka Sunbeam Alpine Le Mans GTE (for Harrington series E).

Beautiful!!  Now do one from a Sunbeam Tiger.

[apophenia]

Beautiful!!  Now do one from a Sunbeam Tiger.

Thanks Evan! As for the Sunbeam Tiger, that has to remain a convertible! Instead, a scenario ...

In the RW, the Rootes Group approached Ferrari to supply a V8 to power a 'Super Alpine. The obvious candidate was a mass-produced version of Ferrari's Tipo 205/B V8 - a 90°, 1.5 L (91 cid) engine. Quite sensibly, Ferrari refused to commit to supplying in comparatively large numbers what was effectively a hand-made engine.

So, what if Rootes didn't want to merely compete with AC. Instead, they wanted a 'Cobra Killer'. Forget Ford's 260 cid (4.2 L) iron-block boat-anchor. How about an aluminium BMW V8 instead?

What-If: Rootes-Sunbeam Introduce BMW Aluminium V8s in 1965

Negotiations with Ferrari were looking unproductive but some bright-light at Rootes noted the trouble that BMW had created for itself with the US-aimed BMW 507 grand tourer. By 1965, the aluminium BMW V8 was due to be replaced by the more economical 6-cylinder BMW M30. (This 'old' V8 had the same arrangement as the Buick 215 cid V8 then just taken-over by Rover - ie: the BMW was a push-rod OHV V8 with aluminium alloy block and heads construction.) After a quick-and-dirty prototype conversion (the 'BMW-Alpine'), Rootes offered to buy rights and tooling for the M532 V8 engine from BMW.

Priority was adapting the German engine to UK production standards (with Imperial fasteners, etc.). The BMW stroke of 2.95 inches (75 mm) was retained but bore was slightly increased to 3.25 inches (82.55 mm instead of 82 mm). [1] The result was a 195 cid (3,208 cc) V8 in Imperial measures. For the Sunbeam range, the high-lift cams from the earlier M507/1 engine were restored. [2] The resulting V8 produced 170 hp at 5,600 rpm - which compared well with AC's Ford 260 V8 producing 164 bhp at 4,400 rpm. More importantly, aluminium alloy construction meant that the Rootes 195 weighed only 325 lbs compared with over 480 lbs for the iron-block Ford.

What-If Sunbeam Alpine and Sunbeam Tiger Series Vs Line Up

The Sunbeam Alpine for 1965 held over the old Rootes 1,592 cc (97.1 cid) 4-banger but with a slight power increase due to adopting a Zenith 36 NDIX 2-barrel carburettor. The new Sunbeam Tiger introduced the Rootes 195 cid aluminium V8 engine. Twin Zenith carbs dictated a central hood scoop (both for induction and extra 'head space') but, otherwise, the Tiger was indistinguishable from the Alpine sports car.

In 1966, Sunbeam introduced the Alpine Series V. This sports car featured an entirely new, 1.6 L (97.5 cid) aluminium-block 4-cylinder engine - effectively 'half' of a 3.2 L V8. The rest is history ...

[elmayerle]

ISTR that there were a few Sumbeam Tiger coupes, but it's been a fair while since I read about them.  Stil, I love your alternate proposal.  It would be amusing if AC was to purchase engines from Sunbeam.

[apophenia]

Following another suggestion from Sport25ing ...

Shtormova tin' - The Ukrainian Storm Shadow in Action

An ex-RAF Panavia Tornado GR.4 in Ukrainian markings. This Tornado carries the individual aircraft number 'Bilyy 57', Ukrainian gold/blue roundel on its wings, and the Trizub on its tail. Ukrainian colours also surmount the tailplane. On those colour bands is marked VYSOKOPILLYA - a name commemorating a small Ukrainian village in the Kherson region destroyed by Russian occupiers. [1]

The ex-RAF Tornados had been brought out of retirement storage specifically to carry the Storm Shadow cruise missiles donated to Ukraine. 'Bilyy 57' was the first PSU Tornado to launch Storm Shadows 'in anger'. Near dawn on 23 July 2023, three Ukrainian Tornados each launched two 'Shtormova tin'' missiles against targets in Crimea - including  Sevastopol Naval Base on the west coast and Gvardeyskoye Air Base in central Crimea. [2]

_______________________________

[1] Vysokopillya was occupied by Putin's troops on 13 March 2022. By the time that the Ukrainians liberated the village in early September, Vysokopillya lay in total ruins.

[2] Simultaneously, PSU ADM-160 MALD decoy missiles were also launched at 'targets' near Sevastopol - the Khersones tactical UAV base and Saky Air Base.

[Sport25ing]

see, an excellent work 

[Old Wombat]

Nice!

We can only hope!

[GTX_Admin]

 

[elmayerle]

Very nice, indeed.  It's too bad TSSAM was cancelled when it was, Northrop-Grumman was going to propose an AGM-137C "TSSAM-ER" for the competition won by Storm Shadow.  IT would have been 1 foot longer than the AGM-137A with the extra module inserted just ahead of the wings.  IT would have had the same sensor options that AGM-137A had.

Such might make an interesting whiff since it was an all-aspect stealthy missile.

[apophenia]

I've mounted a question about potential armour improvements for Ukraine-bound Leopard 1A5s in the Engineering Dept. section:

-- https://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=10763.msg208882

[apophenia]

Inspired by Carlos' musings, I've put together a hypothetical US analogue to the German MP44 Sturmgewehr. In other words, a WW2 US assault rifle. The idea is that a new and longer-ranged round was developed in place of the OTL Thompson Automatic Carbine (although I've kept that weapon's 16.5-inch barrel).

Through the miracle of time-travel, the design team chose a 33 mm case (based on a much-shortened 30-06 rifle cartridge and bullet). The result had more stopping-power than the .30 Carbine cartridge and more range than the .45 ACP.

Out of laziness, I've just given this US assault rifle a magazine derived from the MP44. For PDW use, I've shown a more compact 20-round mag plus the bog-standard MP44 type. I've lengthened the receiver to take a longer recoil spring (not sure if that'd be needed - maybe just a stouter spring in the standard M1A1 receiver?).

[Old Wombat]

Think I'd prefer a beefed-up version of Carlos' M1-Carbine/M1-Thompson SMG mash-up, although the select fire M2 Carbine may be a better starting point.

[apophenia]

Finally! Ukraine gets some Western fighters 

-- https://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=1112.msg209374#msg209374

Khouker Urahan = 'Shahed Killer' 

[perttime]

hmmm...
Would the Ukrainian pilots want a full bubble canopy?