- Yes
- No
Welcome again, in this suggestion we’ll be having a look at a rather elusive French SPAA system, the CCKW 353 truck with a P512 turret
This is a curious and just as mysterious French SPAA system. We know pretty much nothing about it, but I wanted to present it here regardless. The CCKW 353 P512 is a post-war anti-air system developed by ‘La Précision Moderne’. This seems to have been a firm specialized in electrical and mechanical products. The turrets were made between 1949 and 1950, and we know that at least 3 of them have been constructed. 3 Examples took part in the 1951 military parade in France. The chassis is a standard GMC CCKW 353 truck that we already have in-game, one even in the French tree already. The vehicle is powered by the default 92 hp engine and weighs 4.7 tons without the turret.
The turret itself is a quadruple mount featuring German 20mm MG151 cannons. After the armistice, France found itself in possession of quite a few of these, which is why you’ll see them on a lot of early post-war vehicles. This known and loved armament is a rather capable anti-aircraft weapon. It has a rate-of-fire of up to 700 rounds/minute and has good shell ballistics. The turret is capable of rotating the full 360 degrees. We sadly have no information on the traverse speed, nor on the elevation limits or speed. I assume this information can all be found in an archive somewhere, but sadly I cannot personally go look for it.
General characteristics
- Crew: 4(?) Driver and commander up front, gunner and loader in the turret
- Length: 6.5m
- Width: 2.2m
- Height: 2.5m
- Weight: More than 4.7 tons
- Engine: GMC 270 inline 6-cylinder providing 92 hp
- Max speed: 80 km/h on roads
- Power to weight: Less than 19 hp/t
Armament
- Main armament: 4x 20mm MG151
- Rate-of-fire: 700 rounds/barrel/minute, for a total of 2800 rounds/minute
In-game
This vehicle could be a rank 2-3 SPAA option for the French tree. The tree could really do with a bunch of gap fillers in this line and that is where this vehicle can come in. Admittedly the lack of information on it could make an implementation difficult. It’s probably advisable to first look at other options that can fill in the same gap. However, given its uniqueness and undeniable potential, I do feel like the vehicle could have a place in-game.
