computer science

Gun data computer

Gun data computer is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gun data computer rather than just read about it. In short: The gun data computer was a series of artillery computers used by the U.S. Army for coastal artillery, field artillery and anti-aircraft artillery applications.

Key takeaways

Gun data computer belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gun data computer to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gun data computer from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The gun data computer was a series of artillery computers used by the U.S. Army for coastal artillery, field artillery and anti-aircraft artillery applications. For antiaircraft applications they were used in conjunction with a director computer.

Variations

M1: This was used by seacoast artillery for major-caliber seacoast guns. It computed continuous firing data for a battery of two guns that were separated by not more than 1,000 feet (300 m). It utilised the same type of input data furnished by a range section with the then-current (1940) types of position-finding and fire-control equipment. M3: This was used in conjunction with the M9 and M10 directors to compute all required firing data, i.e. azimuth, elevation and fuze time. The computations were made continuously, so that the gun was at all times correctly pointed and the fuze correctly timed for firing at any instant. The computer was mounted in the M13 or M14 director trailer. M4: This was identical to the M3 except for some mechanisms and parts which were altered to allow for different ammunition being used. M8: This was an electronic computer (using vacuum tube technology) built by Bell Labs and used by coast artillery with medium-caliber guns (up to 8 inches or 200 millimetres). It made the following corrections: wind, drift, Earth's rotation, muzzle velocity, air density, height of site and spot corrections. M9: This was identical to the M8 except for some mechanisms and parts which were altered to accommodate anti-aircraft ammunition and guns. M10: A ballistics computer, part of the M38 fire control system, for Skysweeper anti-aircraft guns. M13: A ballistics computer for M48 tanks. M14: A ballistics computer for M103 heavy tanks. M15: A part of the M35 field artillery fire-control system, which included the M1 gunnery officer console and M27 power supply. M16: A ballistics computer for M60A1 tanks. M18: FADAC (field artillery digital automatic computer), an all-transistorized general-purpose digital computer manufactured by Amelco (Teledyne Systems, Inc.,) and North American—Autonetics. FADAC was first fielded during 1960, and was the first semiconductor-based digital electronics field-artillery computer. M19: A ballistics computer for M60A2 tanks. M21: A ballistics computer for M60A3 tanks. M23: A mortar ballistics computer. M26: A fire-control computer for AH-1 Cobra helicopters, (AH-1F). M31: A mortar ballistics computer. M32: A mortar ballistics computer, (handheld). M1: A ballistics computer for M1 Abrams main battle tanks.

Systems

The Battery Computer System (BCS) AN/GYK-29 was a computer used by the United States Army for computing artillery fire mission data. It replaced the FADAC and was small enough to fit into the HMMWV combat vehicle. The AN/GSG-10 TACFIRE (Tactical Fire) direction system automated field artillery command and control functions. It was composed of computers and remote devices such as the Variable Format Message Entry Device (VFMED), the AN/PSG-2 Digital Message Device (DMD) and the AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder field artillery target acquisition radar system linked by digital communications using existing radio and wire communications equipment. Later it also linked with the BCS which had more advanced targeting algorithms. The last TACFIRE fielding was completed during 1987. Replacement of TACFIRE equipment began during 1994. TACFIRE used the AN/GYK-12, a second-generation mainframe computer developed primarily by Litton Industries for Army divisional field artillery (DIVARTY) units. It had two configurations (division and battalion level) housed in mobile command shelters. Field artillery brigades also use the division configuration. Components of the system were identified using acronyms:

CPU – Central Processing Unit IOU – Input/Output Unit MCMU – Mass Core Memory Unit DDT – Digital Data Terminal MTU – Magnetic Tape Unit PCG – Power Converter Group ELP – Electronic Line Printer DPM – Digital Plotter Map ACC – Artillery Control Console RCMU – Remote Control Monitoring Unit The successor to the TACFIRE system is the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS). The AFATDS is the "Fires XXI" computer system for both tactical and technical fire control. It replaced both BCS (for technical fire solutions) and IFSAS/L-TACFIRE (for tactical fire control) systems in U.S. Field Artillery organizations, as well as in maneuver fire support elements at the battalion level and higher. By 2009, the U.S. Army was transitioning from a version based on a Sun Microsystems SPARC computer running the Linux kernel to a version based on laptop computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system.

Surviving examples One reason for a lack of surviving examples of early units was the use of radium on the dials. As a result they were classified as hazardous waste and were disposed of by the United States Department of Energy. Currently there is one surviving example of a FADAC computer at the Fort Sill artillery museum.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gun data computer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gun data computer claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gun data computer before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gun data computer ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gun data computer

In research: Gun data computer appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gun data computer in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gun data computer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Analog computers, Applications of control engineering, Artillery operation, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gun data computer outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gun data computer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gun data computer means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gun data computer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gun data computer in simple terms?

The gun data computer was a series of artillery computers used by the U.S. Army for coastal artillery, field artillery and anti-aircraft artillery applications.

Why does Gun data computer matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gun data computer?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gun data computer.