Super Fledermaus

Feuerleitgerät 63 Superfledermaus at theFlieger-Flab-Museum

TheSuper Fledermaus(literally Super Bat), known in Swiss service as theFeuerleitgerät 63,Flt Gt 63(fire control radar unit 63), is a pulse-radar fire control system, 111 of these systems were in service with theSwiss Air Forcefrom 1965 to 1977. Under the lead ofContraves,the Super Fledermaus fire control system was jointly developed and produced by ten companies. It replaced theFire control radar Mark VIIin Swiss service, and was in turn replaced by theSkyguardsystem.

Function

Feuerleitgerät 63 Superfledermaus at theFlieger-Flab-Museum

The Flt Gt 63 comprises a towed trailer, aDoppler radarin the E / F-band with a range of 15 kilometers and a pulse Doppler Rader in the J band, again with a 15 kilometer range, it can simultaneously control twoOerlikon 35 mm twin anti-aircraft mountings.In use the system's E/F bandsearch radarmonitors the airspace scanning for targets; once targets have been identified the target can be tracked and engaged either visually or by radar.

Visual operation (OZ) utilizes electro-optical sights on the gun mounts, this allows the directlaying of the gunsby their crews; this mode of operation limits the system to daylight/good weather conditions. Radar target assignment (ZZR) requires an oral radio or telephone transmission to the Parallaxcomputer operator, who inputs the search data into the device. Under the control of thisanalog computerthefire-control radartracks the target, the computer continuously calculates afiring solution,and lays and fires the guns by remote control. One Argentine Air Force Super Fledermaus system was captured by the British around Port Stanley Airport in 1982. The Super Fledermaus system was used in the first prototype of theFlakpanzer Gepard.

Technology

• Pulse radar with all round and sector search capabilities as well as automatic tracking
• Range: 40km
• Frequency: 8600–9600 MHz
• Transmit pulse power: 150 kW
• Weight: 5400kg
• Power supply by 4-cylinder Porsche engine, generator 23 KVA, 380 V
• Analog converter with AC technology and computing capacitors / power systems for directional target control, target data tracking,lead calculationandballistic dropcompensation
• X-band fire control radar "Albiswerk" with Magnedstation PPI and RH/A display
• Sector or omni search, conical scan target tracking

Feuerleitgerät / Flt Gt 69 Superfledermaus

TheFlt Gt69fire control unit is based on the Flt Gt 63, and from 1970 to 1985, 38 were used by the Swiss Air Force in mobile airfield flak batteries (M FLPL flab Bttr). Otherwise identical to the Flt Gt 63, the Flt Gt 69 featured

• Pulse radar withbackground cluttersuppression
• Three optical target detectors (OZ)

The Flt Gt63 and the Fl Gt69 were replaced in the Swiss Air Force by theSkyguardfire control system.

References

• Flieger-Flab-MuseumDübendorf
• Albert Wüst:Die Schweizerische Fliegerabwehr.2011,ISBN978-3-905616-20-0