French heavy anti-tank missile of the 1960s

[Maury Markowitz]

I am cleaning up the wiki articles on Swingfire and TOW. One source mentions that in the early 1960s when the US decided to move ahead with TOW, after promising the British they wouldn't, they argued there was no point continuing Swingfire because the French were replacing ENTAC with a long-range design.

I seem to recall seeing pictures of this design. Unlike ENTAC, which was the classic teardrop shape of AT missiles of the 50s, this was much longer at maybe 5 feet and somewhat wider, and had a purely cylindrical design with a simple conical nose cone. It was in the Janes' book I've asked about elsewhere.

Nothing on the Wiki seems to match this. It's definitely not HOT and much larger than MILAN. I guess I could be misremembering ENTAC, but then what was this system the US was referring to, HOT?

This ringing any bells for anyone?

 

[TomS]

I am cleaning up the wiki articles on Swingfire and TOW. One source mentions that in the early 1960s when the US decided to move ahead with TOW, after promising the British they wouldn't, they argued there was no point continuing Swingfire because the French were replacing ENTAC with a long-range design.

I seem to recall seeing pictures of this design. Unlike ENTAC, which was the classic teardrop shape of AT missiles of the 50s, this was much longer at maybe 5 feet and somewhat wider, and had a purely cylindrical design with a simple conical nose cone. It was in the Janes' book I've asked about elsewhere.

Nothing on the Wiki seems to match this. It's definitely not HOT and much larger than MILAN. I guess I could be misremembering ENTAC, but then what was this system the US was referring to, HOT?

This ringing any bells for anyone?

Could it be ACRA? Gun-launched and a hair smaller in diameter than ENTAC but longer. It otherwise fits the configuration you describe (conical nose, straight cylinder body, flip-out tail fins).

 

[Maury Markowitz]

Thank you sir, that is the one! Googling the name immediately returned the exact image from the book in question.

 

[TomS]

Glad to help. Hard to imagine that anyone saw ACRA as a direct competitor to Swingfire. Gun-launched rounds like ACRA and the US Shillelagh were specialized weapons for tanks or dedicated tank destroyers -- it seems obvious that the infantry would need something else (hence Dragon & TOW in the US, Milan & Hot in Europe)

 

[Silencer1]

Sidenote:
Entac predecessor, Nord SS.10 has been designed as developement of German missile,
by the Jean Bastien-Thiry - who organized unsuccessful De Gaulle assasination.

Jean Bastien-Thiry — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

 

[fortrena]

It might be worth noting that the Franco-German accord which led to the development of the Aérospatiale / MBB HOT antitank missile, a pretty heavy and long range weapon, was seemingly signed in 1964.

 

[TomS]

It might be worth noting that the Franco-German accord which led to the development of the Aérospatiale / MBB HOT antitank missile, a pretty heavy and long range weapon, was seemingly signed in 1964.

Yes, I think HOT is more likely to be the design that was seen as an alternative to Swingfire.

 

[Archibald]

Sidenote:
Entac predecessor, Nord SS.10 has been designed as developement of German missile,
by the Jean Bastien-Thiry - who organized unsuccessful De Gaulle assasination.

Jean Bastien-Thiry — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

Had he used such missile against De Gaulle Citroen DS... in passing, the attack build the DS legend, as the holed car with ruined tyres was able to keep going and carry on, away from the hell fire.