![]() Here now is the story of the forgotten M247. ![]() tax payers who spent just shy of $2 billion on it (about $4.8 billion today or, humourously enough, after appropriately adjusting for inflation to make the dollar values match, about 1/11th what the entire Apollo program cost), the final version of the weapon ended up being so useless its automatic targeting system couldn't distinguish between a toilet vent fan and a jet plane, the vehicle itself couldn't keep up with the tanks it was designed to protect, and it was made obsolete by advances in enemy weaponry after only a few dozen faulty units were made. ![]() The vehicle was named for one Alvin York, a famous and highly decorated WWI hero who captured over 100 German soldiers pretty much single-handedly. The M247 Sergeant York was officially designated as a "self-propelled anti-aircraft gun" but was for all intents and purposes a tank chassis with anti-aircraft guns attached to the top.
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