How effective was it in WW2? We directly support the repository at WW2.ORG, and several other worthwhile projects that add to the historical record. An American team under Admiral Harold G. Bowen, Sr. correctly deduced that the tubes were meant for experiments with proximity fuzes for bombs and rockets. Thousands of aircraft were shot down, and tens of thousands were damaged, not to mention the horrendous cost in lives and those wounded. The different roles that artillery ammunition has had to fill on the battlefield has led to many different designs and types of ammunition, some of which are discussed here And while artillery has been used by armies for hundreds of years, this article focuses on "modern" ammunition (post-1870). Reverse is maker marked S.H.u.Co. Acting like a normal bullet in flight, then after a short delay, it will explode into 5 more bullets. Making the right shell for your gun's role and gauge can be difficult as the sheer number of options is staggering. Which aircraft type could withstand the most damage? Flak is a contraction of German Flugabwehrkanone (also referred to as Fliegerabwehrkanone) meaning "aircraft-defense cannon", the original purpose of the weapon. Tracer bullets contain a substance that burns and gives off light, aiding the gunner in aiming. While smaller shells without fuzes will need to actually hit the aircraft to damage it, most all other AAA will have some type of fuzing. Observers may not be practical in many situations, the ground may be uneven, and the practice is slow in any event. Definitions of flak . While it fits well into the Allied narrative of how the strategic bombing campaign robbed the German army of valuable munitions, it was only partially true. After the war, the British Bombing Survey Unit (BBSU) continued this line of thinking describing German AA defences as plentiful but not very lethal. At the same time the official RAF history of the air war estimated that German flak accounted for 37 percent of Bomber Commands losses between July 1942 and April 1945. Luftwaffe flak batteries could be assigned to the army at any time and thousands were. [26][27], Looking for a short-term solution to the valve problem, in 1940 the British ordered 20,000 miniature tubes from Western Electric Company and Radio Corporation of America that were intended for use in hearing aids. The proximity fuze makes the problem simpler than the previous methods. [9] Their system involved a small, short range, Doppler radar. 3. Early field testing connected the circuit to a thyratron trigger operating a tower-mounted camera which photographed passing aircraft to determine distance of fuze function. Prototype fuzes were then constructed in June 1940, and installed in "unrotated projectiles", the British cover name for solid-fueled rockets, and fired at targets supported by balloons. Both are surrounded by an oval oak leaf wreath. And with all that jungle, he said nothing shredded them better than Flak fire and napalm fire. It was first tested as a part of a detonation device for bombs that were to be dropped over bomber aircraft, part of the UK's Air Ministry's "bombs on bombers" concept. The famous flak gun became one of the most feared anti-tank weapons of the Second World War, serving everywhere from the sands of North Africa to the snowy wastelands of the Russian front. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Combat Extended adds a plethora of new features to the game, many of which are not immediately apparent. These guns have enough damage potential to down a single-engine aircraft with a single shot, with 2 or 3 needed to down larger aircraft. [citation needed] To prevent premature detonation, the inbuilt battery that armed the shell had a several millisecond delay before its electrolytes were activated, giving the projectile time to clear the area of the gun.[45]. The largest artillery pieces employed by the Army against Axis forces was the M1 240mm howitzer, which could fire 360-pound shell out to a range of 23,000 meters (14.3 miles). Mention has to be made of the development of gun laying radar. Sure, in UT99 there is some sort of piston that pushes ammo into the firing chamber, but it's . ; "Precision Radar,", Smith, Peter C. Kamikaze: To Die for the Emperor. Its interesting that we continue to use the term todaycatching flak at the office as one example., Flak in the Second World War was very effective. Firing Coilguns draws power from connected Supercapacitors, as well as ammunition . Image courtesy the German Federal Archive. Furthermore, they were required to carry written orders on their person when engaging these targets. [67] [68]. Pressure sensors are usually used in combination with other fuze detonation technologies such as acoustic and magnetic induction. Before then, they always return false. 3. This film provides an in-depth look at the weapons and methods of Ger. Before the invention of the proximity fuze, detonation was induced by direct contact, a timer set at launch, or an altimeter. All of the units in Warpath are the real units from World War II, from infantry units to rocket artillery. Flak in World War II takes the reader from the invasion of Poland in 1939 right to the last Japanese aircraft shot down by AA fire in August 1945. Absolute yikes. Join in if you dare! In other words, artillery is a system with a number of interacting components. Facing flak over 'RSS illiterate' remark, Kumar Vishwas issues clarification,In a video, Kumar Vishwas said that he was talking about a boy who works in his office and, coincidentally, is also an RSS worker. This pattern changes with shrinking distance: every half wavelength in distance (a half wavelength at this frequency is about 0.7meters), the transmitter is in or out of resonance. Although not intended to start fires, tracer bullets can have a mild incendiary effect. As the missile cruises towards its target the laser energy simply beams out into space. Veteran rocker Rod Stewart has no doubt what outcome of the Ukraine-Russia war would most benefit humanity, telling an interviewer he's backing Ukraine because, "If the Ukrainians lose it's the end of civilization as we know it.". Ammunition. Due to their specialist nature they tend to be more expensive and larger than their standard counterparts. The British shared a wide range of possible ideas for designing a fuze, including a photoelectric fuze and a radio fuze, with United States during the Tizard Mission in late 1940. In response to OPs question, the answer involves the invention of Radar. As early as September 1939, John Cockcroft began a development effort at Pye Ltd. to develop tubes capable of withstanding these much greater forces. Due to the increase of people asking what kind of shell they should use with their gun that has X and Y stats, here is a guide to help you pick. If my health was such that I was still in to historical board and miniatures games I betcha this would, umm, lets say, engender energetic conversation, in that realm. Same principle is used for special types of shrapnel ammo in the Carl Gustav recoilless rifle. [6] In 1944 the number of 128mm rounds per aircraft shootdown was 3,000, less than one-fifth the number expended by its 88mm counterpart. [43] The design had four or five tubes. It was so important that it was a secret guarded to a similar level as the atom bomb project or D-Day invasion. Once again enduring the strange looks at the range - "Why on earth do those idiots keep shooting cowboy boots at . 2 Answers. Models & Kits; Military; Dnepro Model DM3518-1/35 German 88mm FLAK 36 ammo ammo box scale model kit. I would point to the Luftwaffe flak defenses of the Ruhr, their larger cities like Berlin and their oil refineries. Measures 1 13/16 X 2 9/16 inches. [3], During World War II, incendiary bullets found a new use: they became one of the preferred types of ammunition for use in interceptor fighters. A fireball from a kamikaze attack engulfs the USS Columbia during a battle near the Philippines in 1945. Flak as used in the second world war is a larger shell that when fired, travels to the target area and explodes within its general area, hoping to score a hit by Follow up question, why do AA guns turn the sky red when theyre being fired? how does flak ammunition work Shorter barrel, a little less velocity, and a good bit more stress on hollow point performance through barriers. it's only used against airborne targets a cloud of tiny pellets "Shrapnel" shells, named for their inventor, are used to kill people with bits of metal even when those people are hiding behind walls, in a trench, etc. [58] After General Dwight D. Eisenhower demanded he be allowed to use the fuzes, 200,000 shells with VT fuzes (code named "POZIT"[59]) were used in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. It uses Advanced Sniper Bullet for ammo. Viewed another way, the received signal frequency was Doppler-shifted from the oscillator frequency by the relative motion of the fuze and target. The Flak 88 was a legendary WWII-era anti-air and an anti-tank gun used by Nazi Germany and their allies.Jul 22, 2018, Four were the different FlaKs produced and improved from 1933 until the end of WWII, 8.8 cm. It examines heavy flak defences, flak over the battlefield, the failure of ship AA defences early in the war; specifically the Bismarck and the sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse in 1941, AA defences against the worlds first cruise missile (V-1), right up to the human guided missile that was the kamikaze in the Pacific., I was inspired after reading Edward B. Westermanns book Flak: German Anti-Aircraft Defenses 1914-1945. Berlin has repeatedly lobbied Bern to shift policy after requests for permission to send Ukraine Swiss-made ammunition acquired by Germany decades ago were denied. Sure, in UT99 there is some sort of piston that pushes ammo into the firing chamber, but it's placement makes it impossible to get access to ammo from the magazine, there is no space for that. Thompson was sent to the British Air Defence Establishment based on the second of the two concepts. And if that don't work use more gun.". Nickel construction with gold gilt high lights. One may use a timed fuse in the shell. An example of flak is the exploding ammunition that can damage a military plane when flying over enemy territory. The versatile 88mm cannon was Germany's main heavy antiaircraftor flakgun during World War II. Their light and medium flak over the battlefield was also highly effective and took a great toll on Allied fighter bombers. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. All ammunition types are produced at Factories or Mass Production Factories. Also in 1944, fuzes were allocated to the British Army's Anti-Aircraft Command, that was engaged in defending Britain against the V-1 flying bomb. http://bit.ly/subAIRBOYD Timeless classic about anti-aircraft flak. Flak damaged tens of thousands of bombers. Similarly, incendiary ammunition was used against non-rigid observation balloons. Flak proved a huge benefit to fighter pilots assigned to attack incoming raids. U.S. General George S. Patton credited the introduction of proximity fuzes with saving Lige and stated that their use required a revision of the tactics of land warfare. In December of that year the British Air Ministry purchased the design. Time to blow. (LogOut/ Notes. [39] It was not a fuze for anti-aircraft shells, the most valuable type. What does cholera look like under a microscope? The device described in World War II patent[63] works as follows: The shell contains a micro-transmitter which uses the shell body as an antenna and emits a continuous wave of roughly 180220MHz. A timer fuze can be set to explode a few meters above the ground but the timing is vital and usually requires observers to provide information for adjusting the timing. World War I. As the saying goes, the more flak that's incoming, the more certain you can be that you are over the target. Flak guns were actually used against the Soviets in the defense of Berlin. Images of CAD renderings can be found below. Acoustic proximity fuzes are actuated by the acoustic emissions from a target (example an aircraft's engine or ship's propeller). [64] [65], During WW2, the Germans had at least five acoustic fuzes for anti-aircraft use under development, though none saw operational service. The tweet exchange occurred on November 28 - December 4, 2014 and is below. [9], Some explosive projectiles, such as high-explosive incendiary bullets, contain an incendiary charge intended to ignite explosives within the shell.[9]. It was a game changer and fortunately for the US Navy they had it when the kamikaze appeared. Use a gun. Built around a miniature radio transmitter and receiver, the VT fuse overcame the major disadvantage of the time and contact fuses and was capable of detecting its target and detonating within 75 feet. It not just one or the other.. Magazines contain . It was lightly armored, but extremely mobile . The British Mk VI bullet was copied by the United States in simplified form, for both their .30 and .50 aircraft bullets. Doppler Radar was able to detect how close objects are to the radio wave source. A German artillery crew relaxes next to their 88 mm gun. If you want to contribute, READ THIS FIRST . (in an allied country). [10] These included acoustic fuzes triggered by engine sound, one based on electrostatic fields developed by Rheinmetall Borsig, and radio fuzes. The return signal is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the distance. Though the days of peasant armies wielding them may be over, these archaic weapons are still legal in parts of the U.S., although not in the states of New York, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania. amtifo backup camera troubleshooting. [28], Prior to and following receipt of circuitry designs from the British, various experiments were carried out by Richard B. Roberts, Henry H. Porter, and Robert B. Brode under the direction of NDRC Section T Chairman Merle Tuve. All of these earlier methods have disadvantages. If the Luftwaffe had this shell the Allied bombing campaign would have been far more costly, or stopped altogether. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Any analysis that does not examine all components of the system, and acknowledge that interference with any part of it can sharply reduce its effectiveness, is incomplete. In the post-World War II era, a number of new proximity fuze systems were developed, including radio, optical, and other means. Allied AA guns were equally effective. Flak came into English as an abbreviation for the German word Fliegerabwehrkanone, meaning aircraft-defense gun. Some sectioned shells from the First World War. A simulated battle conditions test was started on 12 August 1942. In many ways the term gun-laying was a misnomer when applied to the GL I. After so many seconds, the shell would detonate like a times bomb. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The allies had the edge with the VT fuse. The answer? [40], In the US, NDRC focused on radio fuzes for use with anti-aircraft artillery, where acceleration was up to 20,000g as opposed to about 100g for rockets and much less for dropped bombs. This is particularly dangerous when they strike flammable substances or dry brush. So Shrapnel is designed to explode BEFORE it hits the ground, using a timed fuse or a proximity fuse. Bullet 50 feet from the plane? If the amplified beat frequency signal's amplitude was large enough, indicating a nearby object, then it triggered the fourth tube a gas-filled thyratron. . Gun batteries aboard cruiser USSCleveland(CL-55) tested proximity-fuzed ammunition against radio-controlled drone aircraft targets over Chesapeake Bay. It does not store any personal data. Pilots were permitted to deploy them against only zeppelins and balloons. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The designation VT means variable time. @JeremyECrawford already have a question. Over the course of the German V-1 campaign, the proportion of flying bombs flying through the coastal gun belt that were destroyed rose from 17% to 74%, reaching 82% during one day. [5] This was adopted by British forces as the 0.303 Incendiary B Mark VI. Vote! Due to the forward speed of the bomber, bombs fitted with pressure detonators would all explode at about the same height above ground along a horizontal trajectory. Coilguns shoot high velocity bolts that deal damage to anything they hit. [65], Hydroacoustic influence is widely used as a detonation mechanism for naval mines and torpedoes. They project narrow beams of laser light perpendicular to the flight of the missile. Proximity fuzes are designed for targets such as planes, missiles, ships at sea, and ground forces. In mid-November 1939, a German neon lamp tube and a design of a prototype proximity fuze based on capacitive effects was received by British Intelligence as part of the Oslo Report. Work was split in 1942, with Tuve's group working on proximity fuzes for shells, while the National Bureau of Standards researchers focused on the technically easier task of bombs and rockets. The flak also blew up the trees, which created additional deadly shrapnel. When an 88mm projectile exploded at altitude, it sent out jagged metal fragments that tore through nearby aircraft. They were widely used by Germany throughout the war. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Flak can refer to criticism or worse, explosive shells from an antiaircraft weapon. Also the ammo of choice when Dick Cheney decides to shoot someone in the face. The only Allied option was tactical infatry inserted to upset the German air defenses and provide a diversion for the larger forces to come in after. The flammable hydrogen gas of the zeppelins made incendiary bullets much more deadly than standard ones which would pass through the outer skin without igniting the gas. [41] In addition to extreme acceleration, artillery shells were spun by the rifling of the gun barrels to close to 30,000 rpm, creating immense centrifugal force. Fine condition. Marines christened their new recruit "Reckless" for the work she would do in resupplying recoilless rifles, known as "reckless rifles" in Marine jargon. flak vest: [noun] a special jacket that is worn by soldiers, police officers, etc., for protection against bullets or exploding shells. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. How do you write a good story in Smash Bros screening? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Saturday NatSec Roundup - Lawyers, Guns & Money. [44] One tube was an oscillator connected to an antenna; it functioned as both a transmitter and an autodyne detector (receiver). Optical sensing was developed in 1935, and patented in the United Kingdom in 1936, by a Swedish inventor, probably Edward W. Brandt, using a petoscope. A proximity fuze (or fuse[1][2][3]) is a fuze that detonates an explosive device automatically when the distance to the target becomes smaller than a predetermined value. [20], The first reference to the concept of radar in the UK was made by W. A. S. Butement and P. E. Pollard, who constructed a small breadboard model of a pulsed radar in 1931. [citation needed] The British then adopted the simplified design as the Mk VII bullet. The first bomb in the stick was fitted with an impact fuze while the other bombs were fitted with pressure sensitive diaphragm actuated detonators. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Flak detonation clouds Early on during the war, two kinds of flak rounds were used. And when I started digging deeper, the number of aircraft shot down by flak was astonishing. The US found that flak that was high generally caused some damage to bombers but was far less likely to shoot them down than flak that was low. [64] [65], 120mm HE mortar shell fitted with proximity fuze, 120mm HE mortar shell fitted with M734 proximity fuze, 60mm HE mortar shell fitted with proximity fuze. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Press J to jump to the feed. Winchester USA 5.56 Nato Ammunition 200 Rounds 55 Grain Full Metal Jacket. This process continued for the last 10 months of the war, robbing German cities of vital flak defences. Allied AA defenses were also effective, one example being the battles against the V-1 flying bombs and the fact that they chose to defend Antwerp against the V-1 using AA guns along is testament to their effectiveness. Wooden precise replica of the German 88mm anti-aircraft FlaK guns and Tiger-I ammunition - 8.8cm Sprgr.Patr. When the Allies began to use the term is not known. The shell detonates and sends a flurry of ball bearings and shrapnel in all directions. [2] The British Royal Flying Corps forbade the use of incendiary ammunition for air-to-air combat with another airplane, as their use against personnel was at first considered to be a violation of the St. Petersburg Declaration. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. For security reasons, and to confuse the enemy, it was initially called 'de Wilde' ammunition, even though the design was almost entirely different from the original version. It would have never been used in action. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. 8,8 cm Flak 41 Information about the 8,8 cm Flak 41. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. How many shells does a flak gun fire per minute? Why dont we use flak on people. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. There are few weapons (aside from shotguns and large game hunting rifles) which have been built that fire projectiles between .50 caliber (0.50 inches/12.7 mm, roughly 13 mm caliber) and 20mm caliber, though the 14.5 mm caliber is used by some Soviet machineguns such as the KPV and antitank rifles such as PTRS, PTRD, and . Many postwar histories accepted the testimony of leading figures within the Luftwaffe that ground based AA defences achieved limited success in destroying Allied bombers. Vote! After so many seconds, the shell would detonate like a times bomb. Listed is also some of the guns captured from other countries and used by the German armed forces. Additionally, targets with onboard electronics or computers can be damaged by metal fragments when they explode on the surface. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. They never pooled their resources, instead each would go their own way, often siting individual radars in the same place., Two myths about flak: one it was not very effective, from an Allied point of view, and second the Allied bombing campaign against Germany created a second front siphoning off thousands of men to man the guns and robbing the German army of valuable men. A great little gun that packs 10+1 rounds of 9mm and features a 3.4" barrel - perfect for our carry gun test. [68], During WW2, pressure activated fuzes were developed for sticks (or trains) of bombs to create above ground airbursts. I think the TF2 Engineer summed it up perfectly: "How am I going to stop some big mean mother hubbard from tearing me a structurally superfluous new behind? [57], The Pentagon refused to allow the Allied field artillery use of the fuzes in 1944, although the United States Navy fired proximity-fuzed anti-aircraft shells during the July 1943 invasion of Sicily. Anointed items can only spawn as world drops for a character that has completed the main story. One-Handed Flail The flail is a medieval weapon that's instantly familiar. With the invention of Jet fighters, he explained to me that the flak guns had become obsolete so they had to be repurposed. The anti-aircraft artillery range at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico was used as one of the test facilities for the proximity fuze, where almost 50,000 test firings were conducted from 1942 to 1945. [notes 1] This reflected signal would affect the oscillator's plate current, thereby enabling detection. It was the invention of the VT radar proximity fuse. These bombers required repair, causing service rates to fall and thus reducing the number of bombers available for new operations. [8] With a proximity fuze, the shell or missile need only pass close by the target at some time during its flight. For alternate autocannon ammunition, see the Special Munitions category. That means the fuse was outperforming traditional rounds three to one in routine combat conditions. [9], Given their previous work on radio and radiosondes at NBS, Diamond and Hinman developed the first all solid-state[when? Answer (1 of 7): > how and why does a plane still go down if the flak missed? If the shells exude at 5k feet couldn't bombers fly safer at 3k? Each unit has its own specified abilities and stats. First large scale production of tubes for the new fuzes[9] was at a General Electric plant in Cleveland, Ohio formerly used for manufacture of Christmas-tree lamps. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. They're running out of ammunition. The most developmentally advanced of the German acoustic fuze designs was the Rheinmetall-Borsig Kranich (German for Crane) which was a mechanical device utilizing a diaphragm tone filter sensitive to frequencies between 140 and 500Hz connected to a resonating vibratory reed switch used to fire an electrical igniter. This permitted the purchase of over 22 million fuzes for approximately one billion dollars ($14.6 billion in 2021 USD[51]). [4], Belgian inventor de Wilde, who was living in Switzerland, invented a new bullet in 1938. "[32], A key improvement was introduced by Lloyd Berkner, who developed a system using separate transmitter and receiver circuits. But that number is misleading. Press J to jump to the feed. When the target was far away, little of the oscillator's transmitted energy would be reflected to the fuze. SKU:CO5613468. Make a 1:1 scale print and you will shurely understand why this cartridge type deserves all due respect. 2,4 or 10m (7,13 or 33ft)] above ground that are selected by gun crews. It's called a hammer because that's how it works: like a conventional hammer driving a nail into wood, it uses a relatively large mass pushing forward onto a relatively small mass (the firing pin), so it magnifies force. Design of the type began as early as 1936 under the charge of the Rheinmetall-Borsig concern and then known as the "Gerat 40", intended as an in-the-field gun system for the German Army.