Naval Anti-Aircraft Guns and Gunnery

999 Pages·36.4 MB·english

by  Norman Friedman.

FRONTISPIECE: HMCS Nootka fires her Boffin, 1951. (RCN)
Copyright © Norman Friedman 2013
First published in Great Britain in 2013 by
Seaforth Publishing
An imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street, Barnsley
S Yorkshire S70 2AS
www.seaforthpublishing.com
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
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ISBN 978 1 84832 177 9
eISBN 9781473852846
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CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 AN EVOLVING THREAT
CHAPTER 2 MAKING ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE EFFECTIVE
CHAPTER 3 BEGINNINGS
CHAPTER 4 THE INTER-WAR ROYAL NAVY
CHAPTER 5 THE INTER-WAR US NAVY
CHAPTER 6 THE INTER-WAR IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY
CHAPTER 7 OTHER EUROPEAN NAVIES BETWEEN THE WARS
CHAPTER 8 THE ROYAL NAVY AT WAR
CHAPTER 9 THE US NAVY AT WAR
CHAPTER 10 AXIS NAVIES AT WAR
CHAPTER 11 POST-WAR DEVELOPMENTS
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX: GUN DATA
ABBREVIATIONS
AA = anti-aircraft
ABU = Auto-Barrage Unit
ACNS(W) = Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Weapons)
ADO = Air Defence Officer
ADP = Air Defence Position
ADR = Aircraft Direction Room
AFCB = Admiralty Fire Control Box
AFCC = Admiralty Fire Control Clock
AFCT = Admiralty Fire Control Table
AGE = Admiralty Gunnery Establishment
AIO = Action Information Organisation
API = advanced primer ignition
APV = average projectile velocity
ARL = Admiralty Research Laboratory
ASV = Air to Surface Vessel (radar)
ATEWA = Automatic Target Evaluator and Weapon Assigner
AUTOCOFAS = Automatic Control Officer’s Forward Area Sight
AW = aircraft warning
BD = between decks (mounting)
BT = Biplane Tail
BuAer = Bureau of Aeronautics (US)
BuOrd = Bureau of Ordnance (US)
BUSTER = Bofors Universal Stabilised Tachymetric Electric Radar
CAFO = Confidential Admiralty Fleet Order
CAP = Combat Air Patrol
CDS = Comprehensive Display System
CEP = Circular Error Probable
CMB = Coastal Motor Boat
CNO = Chief of Naval Operations
CO = commanding officer
COFAS = Control Officer​s Forward Area Sight
ComAirPac = Commander Air Forces Pacific
CR = close-range
CRBF(D) = Close Range Blind Fire (Director)
CRH = calibre radius head
CRS = close-range system
D of A = Director of Artillery (Army)
DA = direct action (fuse/gun)
DAMS = Defensively Armed Merchant Ships
DCB = distance-controlled boat
DCG = Drum Control Gear
DCT = director control tower
DEMS = Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships
DGD = Director of Gunnery and AA Warfare
DNC = Director of Naval Construction
DNO = Director of Naval Ordnance
DRC = Defence Requirements Committee (British)
DTSD = Director, Training and Staff Duties Division
EMV = Elswick-Metro-Vickers
FAM = Fast Aerial Mine
FKC = fuse keeping clock
FPS = Flyplane Predictor System
FTP = Fleet Training Publication
FY = financial year
GDR = Gun Direction Room
GDS = Gun Direction System
GRU = Gyro Rate Unit
GRUB = Gyro Rate Unit Box
GRUDOU = Gyro Rate Unit Deflection Oil Unit
GUNAR = Gun and Radar
HA = high-angle
HACP = High Angle Control Position
HACS = High Angle Control System
HACT = High Angle Calculating Table
HADES = High Angle Director Eyeshooting Sights
HADFAS = High Angle Director Forward Area Sight
HADT = High-Angle Director Tower
HAT = Hinged Air Tail
HC = high-capacity (shell)
HE = high explosive
HETF = high explosive time fused (shell)
IFF = Identify Friend or Foe
LA = low angle LRS = long-range system
LT = Luft Torpedo
MAT = Monoplane Air Tail
MBTA = Mission ballistique des tirs aeriens
MPI = Mean Point of Impact
MRS = medium-range system
MTB = motor torpedo boat
NAD = Naval Air Division
NDRC = National Defence Research Committee
OpNav = Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
OSRD = Office of Scientific Research and Development
PAC = Parachute and Cable (rocket)
PC = poste à calcul
PPI = plan position indicator (display)
QF = quick-firing (gun)
RAAF = Royal Australian Air Force
RAE = Royal Aircraft Establishment
RAF = Royal Air Force
RDF = radio direction finding (i.e. radar)
RNTF = Royal Navy Torpedo Factory
RP = remote power
RPB = Rounds per Bird
RPC = Remote Power Control
R/T = radio telephone
SEDC = Simple Electric Deflection Calculator
SG = Schnelle Geleitfahrzeuge (fast escort ships)
SGS = Small Ship Gun System
SGU = Single Gun Unit
STAAG = Simple Tachymetric AA Gun
STAE = Second Time Around Echo
STD = Simple Tachymetric Director
STS = Standard Temporary System
TACU = Target Acquisition Control Unit
TBS = Talk Between Ships (voice radio)
TDS = Target Designation Systems
TE = tangent elevation
TEWA = Threat Analysis and Weapon Assignment
TIO = Target Indication Officer
TIR = Target Indication Room
TIU = Target Indication Unit
TOM = Tachymetric One Man (system)
TS = Transmitting Station
UP = Unrotated Projectile (rocket)
VCAS = Vice Chief of the Air Staff
VNCS = Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
WD = weather deck (mounting)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many friends helped me in this project, research for which extended back many years to my
earlier work on US naval weapons, on naval radars, and then on various classes of warships,
particularly US and British. As with my earlier books, this one is based largely on archival sources.
The official archives involved, to the staffs of all of which I owe great thanks, were the US National
Archives (largely Archives II at College Park), the British National Archive (which I still think of as
the Public Record Office [PRO]), the Royal Naval Historical Branch and Admiralty Library (and
particularly Admiralty Librarian Ms Jennie Wraight), the Royal Australian Navy Sea Power Centre
(particularly its chief Dr David Stevens and his assistant John Perryman), the US Navy Department
Library at the Washington Navy Yard (particularly the special collections, and particularly by head
librarian Glenn Helm), the US Navy Operational Archives at the Washington Navy Yard, the Archive
at the Naval War College in Newport (particularly archivist Dr Evelyn Cherpak), the Brass Foundry
outstation of the National Maritime Museum (particularly its head Jeremy Michell and his assistant
Andrew Choong), the French defence archive at Vincennes (which now incorporates the old Service
Historique de la Marine, where I did the research), and the French DGA archive at Chatellerault. I
also enjoyed the hospitality of the library associated with the Science Museum in London, and that of
the reference branch of the New York Public Library. For photographs my main institutional sources
were the still photo collection at Archives II, the collection of the Naval Historical and Heritage
Center (for which I am particularly grateful to its curator emeritus, Chuck Haberlein; I also wish to
thank his successor Robert Hanshew, now no longer there), and the photo library at the US Naval
Institute (for assistance with which I particularly wish to thank its curator, Janis Jorgensen). Dr
Stevens and Mr Perryman in particular provided some invaluable illustrations. Richard Pekelney of
the Historic Naval Ships Association provided essential material, both textual and illustrative.
Richard Gimblett, the official Canadian naval historian, organised assistance with photographs of
weapons employed by the RCN. I would like to thank Richard Sanderson of the Canadian Maritime
Command Museum at Halifax (which maintains the corvette Sackville), Bill Wilson and Stephen
Magusiak of the Alberta Military Museums (described as the best collection of naval weapons in
Canada), and Luc J A Portelance of the RCN weapons directorate. I much appreciate illustrations and
other assistance provided by A D Baker III, Christopher C Wright (editor ofW arship International),
Dr Raymond Cheung, Chris Carlson, Christoph Kluxen, Rick E Davis, Dr Mauricio Brescia,
Lieutenant Commander Erminio Bagnasco, Gino Chesi (president of the Gruppo Cultura Navale of
Bologna), Lieutenant Commander David Hobbs RN (ret, and formerly Curator of the Fleet Air Arm
Museum at Yeovilton), John A Roberts, John H Lambert, John Jordan, Ian Buxton, Tracy White and
Miroslaw Skwiot. Mr Baker offered many invaluable insights, some of which were derived from his
own experience as an officer using the 3in/50 automatic gun. Stephen McLaughlin generously
translated some Russian material. David Dickson provided translated Japanese documents which