NEW ANTI-AIRCRAFT ARTILLERY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 4, 28 September 1937, Page 13

NEW ANTI-AIRCRAFT ARTILLERY

Germany?s Defences Againsf Raids QUICK-FIRING £UNS For more than three years Germ&n irtillery engineers and armament factories have,worked with a vengeanco to supply the Gerinan flghting services with the most efitective anti-aircraft weapons modern science can devise, .writes the Berlin correspondent of the Chicago Tribune. Germany was badly handieapped when she took the construction of antiaircraft guns in hand, since the Versailles Treaty forbade the manufacture in Germany of aircraft as well as antiaircraft weapons. In the first fifteen years after the World War, under the repnblican regime, no anti-aircraft j guns were turned out in Germany, but which the Nazis came into power rearmament was begun immediately, long before it was officially admitted. The utmost retieence is maintained i by General Goering and his Air Ministry as to the anti-aircraft guns introduced- in the German fighting services. Foreign observers, however, believe that, thanks to the skill and ingenuity of her engineers, Germany aucceeded in cafching up with the other highlyarmed and industrialised countries in regard to anti-aircraft artillery. In addition Germany has the advantage of - having only modern and up-to-dato anti-aircraft guns.

A New Type of Gun. So far as is known the German army i/3 now equipped with three kinds of anti-aircraft guns — a 78-mm. gun for long range, a 37-mm. gun, and a 20-mm. gun for close range. It is assumed that an anti-aircraft gun of a heavier calibre than 78 mm. has been constructed, but this is kept secret. The 78-mm. gun has a range of approximately 25,000 feet and is said to be at least as effective as any gun of the game • calibre turned out by other countries. The gun is drawa by a bighly serviceable truck with caterpillars for the hind wheels and ordinary front-wheel drive. The gun crew of five is mounted on the truck. The 20-mm. gun, or rather machine-gun, created quite a sensation in international military circles and other countries are now building similar weapons. The gun is effective against aeroplanes at a range of 6000 feet and fires approximately 150 rounds a minute. The highexplosive shells are equipped with very sensitive detonators which explode when contaeting the lightest material, Bven tissue paper. A shell of this kind when hitting the wing of an aeroplane will tear a large hole in the wing instead of just piercing it like an ordinary machine-gun bullet. Each shell is equipped with an electric fuse exploding the chargo after a certaiu time to prevent the dropping shell from causing damage in the Germans' own ranks. When used against other targets, such as tankg, the contact fuse is replaced by a time fuse exploding the shell only after it has piercod the armour of the tank. Battalion to Each Corps This year's autumn manoeuvres, thi biggest held in Germany since the prewar days, revealed that each of Germany 's twelve army corps is equipped with an anti-aircraft abteilung or battalion. Two anti-aircraft battalions and one search-light battalion form an • anti-aircraft regiment. So far aa could be ascertained no special antiaircraft units were attached to the divisions. The beavy anti-aircraft battalion. in the German army consista oi two batteries of 78-mm. guns and one' battery of 37-mm. guns. For closerange protection, against low-flying raiders, a 20-mm. machine-gun, flring explosive shells, is attached to every heavy anti-aircraft gun. The searchlights and sound detectors used in the German army against aircraft are said to be highly efficient Air Minister Goering himself described them as being "exceedingly good." The sound detectors on view in the recenl autumn manoeuvres were of quite a different type from those used heretofore. They resemble gigantic micro- 1 phones, large discs with wires spanned . across, instead of the old-fashioned kind which are shaped like trumpets.

Batteries of Llghts Searchlights against aircraft are mostly operated in batteries of foui lights each. They are hooked together in such a way as to enable them to automatically keep an aeroplane focused iu their beams onee the aeroplane is detected. Like other countries, Germany looks towards her air fieet as the aiam defence against air raids. In addition Germany has b'uilt up the biggest civilian anti-air raid organisation in the world. The Air Protection League has a total membership of more than 10,000,000 men and women. The president of the league is General vcn Rogues. Protective measures against air Taids have greatly influenced building ia Germany. All new public buildings and many private houses have shelteis against air attacks. In Hamburg a whole district, the so-calied Gaengeviertel, consisting of unhygienic and ramshackle buildings, was recently torn down and the houses erected instead, were all built to give the most protection against air raids. Every house has gasproof and splinterproof shelters in the cellar. The woodwork in tho attic is impregnated against fire hazard, and the roofs are reinforced to prevent, or at least slow up, a collapse of the roof in case an incondiary bomb sets it abLze. The additional expense for protection measures against aii raids is given at 2.9 per cent. of thc total building costs.