COMBATING AIRCRAFT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 20, 10 September 1914, Page 4

COMBATING AIRCRAFT.

It is now stated thai particular attention has been given by the firms of Y'iekers, Ltd., and Armstrong, Whitworth and Co.j to the subject of mounting guns capable of firing at high angles for anti-aircraft purposes. The principal part of such guns lies in the details of the mounting and sighting. and it is on these points that the firms mentioned have brought to bear their great experience, and with notable success. For the naval mountings for use on warships and the stationary mounts lor land work, the gun which |,. ls found most favor is the 3-inch gun

with a comparatively low velocity of about 1700 feet per second. The action! of the gun is either semi-automatic or fully automatic. Its rapidity of fire is great, and no difficulty is experienced in firing twenty-five rounds a minute. It does not appear that the employment of direct hitting projectiles, which are to burst on impact, are ol use against high-speed aeroplanes, as the chances of a correct hit are small. The general opinion seems to J)e that shrapnel shell, with a special time fuse, will give better results. Arrangements are also made lor the use of high-explosive shell, especially with the light guns, under six pounders. Both the firms mentioned have specialised in the application of their fully automatic guns, and produce those ol various calibres, from rifle calibre up to 2-pounder, capable of a rate of fire from 500 rounds per minute with the rille calibre to 200 rounds per minute with the 2-pounder. After prolonged and exhaustive trials with these guns, the arrangements have been perfected so that they lire with equal facility at from ten degrees depression to eight\ degrees elevation, the fully-automatic functioning being absolutely certain 1 during this great range of elevation, and moreover the positions and design of the sights are so arranged as to be perfectly comfortable for the gun-layer at all angles of elevation.