Re: What was the most effective naval anti-aircraft gun of WW2? and the Admiralties, and making strikes against Truk and the Marianas in January and February. Four were mounted on Houston and the fifth was a spare. Adding to these the 878 suicide kills the total AA. This may have been partly due to opportunity and also to the fact that the enemy concentrated much effort on radar picket ships. On at least some ships they were director-controlled. List 7. a (2); c-1 (2); e (2); f (5); g (30); h (15); i-3 (5);j (5);k (2);o (5); p-1 (l); r (2). guns with 40-mm. However, these ships were only 29 percent of naval vessels sunk, as compared with 50 percent of the total damaged. Doctrine called for opening fire at 12,000 yards or more, using a high percentage of VT fuzes. The Mark 63 system, having similar characteristics, is an outgrowth of the Mark 51 and 52 directors, and is designed for control of 40-mm. Naval Weapons, Naval Technology and Naval Reunions. The Navy's Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) had decided the M2 Browning was inadequate for future anti-aircraft duties, and modified Hudson's design for a new, high-velocity 1.1 inches (28 mm) cartridge. The Philippines invasion inspired the enemy's use of suicide tactics, which proved effective, although no more so than conventional air attacks by our own planes against enemy shipping. coordination plans, designed to provide concentrated 5-inch gunfire against targets at long range, guarding at the same time against further undetected attacks. 29, USS San Francisco CA38 War Damage Report No. Rounds per bird, except for 1945, increased for all types of weapons as the war progressed. At the beginning of the war the fleet was woefully weak in antiaircraft firepower and fire control. The relative effort expended by the enemy in suicide and conventional attacks has been shown in table I. The design was turned over to the Naval Gun Factory for production in 1934. damage by near misses; 517 (65 percent) missed ships completely, and did no damage. A total of 999 planes attempted to crash into ships, and definitely were identified as suiciders. The Navy's own air arm played a major role in the defeat of both enemy weapons. This weapon would become the iconic naval anti-aircraft gun of the Second … 282,643 Pages. I (part II), Building the Navy's Bases, vol. sank no ships, damaged 24 of them. Submarines of World War II ... Giulio Cesare, Trento, Zara and all Condotteri Classes. These forces consisted of bombardment, amphibious, CVE's, DD pickets, auxiliaries, convoys, and other ships. 16], Ships named for Individual Sailors - Citations, Ships Sunk and Damaged in Action during the Korean Conflict, A Short Account of the Several General Duties of Officers, of Ships of War: From an Admiral, Down to the Most Inferior Officer, Signals for the Use of the Navy of the Confederate States, Sinking of C.S.S. Note.--Distribution List is included on page 23. 127 (1869) List of Types of Officers to Mess in Second Ward Room, General Order No. 83-43, BUREAU OF NAVIGATION CIRCULAR LETTER NO. A satisfactory result for 5-inch VT ammunition, especially in suicide actions, is indicated. 98 (1914) Movement of the Rudder, General Order No. The first definite action in this direction took place on October 11, 1928, when the Chief of the Bureau announced a meeting of a Special Board on Naval Ordnance for October 17 to consider and submit a plan for the development and test of a machine gun of 1" or greater. before demonstrating their intent, the number of suicide planes includes not only all planes which were obviously making suicide dives but also an appropriate fraction of the planes shot down at a distance, based on the ratio of known suicide to known non-suicide planes attacking. https://www.pinterest.com/battleshipman/anti-aircraft-guns-of-ww2 CA--(83 barrels)--6 5"/38 twins; 12 40-mm. singles. quads; 2 40-mm. [CinCPOA Bulletin 93-45, 1945], The Diary of Michael Shiner Relating to the History of the Washington Navy Yard 1813-1869, Digest Catalogue of Laws and Joint Resolutions: The Navy and the World War, Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity in the Armed Services, Master Chief Boatswain's Mate Carl Maxie Brashear, USN (Ret. directors for control of 40-mm. For 6-inch projectiles the Mark 47 was developed, with a 100-foot radius and 800-yard arming time. 8 Sperry MIT gyroscopic gun sight. The increase in casualties in 1944 and 1945 may be attributed entirely to the introduction of suicide tactics. The record for the period February-April follows: In the actions against non-suicide planes for the period October-March one ship, the Princeton, was sunk and seven were damaged. VT-fuzed projectiles, used in only 35 percent of 5-inch rounds, were responsible for 50 percent of 5-inch kills. 3 director with a Mark 26 (range only) radar. Carrying with it 1,200 to 1,500 fighters, bombers, torpedo and scout planes, this force boasted approximately 952 5"/38 barrels, 3,136 40-mm. Alabama, Captain Samuel Nicholson: A Monograph [pdf], Capture of CSS Florida by USS Wachusett - Report of Commander Napoleon Collins, Capture of CSS Florida by USS Wachusett - Report of Lieutenant Morris, Caribbean Tempest: The Dominican Republic Intervention of 1965, Carrier Deployments During the Vietnam Conflict, Casualties: US Navy & Marine Corps Personnel, Casualties: US Navy and Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured in Selected Accidents and Other Incidents Not Directly the Result of Enemy Action, Change of Command and Retirement Ceremony of the Commandant Naval District, Washington, DC, Charles Morris A Man of Letters and Numbers, Chester Nimitz and the Development of Fueling at Sea, Christmas 1932 U.S. Very rare collectors item: 8.8 cm. Two "Wrens" -- Womens Royal Naval Service -- armourers are shown servicing a shipboard Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun during WWII.. Night torpedo raids were to be continued for the rest of the war, although after the early part of 1944 they were largely superseded by other forms of attack. U.S. Navy antiaircraft doctrine called for heavyantiaircraft to deliver either aimed fire at individual targets("continuously pointed fire" or "shoot to hit") or barrages in the pathof oncoming aircraft formations. First year of war.--At Pearl Harbor ships' gunfire was of little help in their protection. To overcome these difficulties the gunsight Mark 15, with a 5.8 power telescope and 5-inch ballistics (range 7,500 yards and time of flight 13 seconds), was developed for use with the Mark 51 Mod. 45, USS New Orleans CA32 War Damage Report No. One torpedo tube was removed from 692 and 445 class DD's and replaced by a 40-mm. 1942. The design of the gun mechanism was completed in 1930 and tests on the initial models were carried out in March, April and May 1931. or 5"/38 guns. Every effort was made to speed up gunfire. 99 (1869) Authority Given to Fleet Officers, General Order No. As the war ended development was underway on a 3"/70 automatic twin with a cyclic rate of 180 rounds per barrel per minute, a 20-mm. 4, 1863, Enlistment, Training, and Organization of Crews for Our New Ships, Establishment of the Department of the Navy, Expeditions, Diplomatic and Scientific Activity, and Operations Against Native Americans and Pirates, Exploring the Antarctic 1840 - The Wilkes Expedition, Eye-Witness Account of the Battle Between the U.S.S. During the last 6 months of 1942 we took the offensive, stopping the enemy's threat to Australia by invading Guadalcanal, and initiating a second front in North Africa. Guided missiles having supersonic speeds and high performance VT fuzes will be required if planes carrying atomic bombs are to be destroyed at a safe range from ships. It is interesting to determine the "expected" distribution of kills by type of ship, and to compare it with the actual distribution. 2 Appendix, Main Navy Building: Its Construction and Original Occupants, Manual of Information Concerning Employments for the Panama Canal Service, Master File Drawings of German Naval Vessels, Matthew Fontaine Maury: Benefactor of Mankind, Mers-el-Kebir Port Instructions for Merchant Vessels [1942], Midway in Retrospect: The Still Under Appreciated Victory, Midway’s Operational Lesson: The Need For More Carriers, Military Base Closures: Role and Costs of Environmental Cleanup, Military Service Records and Unit Histories, Miscellaneous Actions in the South Pacific, More Bang for the Buck: U.S. Nuclear Strategy and Missile Development 1945-1965, Naming of Streets, Facilities and Areas On Naval Installations, Narrative of Captain W.S. For purposes of simplification these tactics may be divided into those of (a) the fast carrier task force, and (b) other forces. All torpedoes were removed from other classes in favor of increased 40-mm. fell within sight of ships were about 70 percent of the total knocked down by gunfire. 12.8cm FlaK 40 Towed Anti-Aircraft Artillery. Attacks were made by skillfully handled planes in large numbers. The sky was completely overcast, but the target was picked up at 17 miles. For example, between 7,500 and 8,000 enemy aircraft--enough to sink any fleet in the world but our own--got through our air cover to attack our surface vessels between Pearl Harbor and the end of the war. activate prematurely as a result of proximity to the sea. Known as the QF 2-pounder Mark VIII, it is usually referred to as the m… 56 (1901) Puget Sound, Naval Station to Navy Yard, General Order No. 6 - Other Federal Decorations (non-military), Ships & Other Units Eligible for the Korean Service Medal, Navy Columbia Class Ballistic Missile Submarine, The Navy Department A brief history until 1945, Navy Department Communiques 1-300 and Pertinent Press Releases, Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet & EA-18G Growler Aircraft, Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans - 2016, Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations 2011, Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations 2015, Navy John Lewis (TAO-205) Class Oiler Shipbuilding Program, Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Hypervelocity Projectiles, Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)/Frigate Program, Navy Nurse Corps General Uniform Instructions 1917, Navy Records and [Navy Department] Library (E Branch), Navy Ship Procurement: Alternative Funding Approaches, Navy Shipboard Lasers for Surface, Air, and Missile Defense, Navy Trident Submarine Conversion (SSGN) Program: Background and Issues for Congress, The Navy's World War II-era Fleet Admirals, Forward Presence in the Modern Navy: From the Cold War to a Future Tailored Force, Historiography of Programming and Acquisition Management since 1950 - Hone, Naval Personnel since 1945: Areas for Historical Research, The Social History of the U.S. Navy, 1945–Present, Writing U.S. 110 (1869) Forbidding Applications for Duty Through Persons of Influence, General Order No. Most of these ships anchored overnight, and depended for protection against air attack at twilight and night more upon smoke and concealment than upon firepower. The Black (DD 666) and Bullard (DD 660) also claimed hits. 52, [USS] Joseph Hewes APA22 War Damage Report No. HMS Warspite, for example, retained the two 3pdr guns as its sole anti-aircraft defence until 1927, when the weapons were replaced by a mere four 4pdr guns and a small number of rifle-calibre machine-guns. Damage to ships caused by enemy planes is outlined later in this chapter. Re: What was the most effective naval anti-aircraft gun of WW2? Projectiles containing this feature would destroy themselves at 8,000 yards. There are no records of which planes might have been hit by the large number of 1.1–inch rounds fired, but numerous accounts exist of damage caused by the impact-fuzed projectiles missing their targets and exploding like hand grenades when they returned to earth.[1]. development during the first year of the war was the VT fuze for 5-inch projectiles. Colloquium on Contemporary History 1989-1998, DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Needs and Opportunities in the Modern History of the U.S. Navy, Permitting Policy and Resource Management, "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. List 1. a (5) send CincLant and CincPac (10); b (2); c (2) less AirForceLant NAS Grosse Pte, Mich, ComFltAirshipsLant and Pac, ComAirPhilSeaFron, ComAirPhilSeaFronLogistics Sec, ComFltAirSeattlc, ComGenAirFltMarForce, DirAviationMarCorps; send ComAirPac(lO); d(2); e(2); f(l) only to ComSubsLantAdmin and ComSubsPac; g(2); h(2); i(2); j(2); k(2); 1(2) less Midship Tr Squad; R&D Center Norfolk, Chief of Staff to Com in Chief, Task Group France, ComAllForces Navy 154, Com Navy 815, AmphibBases, U.K., ComNavGrpChina, ComUnderwater Demolition Teams, ComNavForcesGermany, ComPorts&Bases Germany. 1 Austrian 6-pounder Howitzer with cutout, No. At Pearl Harbor, and for a year afterward the Japanese employed conventional dive-bombing and torpedo tactics. It is interesting to note that work on the gun was financed not from regular Navy appropriations but from funds supplied through the National Industrial Recovery Act.[5]. singles, and 8 20-mm. The Helena (CL 50) is believed to have been the first ship to use the ammunition successfully, shooting down a dive bomber with a Mark 32-fuzed projectile off Guadalcanal on 5 January 1943. The first 6 months of 1943 saw the Japanese eliminated from Guadalcanal and its development as a base from which to conduct offensive operations. The whole process of detonation requires an infinitesimal fraction of a second. Table III shows the cost to the enemy at Okinawa in both types of attack per ship sunk or damaged. Naval Weapons, Naval Technology and Naval Reunions. fire, with projectiles considerably more destructive than those presently used. Our surface forces were not as modern or heavily armed as those in the Pacific.