#4
Post
by JTV » 28 Nov 2003, 16:18
I think the person who contacted you first is correct. That looks like German "Kommandohilfegerat 35" mechical computer used as help for aiming heavy AA-guns. These machines were also called as "antiaircraft gun directors".
The Finns acquired exactly the same mechanical fire-control computers with 8,8 cm Flak 37 AA-guns around at 1944 from Germany and called them "antiaircraft gun director M/35 Delta". This exact machine was probably the most effective version that the German had and the Finns kept using them with 88-mm AA-guns until 1969. The machine needed seperate rangefinder, but once the correct range and high values are set it can count the correct values directly to meters of aiming system at 8,8 cm Flak 37 AA-guns. The Finns used telephones to tell correct numbers to the guns. Kommandohilfegerat 35 could be set 500 metres from the heavy aa-guns used with it.
The much more complicated (also German) m/40 Lambda mechanical FC-computer had 4 meter rangefinder on top of it (information from this rangefinder was electically transmitted to antiaircraft gun director under it) and once counted by the machine could sent the aiming data directly to 88-mm AA-guns via 108-strand cable. (After that the crew just had to aim the gun to direction that the meters indicated, use the system included to gun for giving the ammunition correct timer setting and start shooting at the correct moment. If the combination of mechanical fire-control computer and (other then Flak 18 model) 8,8 cm Flak 18 were attached also to fire-control radar such as FuMG 62 Wurtzberg 39 T version C (as used in Finland) the situation would get yet more interesting for hostile bombers.
Mechanical fire-control computers were usual equipment used with heavy AA-guns during WW2.
Knowing how the situation developed in Finland here is bit information: Finnish military acquired their first mechanical FC-computer (Austrian Goertz) to be used with heavy AA-guns (76-mm Bofors AA-guns) at year 1929. It didn't really worked, but Vickers machines acquired bit later worked quite well. Finnish military also tested counting systems for using the guns without mechanical FC-computers at 1930's and developed these as socalled "3T-method". The 3T-method (mainly developed by Finnish artilellery General and gifted mathematician Nenonen) demanded large number of men to do calculations and information being shouted from man to man, it barely worked in peacetime rehersals but proved too uneffective for battle-use. The tests done revealed that FC-computer was absolutely necessary for the heavy AA-guns to be effective. During WW2 Finnish military used following mechanical FC-computers with heavy AA-guns:
- Vickers M/34 (British, quite good)
- Gala-Borletti M/34 (Italian, outdated)
- Äldre M/30 (Swedish, outdated)
- Delta M/35 (German, excellent)
- Aufiere M/35 and M/44 (French, first version outdated, M/44 had been improved by the Germans and was relatively good)
- Juhanz-Gamma M/36 (licensed Finnish made copy of Hungarian design, good)
- Skoda T 7n (Czechoslovakian, good)
- Puazo 3 (captured Soviet, based to Skoda T7, good)
- Lambda M/40 (German "Kommando Gerät 40" aka "Kappa-Gerät", excellent)
As you can see the designs were numerous and their quality varied. Some were too complicated to be used effectively and ever faster aircraft simply got too fast for some.
BTW: Is that thing at the background really listening device for spotting the direction of aircraft or is it part of the mount for the instrument on top of it? The photo is not too accurate in that area, but it looks to me that there is something looking a lot like large optical rangefinder (also standard issue for heavy AA-gun units) on top of it.
Attached is pic of Kommandohilfegerat 35 taken by yours truly at Finnish Antiaircraft Museum.
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- FC_Computer_M35.jpg (30.62 KiB) Viewed 5858 times
Last edited by
JTV on 02 Dec 2003, 15:56, edited 1 time in total.