18pdr used for AA

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

I have an 18pdr shell fitted with a time fuze and per the artillery book by I.V. Hogg it was not very successful, something to do with the muzzle velocity, bursting attributes, etc. I believe the fuze is numbered 188, I will have to dig the shell and book out from storage to check.

Ralph

[Rockdoc]

I'm annoyed with myself because I can't remember where I read this but the early British attempts at AA gunnery using standard fuses were caused problems because of the way the delay was timed. As the shell accelerated, the fuse began to burn and its timing depended on a consistent rate of burning. As AA shells were being sent higher than shells from field guns, the thinner atmosphere slowed the burning and lengthened the delay. It wasn't solved until a new fuel was developed that produced its own oxygen.

Keith

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

I'm annoyed with myself because I can't remember where I read this but the early British attempts at AA gunnery using standard fuses were caused problems because of the way the delay was timed. As the shell accelerated, the fuse began to burn and its timing depended on a consistent rate of burning. As AA shells were being sent higher than shells from field guns, the thinner atmosphere slowed the burning and lengthened the delay. It wasn't solved until a new fuel was developed that produced its own oxygen.

Keith

Keith,

This is mentioned in the book by Hogg on British artillery and ammunition on page 220. It seems that early tests were not consistent with expected results.

'When anti-aircraft gunnery came into use, the standard time fuzes were also pressed into service for this field. However it was soon found that what a fuze did when fired in the terrestrial role bore little relation to what it did when fired vertically, and many and varied were the experiments performed to find out what was going wrong. It was finally discovered that the rarified atmosphere at high altitudes was causing the gunpowder to burn in unpredictable ways, and special designs of fuze with special formulations of powder had to be developed before a reliable fuze was available for anti-aircraft shooting.'

[Rockdoc]

It won't be Hogg's book because I've never read it but it sounds to have been the source of the piece I read. Richard Holmes' Tommy, perhaps?

Keith

[centurion]

And not a problem confined to 18 pounders but all early AA guns

[Rockdoc]

In fact, any shell using a conventional British fuse, I suppose? Were fuses standard across all the different calibres of shell?

Keith

[centurion]

In fact, any shell using a conventional British fuse, I suppose? Were fuses standard across all the different calibres of shell?

Keith

Probably not just British fuses (which used a German patent).