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Posted

I am using the 90MM as that's what we remember rather then the 3" AA gun.   Not just the piece for comparison but the whole Firing Battery, FDC, And Support parts.  I never read anything about Brit AAA during the BOB.   90MM was getting there end of 43 and the 88 was the uber weapon of the Germany AA or at least what we thought since the 105MM and 128MM started coming on line late war due to 88 deficiencies.     Which was the best at what they did?   

Posted

There was one shoot by a troop of 3.7" HAA in North Africa, supposedly against some tigers. The rammers and other details like rather high rate of fire, made for a very bad day for the tigers.

Posted
18 hours ago, rmgill said:

There was one shoot by a troop of 3.7" HAA in North Africa, supposedly against some tigers. The rammers and other details like rather high rate of fire, made for a very bad day for the tigers.

If the guns were on AA pedestal mounts, I can see why the crews were very  motivated to ruin the Tigers' day...

Posted

I suspect they were on the 4 wheel mounts. The 3.7" guns were much heavier (20,541 lbs for the mks 1-3 and 38,360 lbs for the mk6) than the typical 88 with more accoutrements for the controlled battery firing. But they still had sights for direct fire shoots. What makes them notable is 18-25 rounds per minute rate of fire when using the autoloading features. 4 guns firing up to 25 rounds per minute at up to 20,600 yards flat would be BAD news. 

You weren't going to drag these guns into a defensive position you just took. But if a panzer unit got to where they were cited and they had a good field of fire....bad day. 

3-7.jpg?w=575&h=576

Posted

The 3.7” guns had RANGE. And they did use them for artillery stonks. 
 

being able to fire timed fuzes on a very flat trajectory can be handy. 

Posted

Were there special AP shells developed for the 3.7" during WWII, or did they used the HE common shell, unfuzed?

Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, sunday said:

Were there special AP shells developed for the 3.7" during WWII, or did they used the HE common shell, unfuzed?

There was an AP SHOT. 

28 lb projectile at 2,600 feet/second.

Shell, HE, Mark 1C Used Fuze, Time 119 or 223 earlyn on, then Mechanical 
Time Fuze 207, 208 or 214
Shell, Shrapnel, Mark 2C For use against low flying aircraft. Used Fuze Time No. 199
Shot , AP, Mark 5T Solid steel shot with a tracer. Penetration of 
117mm/1,000 yards/30°


https://ra39-45.co.uk/guns-equipment/3-7-inch-anti-aircraft-gun

Edited by rmgill

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