Lucky13
Forum Mascot
Which were the best anti aircaft guns and systems of WWII?
Anti Aircraft Weapons....
- Thread starter Lucky13
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Tough question mate.
I really like the 2cm FlakVierling 38, it was probably the best small caliber AAA gun of the war.
The 3.7cm FlaKzwilling 43 is probably the best AAA gun of the war, having over double the firepower of the 40mm British Bofors AAA gun.
In terms of vehicle mounted AAA guns, well the FlakVierling 38 again, when mouned on the Wirbelwind, featuring all hydraulic traverse elevation and excellent firepower it was a devastating weapon against a/c and esp. infantry.
God it must have been scary business being under attack by a Wirbelwind firing four 2cm cannons at you from an agile and accurate mounting. At 450 rpm a piece that's a RoF of 1,800 rpm!
I really like the 2cm FlakVierling 38, it was probably the best small caliber AAA gun of the war.
The 3.7cm FlaKzwilling 43 is probably the best AAA gun of the war, having over double the firepower of the 40mm British Bofors AAA gun.
In terms of vehicle mounted AAA guns, well the FlakVierling 38 again, when mouned on the Wirbelwind, featuring all hydraulic traverse elevation and excellent firepower it was a devastating weapon against a/c and esp. infantry.
God it must have been scary business being under attack by a Wirbelwind firing four 2cm cannons at you from an agile and accurate mounting. At 450 rpm a piece that's a RoF of 1,800 rpm!
trackend
Chief Master Sergeant
Although not the best I still thought the 8 barelled pom pom was good for low level ship defence ( 720 2lb rpm) unfortunately they lacked muzzel velocity and tracer rounds so ended up being replaced by the Bofors I think the pom pom should have been developed more.
I always thought the Bofors was a Swedish gun Soren not British
I always thought the Bofors was a Swedish gun Soren not British
- Thread starter
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Lucky13
Forum Mascot
Bofors is Swedish, yes....
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
And it's STILL used today.....!
- Thread starter
- #8
Lucky13
Forum Mascot
Crikey! 
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Wow! That's impressive! Am I right in thinking that the 'traditional' Bofors 40mm weapon is still in use, in modified form, by some units of various forces, eg, navies? There was one, with modern carriage and laying system, at the place I lectured at until recently. It had been released from British 'War Reserve Stock' only about 3 years ago, I believe, but of course it could have been 'old' stock from the '60'/70's.
Glider
Captain
Its worth remembering that a WW2 vintage L60 was credited with a Mirage during the Falklands
SoD Stitch
Banned
I agree w/Soren; the Wirbelwind was probably the best track-mounted AA gun of the War. I never understood why Germany didn't produce more of those; and why they moved on to the Ostwind, which did have a larger-caliber cannon (3.7 cm), but only had one barrel and, therefore, a much lower rate of fire.
Go with the Quad 40 bofors. Great gun, used, for the most part, as shipboard AA. I think the US Navy considered it the largest machine gun in it's service. I would go with that for a machine gun. Also, I think it used a proximity fuse (not positive but I think the marks later in the war used that fuse).
If you're talking Cannons, there are a ton of good ones. German 88 is legendary, but everyone seemed to have a good cannon in that range (US 90mm and the British 3.7") that had greater range. However, the 88's fame was based on it's versitility. The thing was all over the place. It was used for just about everything. Aircraft, infantry, tanks, you name it.
If you're talking Cannons, there are a ton of good ones. German 88 is legendary, but everyone seemed to have a good cannon in that range (US 90mm and the British 3.7") that had greater range. However, the 88's fame was based on it's versitility. The thing was all over the place. It was used for just about everything. Aircraft, infantry, tanks, you name it.
CharlesBronson
Senior Master Sergeant
MY choices:
light: MK 103 30 mm jaboschreck
Heavy: 90 mm US gun with proximity fuzes, really deadly.
light: MK 103 30 mm jaboschreck
Heavy: 90 mm US gun with proximity fuzes, really deadly.
And before that they had an autofuze setter on the 90MM. Gave it a higher rpm than most guns of the same caliber.
CharlesBronson
Senior Master Sergeant
Indeed, the good characteristics of the 90mm gun as well other allied designs had been shadowed by the legend of the 88 family, but the fact is most of the spectacular actions of the 88 were against tanks, not aircraft.
The 90mm was definately better .
The 90mm was definately better .
The 90mm M3 was too heavy and cumbersome. The 88mm FlaK18 was light and featured an unrivalled targeting system and optics, which is what made it so successful in both AA AT roles and turned it into a legend.
However the best AA gun of the war was the FlaK 41 which had a RoF of 25 rpm thanks to a new loading system, and on top of that it featured a much higher ceiling than both the US 90mm M1 and the British QF 3.7 inch AA guns.
However the best AA gun of the war was the FlaK 41 which had a RoF of 25 rpm thanks to a new loading system, and on top of that it featured a much higher ceiling than both the US 90mm M1 and the British QF 3.7 inch AA guns.
CharlesBronson
Senior Master Sergeant
The 88 is good nobody denies it, but the proximity fuze in the 90 mm make them a lot better for AA purposes. I agree on the weight topic, the 3,7 british was tremendously heavy too, the thing barely can move.
