Evening star., 1941-07-04
u. ). Just Beginning
To GET Adequate
Anti.Aircraft Guns
Army Hos Only Four
o0-MiIlimeter Guns Used
In Europe Now
By JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.

BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.
Resting smugly behind its ocean
barriers, the United States has be-
come the most backward of all
major nations in its anti-aircraft
defenses and only now is begin
ming to get deliveries of guns which
have not been outranged for years
by those of both the Allied and
Axis powers.
The new anti-aircraft gun pro-
gram of the Army is one of the
most closely guarded of War De-
partment military secrets. 1t actu-
ally is more difficult to get reliable
figures of modern anti-aircraft gun
performances and production than
it is to get similar statistics con-
cerning warplanes.
Behind the secrecy, however,
there is much activity in both the
production and research fields to
make good the very serious def
ciencieS which have resulted frfom
the long standing national COM
placency and shortsightedness con-
cerning the development of ground
defense against air attack.
Types Now Used Are Inferior.
Despite secrecy bans, certain facts
have become public knowledge,
among them these:
The Army today relies for its
anti-aircraft gun defenses-if they
can, in fact, be called defenses at
all-on two types of guns, the rs
millimeter, or 3-inch, and the 81
millimeter anti-aircraft guns, with
which virtually all Coast Artillery
anti-aircraft regiments now are
equipped. Both types are said to
be distinctly inferior to correspond
ing weapons which have been in
use in Europe since the beginning
of the war. Neither type is ef-
fective against modern hlgh-tylng
aircraft, which can operate well
above the effective gunnery ranges.
The Army has developed a very
effective 9O-millimeter gun. which
has an effective range OF about
80 900 feet, or some 1000 feet high
er than the present standard 3-lnch
piece. The new gun, despite lts
considerably greater size, is highly
mobile and is even more accurate
than the smaller weapon. The rub
Is that, although thousands OF the
bO-millimeter guns are on order,
only four of them actually have
been delivered. These four pilot"
models have made possible the crea-
ton for service test purposes OF
full battery of 9O-millimeter guns.
This battery. officially rated at
least the equal of the best In the
world" Is located at Fort Monroe,
Va.
Developing a BofOrs Type.
The Army also is developing an
American version Of the famous
Swedish Bofors anti-aircratt gun.
This is a 4O-millimeter piece, only
fractionally larger than the stand
ard 37-millimeter piece but with lar
better range, accuracy and increased
hitting power. Brig. Gen. Charles
T. Harris, assistant chief OF Army
ordnance, this week took delivery
at Akron, Ohio, of the first TWO
pilot models of this gun.
The Army also is developing
very small automatic anti-aircraft
cannon of only 20-millimeter size
less than l inch-for use against
low-fying aircraft. This would be
a highly mobile gun, fast firing and
hard hitting for its size.' 1t would
supplement the .50-caliber and 80
caliber machine guns, which now
are the standard anti-aircraft de-
tense weapons against loW-f1ylng
aircraft of the cavalry and other
ground troops.
The Navy, lacking the Army re-
uuirement of high mobility for It's
anti-aircraft guns, has a shlpboard
anti-aircraft gun of 5-inch bore
which is effective at all attitudes
practicable for operation OF naval
based aviation. The Navy has done
little, however, with the pompoms
and other types of special antl-alr-
craft guns common in the British, |
French and German navles.
Not Much Hope This Year.
There is not much hope of great
Improvement in the American anti
aircraft gun situation this year.
The 9O-millimeter gun is not ex-
pected to reach quantity production
for another year. The Army would
like to have $500 or more 37-mlll-
meter automatic anti-aircraft can
non. chiefly for use against air
craft operating at low and medium
attitudes, but. the current produc-
ton rate is only about 20 month.
Quantity production of 20-milllme-
ter guns, most of which probably
will be used in airplanes, will not
be reached before the end OF this
year, although they have oeen IN
use for more than year abroad.
The lack of Army anti-aircraft
guns became something OF a ma
tional scandal in October, 1888,
when the War Department under
took large-scale trials of the civilian
aircraft warning net and "black-
out" plans in Eastern North Caro-
lima. The Army assembled for
these tests all of its mobile anti
aircraft artillery east of the Rocky
Mountains. 1t mustered two dozen
s-inch guns in all and was hard
put to defend even the single dunn
my airport at Fort Bragg, N. G,
which was the target of air at
tacks delivered across the civilian
manned warning net.
300 Guns at Time of Munich.
The entire anti-aircraft gun force
of the Army, it was disclosed, was
insufficient to protect adequately
even small city.