What fired this ?

[Nige H]

The Bofors was used in many roles, both static and fixed sites. Also it was vehicle, and ship mounted, including specially adapted trucks, and tracked vehicles, and I think the U.S. even used them as a Aircraft (C-130 ?) mounted ground attack weapon, during the Vietnam war !

Nige.

[Alan M]

and I think the U.S. even used them as a Aircraft (C-130 ?) mounted ground attack weapon, during the Vietnam war !

Nige.

very interesting Nige , never heard of that , thanks again mate

Al

[napalm]

Yep Bofors, I have fired these but only with solid lead projectiles at wind socks trailing from the back of a cessna light aircraft. The wind sock had a attached transmitter so the receiver on the ground could pick up how close the round was to the target. However on first pass of the plane the wind sock was blown outta of the air :-) and sank without trace into the Irish Sea never to be seen again lol

[Pierre N]

Al , you have a HE projectile , i have solid shot round ( Armor Piercing)1943 ,
https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/firea...ractice-3.html

[zwerge]

Here is a Navy ammo can which held 4 four round chargers and the gun.

[Gary J]

A company I used to work for did some of the British Modifications to the 40mm Bofor carridges ...

Baker-Perkins Peterborough.

Details as follows ...

The 40mm Bofors AA Gun

The Bofors 40 mm gun was perhaps the most famous gun that fired from British soil throughout WW2. Designed by the Swedish firm of Bofors, It was one of the most popular medium-weight anti-aircraft systems of the War, used by most of the western Allies.

The 1929 prototype showed that the major problem was feeding the weapon in order to maintain a reasonable rate of fire. A mechanism operating more like that used on medium artillery pieces proved to be the solution needed, improving firing rates to an acceptable level.

By June 1930 testing the prototype was complete and full-scale development began. By the end of 1931 it was operating at 130 rounds per minute. The development was needed to turn it into a weapon suitable for production, which was completed in October 1933. Most forces referred to it as the Bofors L/60, although the barrel was actually 56.1 inches in length, not the 60 inches the name implies.

A suitable towable carriage was produced in 1935 that allowed the gun to be fired from the carriage with no setup required, but with limited accuracy. When time was available for setup, the tow-bar and muzzle lock were used as levers, lowering the gun onto supporting pads. Two additional legs folded out to the sides, and the platform leveled with hand cranks. This process could be completed in under a minute.

In January 1940, A.I. Baker and Josh Booth were asked to visit Coventry inspect a 40 mm Bofors Travelling Platform. The platform, of Swedish design and of riveted construction, was felt to be very complicated and capable of being considerably simplified. In conjunction with Ferranti's of Manchester, proposals were made at the meeting to simplify the design. The Armaments Design Department agreed and the Ferranti representative accompanied the Baker Perkins contingent back to Peterborough where four of the company's draughtsmen worked throughout the night and by midday the following day had produced sufficient drawings for a prototype platform to be made. This was completed in ten days, and it went for trial. the trials were completed , the design approved and plans made for its production in large quantities by several contractors. Such was the pressure for results, and the company's response, in time of war. The Baker Perkins Westwood works made 2,541 Travelling Platforms.

1st Image : Baker Perkins-modified all-welded 40mm Bofors Travelling Platform in moving configuration.

2nd Image : Baker Perkins-modified all-welded 40mm Bofors Travelling Platform in firing configuration with wheels removed.

3rd Image : Bofor fitted to carridge.

[Alan M]

Thanks for the interesting photos zwerge , and the terrific information and photos Gary , your input is greatly appreciated Napalm , nice story and thanks Pierre for the cut through diagrams

cheers Al

[Nige H]

One of these mounts is known as the Polish carriage I think ? its the latter simplfied design, again I'm not sure why but this does spring to mind. I think this design was introduce after Dunkirk to help speed up production time and replace the units lost after the evacuation.
My father was in the Royal Artillery after WW2 and I know that they had computer operated guns, these had a radar targeting system which locked onto the aircraft automaticly. It was all very Hush Hush at the time, and the testing was carried out at a remote costal firing range in North Wales.

Nige

[Gary J]

The "Polsten" ! (But that was a 20mm version)

A couple of examples were used at Arnhem ... (more or less destroyed before put into use).

I believe the Hartenstein has recently purchased either a copy or a rebuilt unit ??

http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/20_mm_aa_guns.htm

Gary J.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Gary, the replica 20mm Polsten purchased by the Hartenstien airborne museum was built by two good friends of mine from our LH group. They made 3 examples in total. I obtained the actual guns for them via the late Mike Long. All the carriage was copied from an example held by the pattern room. Wheels were original.

Here I am on the first example, now in the Museum.

Cheers, Ade.