Future antiaircraft employment

Media

Part of Philippine Armed Forces Journal

Title
Future antiaircraft employment
Language
English
Source
Philippine Armed Forces Journal Volume IX (No. 6) September 1956
Year
1956
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Fulltext
FUTURE ANTIAIRCRAFT EMPLOYMENT Major R. Elsmie HERE is a great body of opinion at large today that condemns the antiaircraft it is outdated and useless modern high-speed aircraft. Murmurs about guided missiles are heard and the view is often expressed that they are the only sure defense for the future. • cr:r~e d:r:::r:'a:r~~~~~:~;d 0:od:~ti;~t a ,, a 7. low a very rigid set of rules. The Royal Air Force finds, by means of tt co~ be •aid that lime ;, ,,.,,;/able in long-range radars, all airborne tar- direct proportion to tile height "' w~ich gets. The position of these targets the aHacking aircraft ;, flying. is reported to various Royal Air Force centers where the raids or plots are identified as being "friendly" or of time. "hostile." This information is then In all modern engagements against e:~racted and. passed t~ t~e gu_n ~o- ~ir ~argets tim.e is the key fa~~or. It Sltlons to ass1st them m JdentJfymg 1s hmc that IS needed to fmd an targets located by their own local enemy bomber by radar so that our radars. The Royal Air Force is then own fighters, guided missiles, or empowered to restrict the fire of the guns can be directed onto their tar· guns depending on the position of gets. All these countermeasures any friendly aircraft. It can, and against an attacking bomber take often does, impose restrictions on fir- ume to get underway and with bombing that make it virtually impossible ers flying at ever increasing speeds for the guns to fire at all. This this much needed time is becoming process takes a considerable amount less and less. It is a well-known fact that modern problem. In the first place it loradar aids can only operate on the cates and secondly plays a Yery acline of sight - in straight lines- tive part in the interception of the and that an aircraft flying below bomber. If the enemy aircraft is the horizon cannot be detected. It flying at 40,000 feet, it can be lofollows then that the higher an air· cated by radar a good 200 miles craft flies the sooner it will be seen away, but one at sea level may not over the horizon and that a very low be seen until it has almost arrived flying aircraft at sea level will give and quite often may not be seen at very little warning of its approach. all by radar. Radar at low angles It can be said that time is a\·ail- is difficult to use for two main reaable in direct proportion to the height sons. The first is that the warning at which the attacking aircraft is it can give is very short and very flying. The higher it flies the more often n{l warning at all is given. time there is available to locate it The second is that working at low and to set countermeasures in ac- angles radars pick up echos from the tion. ground itself which makes the trackRadar is, therefore, the key to the ing of targets very difficult and most unreliable. It is now possible to see that thtl sky above us ~:an be divided into bands: 1. High band - in which all flr· ing objects can be located without difficulty and in ample time for countermeasures to be put into operation. 2. Medium band - in which flying objects can be located without dif· ficulty but without sufficient time for countermeasures to be put into operation by airborne pilots or guided missiles. 3. Low band - in which flying objects may be located by radar but are more likely only to be spotted by human eyes and also in which radar is ineffective for directing interceptions. The exact determination of where the various bands begin and end will depend entirely on the CXJJected speed of an attacking force. The greater the speed the sooner the radars have to locate them and the higher the band will have to be. The dividing lines between bands can bl.' given in heights quite easily based on the known performance of enemy aircraft. The only form of enemy bomber that cannot be classified as flying in a height band is the V -2 type of bomb. These are fired from ground le\·el and rise to a great height and then descend onto their targets. It is not proposed to discuss the destruction of these weapons but they can be tracked by radar and ther should be taken on by guided missiles and destroyed at great heights where their explosion will have no eff~>ct on the ground. The division of responsibility for ciently. It is in this band, say below the bands in space must now be dis- 20,000 feet, that guns and projectiles cussed. The high band should be are the most efficient weapons. Some handed over to the human pilots and assert that the gun is already out of guided missiles. In this band they date but few appreciate the fact that can operate with the maximum effi- projectiles have been passing through ciency with ample warning of the the sound barrier for many, many approach of any enemy and with all years. In fact a high velocity prothe interception aids working at jectile traveling at more than twice maximum efficiency. The Royal Air the speed of sound is in effect a Force is in its own element and ob- missile put onto its target by radar viously must command all other and steered to its interception by the friendly forces operating in the same gun. It is a small guided missile area, hence its command of guided which differs only from a true guidmissiles. This band is also well ed missile in that once it leaves the out of range of any gun. barrel of the gun its course cannot The medium band is the one where be altered. On the other hand its time is short and the Royal Air Force time of flight to a limited height of countermeasures cannot operate effi- 20,000 feet is very short. It takes far less time to guide onto its target than an aircraft flying at half the speed and with a rate of climb that bears no comparison to that of the projectile. The gun in the me· dium band with less time a\·ailable is still the most efficient weapon. In the low band, where radar is so uncertain, the human eye and quickness of hand of the light antiaircraft weapons gunner can still compete with the high-speed aircraft. This is more than proved by the figures of the United Nations air losses at low level in Korea even at the hand of the Chinese. The problem of the antiaircraft gunner in the medium band stripped of all technicalities is to locate his target, determine its course, and fire able value. It would disable an aira shell to intercept the target. As craft at distances far exceeding the every one knows it is easy to hit a present high explosive shell and, exstationary object or a slow moving ploded at a height, would have no one. In fact, it is so easy that it ill effects upon objects or persons is considered unsporting to hit a on the ground. "sitting bird." A bird moving slowly The antiaircraft gunner's chief can usually be brought down by fir- enemy in the modern battle is still ing only one barrel of a 12-bore time. The gunner works at relativewhile a faster moving bird may be ly short ranges and time is, theremissed with the first barrel and a fore, short and every fraction of a second attempt must be made with second is vital to him. At the mothe second barrel. ment, as outlined earlier, the target The modern antiaircraft problem goes through a complicated screenis the same. To hit a very much ing to ensure it is not a friendl,y one. faster moving bird the rate of fire The process may take up to 2 ·minmust be multiplied so as to increase utes by the time the gunner knows the probability of a hit. The re- whether or not he may open fire. quired rate of fire has been achieved This delay, where seconds count, is in the modern antiaircraft gun. There completely unacceptable if the gun remains the effectiveness of the burst is to be given a fair chance of a of the shell and the distance from kill. Since fighter aircraft are inthe target at which disablement is efficient at low heights, they should possible. Here the now possible be banned from operating in them atomic shell ~hould be of inestirn- so as to allow an uninterrupted en~ EPTEMBEII 19S. gagement of a target by those bet- their task it is essential to remove ter suited to take it on. Safeguards, the time wasting procedure now in of course, will have to be introduced force for identification, and guns near airports and for pilots in dif- must be given a free hand in their ficulties on their way home, but sphere with planes a'"oiding the area these problems are not insoluble. in their own interests. The antiaircraft problems of the The air battle can only be won by k present day and of the future are using the most efficient weapon in based on time. If an enemy can be the right place. Aircraft are not located in time, he can be dealt with. efficient at interception at low There is a height below which time heights and the gun is extremely inis too short to employ human pilots efficient at great heights. Each or guided missiles against an enemy should be employed to maximum inand it is at this height and below tensity in the spheres where they that antiaircraft guns are still the work at t heir greatest efficiency and most flexible and efficient weapons one should not be permitted to inthat can be used. To assist them in terfere with the other. Tronoloted ond dlge1led by the MILITARY REVIEW h om on orticle by Major R. in " The Journal of the Royal Artillery" IGreot Britoir~l. MILITARY DISCIPLINE Military discipline is that mental attitude and state of training which renders obedience and proper conduct instinctive under all conditions. It is founded upon respect for, and loyalty to properly constituted authority. While it is developed primarily by military drill, every feature in military life has its effect in Military discipline. It is generally indicated in an individual or unit by smartness of appearance and action; by cleanliness of dress, equipment, or quarters; by respect for seniors; and by prompt and cheerful execution by subordinates of both the letter ond spirit of l•gal orders of their lawful superiors.