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Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air ...

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ANTIAIRCRAFT DEFENSE THROUGH WORLD WAR II<br />

Figure 32. USN 40 mm gun. The Navy’s 40 mm guns, again the everpresent<br />

B<strong>of</strong>ors, accounted for one-half <strong>of</strong> the Japanese aircraft destroyed<br />

by ship guns after Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1944. (Reprinted from http://www.<br />

grunts.net/album/navy/guncres.htm.)<br />

minute. The Navy increased the number <strong>of</strong> these guns from<br />

611 in July 1940 <strong>to</strong> 2,868 in June 1945.<br />

A major fac<strong>to</strong>r in the increased effectiveness <strong>of</strong> the heavycaliber<br />

gun was the introduction <strong>of</strong> proximity fuzes. The Navy<br />

first fired the proximity fuze in January 1942, and, in its first<br />

simulated combat test that August, downed three drones with<br />

52

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