init strange what you find while walking the dog [one for the ARTILLERY buffs]

[iain]

Hi out walking the dogs and what should i bump into at a local farmyard but this lovely old relic,am i right in thinking LAA ,any members give me any info on age etc.
Iain

[wright241]

Originally Posted by iain

Hi out walking the dogs and what should i bump into at a local farmyard but this lovely old relic,am i right in thinking LAA ,any members give me any info on age etc.
Iain

Very nice "find". Better make sure that no Yobbo's get hold of it...... Would have thought that re-enactors would be slobbering - unless its theirs already..?

[magpie]

It's a 3.7 inch heavy AA gun.
Andy.

[grey_green_acorn]

Originally Posted by magpie

It's a 3.7 inch heavy AA gun.
Andy.

Said to have been every bit as good as the infamous German 88mm Flak Gun but seldom employed in the Anti-Tank role?

Tim

[54Bty]

The German gun has a welded carriage, the 3.7 is bolted and therefore would not stand the strain of a full charge in the Anti Tank role.

Marc

[iain]

Thanks, I dont know if the farm owner has any plans for the gun or how long it has been there,seems a shame to let it sit there and gather more rust doesn't it.
Iain

[Sunray9]

Iain, make him an offer ... every front room should have one !!

Ritchie.

[iain]

It did cross my mind only the council wont allow me larger pattio doors, could have it as a garden feature,anyone climbing over the fence at night to come face to face with with the open end of that barrel..well..

[Deejayuu]

Originally Posted by iain

It did cross my mind only the council wont allow me larger pattio doors, could have it as a garden feature,anyone climbing over the fence at night to come face to face with with the open end of that barrel..well..

You could always fit it with a hose pipe for your very own water cannon, great for getting rid of double glazing reps!!

[iain]

Thats it i could get a conservatory to conserve it in,all i need now is kind donations...anyone...

[Peter Brydon]

Iain,

If you don't want it, I wonder if these people might be interested in it:

http://www.gulliversfun.co.uk/warrin...age-centre.htm

Peter

[iain]

Yes Peter i think it would be ideal if the owner was prepared to give it up to The Burtonwood site,but like i say i have no idea of his plans for the gun,i have only met him once to ask if he minded me photographing it.
iain

[Mike Jackson]

Originally Posted by grey_green_acorn

Said to have been every bit as good as the infamous German 88mm Flak Gun but seldom employed in the Anti-Tank role?

Tim

A good image (Normandy 1944) of the 3.7 in HAA gun in the indirect fire ground role. It amazing that Gunner historians are still arguing about the gun in the anti-tank role 70 years later. 54 Bty's comment is absolutely correct, but I think that under the circumstances that obtained in the Western Desert in early 1942 I would have risked it.
3.7 in HAA gun Ground Role.jpg

[Mike_2817]

One of the main drawbacks with useing the 3.7" AA Gun in ground Anti-Tank Role was the lack of an Impact Fuse.

Initially there were HE and Shrapnel Shells, both fitted with a time fuze. Fuze No.199 was igniferous (i.e. powder-burning) with a maximum running time of 30 seconds. Fuzes No.106 and 107 were mechanical time fuzes; which both proved unsatisfactory. Fuze No.208, with a maximum running time of 43 seconds, became the standard fuze.

The HE ammunition seems to have always been fuzed for airburst; this means maximum ranges were limited to 9,200 yards with No 199 fuze and 16,200 yards with No 208.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QF_3.7_inch_AA_gun

[magpie]

For those interested here are some 3.7 HE shell splinters/shrapnel.
I don't know about anyone else but Personally i would like see the gun restored and shown at places like Detling rather than being stripped down to its bare bones and used as a climbing frame at a toddlers amusement park