🚀 go-pugleaf

From pierson@empror.enet.dec.com (dave pierson)

In article <C19o9K.46A@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM>, Chad Barret Wemyss
<chadwemy@wpi.wpi.edu> writes, in part:

>1)  All large caliber (23mm and above) anti-aircraft shells have a fusing 
>system that causes them to explode at a preset altitude.  In theory, they all 
>explode at or around that altitude, 

	To expand a bit, "preset" means "preset at firing time".  The fuzes
	were adjustable, and set to the predicted (radar, optical) altitude,
	or, rather, the predictied time of flight to reach that altitude.
	Originally done by hand, by mid WWII, much of this had been semi
	automated, with analog computers driven from the radar (optical)
	inputs, as much as possible.  The fuzed shell was poked into an
	opening, and the machine set the delay.

As to the ffect of ground fire, there were published reports, between WWI and
WWII, based on small scale actions (Central/Sout American wars, for one).  These
argued that the effect of strafing fire, on trained troops was minimal, and that
disciplined return fire could, at least, keep the raider up.  How accurate,
how applicable to other conflicts, and how applicable to more modern weapons
systems, is left as an exercise for the student....

thanks
dave pierson			|the facts, as accurately as i can manage,
Digital Equipment Corporation	|the opinions, my own.
pierson@msd26.enet.dec.com	|I am the NRA.
"He has read everything, and, to his credit, written nothing."  A J Raffles