Was there more than one way for anti-aircraft fire to shoot down a dive bomber in World War II

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Accepted answer

It is true in the case of heavy anti-aircraft guns (3-K, 52-K, FlaK 18, M1, etc.). But for a small-caliber AAA it will be hard to shoot down an attack plane after the dive when it comes out at low altitude and high speed or on high altitude before the dive. However, since such guns (Oerlikon, Polsten, 61-K, Flakvierling, etc.) often used shells with a contact fuse (HE, APHE, HEIAP) and have a great rate of fire, they can shoot down a plane more easier during the dive than heavy AA-guns with time-fused shells.

Sources:

When the aircraft was reasonably close to the target, a light on the contact altimeter came on to indicate the bomb-release point, usually at a minimum height of 450 m (1,500 ft). The pilot released the bomb and initiated the automatic pull-out mechanism by depressing a knob on the control column. An elongated U-shaped crutch located under the fuselage swung the bomb out of the way of the propeller, and the aircraft automatically began a 6 g pullout. Once the nose was above the horizon, dive brakes were retracted, the throttle was opened, and the propeller was set to climb. The pilot regained control and resumed normal flight. The coolant flaps had to be reopened quickly to prevent overheating.

– Wikipedia about Ju-87, a german dive bomber.

Shells for AA-gun 61-K:

  • УОР-167 (UOR-167) - FRAG-T.
  • УБР-167 (UBR-167) - APC-T.
  • УБР-167П (UBR-167P) - APCR-T.

(letter "T" means "tracer").

Fuses for fragmentation rounds - МГ-37 (MG-37) - contact, with self-destruction at 4000 m.

– from Wikipedia article 37-мм автоматическая зенитная пушка образца 1939 года (61-К)

Upvote:9

Anti-aircraft rounds often had time-delayed fuses (e.g., German FLAK), making a plane flying at a consistent altitude much easier to hit (e.g., bombers flying straight and level). A dive bomber in its dive is rapidly losing altitude, making time-delayed fuses useless and even aiming the gun at a rapidly moving target very difficult.

With Japanese kamikaze planes, any time is the best time as there is no "coming out of the dive".

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