To comprehend the Bofors Company and the 40mm Anti-aircraft Gun it is important to understand the history of Anti-aircraft Warfare and the way in which this influenced the design of the gun. When this is taken into consideration the information concerning the Bofors 40mm gun is easier to understand and will be more enlightening with that awareness. It is important to remember that the technological advancements are well documented and that educated assumptions have to be made to try and perceive the social and political contexts. My research has informed me of what it was like to be around these machines in war time. Today it is not something one gets to scrutinize often and therefore the weapon by and large does not embrace a good deal of emotional tone for youth as it may do for WW-2 and Korean War Veterans.
-Bofors the Company-
The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years. Located in Karlskoga, Sweden, it originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646. The company was founded in 1873. Bofors' most famous owner was Alfred Nobel who owned the company from 1894 until his death in December of 1896. He had the key role in reshaping the iron manufacturer to a modern cannon manufacturer and chemical industry. The name Bofors is strongly associated with a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun based on a Bofors design which was produced and used by both sides during World War II, and often called simply the Bofors Gun. The gun saw service on land and sea, and became so widely known that anti-aircraft guns in general were often referred to as Bofors guns.
-Anti-aircraft Warfare and the development of-
Anti-aircraft warfare, or air security, is any method of engaging military aircraft in battle from the ground. Various guns and cannons have been used in this role since the first military aircraft were used in World War I. Growing in strength and accuracy, in the post-World War II era the guns were joined by the guided missile, particularly the "surface-to-air missile", and today both are used in cognitio.
Nick names for a variety of anti-aircraft guns include AAA or triple-A; which stands for anti aircraft artillery Archie; which derives from the term "Archibald, certainly not!" and flak; from the German Flugabwehrkanone, aircraft defence cannon.
Standard artillery systems were adapted from long range anti-aircraft artillery by developing new mountings for standard pieces and evolving custom guns with higher performance, with different types of fuses (barometric, time-delay, or proximity) fitted. The German 88mm gun is a good model of a large calibre long range anti-aircraft gun that has been outdated by the anti-air missile systems in the 1950’s but because of economic reasons, the anti-aircraft guns are easy to manufacture compared to modern systems, many nations still use them in large numbers
Lighter and more rapid weapons are required for shorter-range efforts to amplify precision on swift targets. Widely used in this role are the 20 mm, 37 mm, and 40 mm weapons. These smaller weapons are still in general use today, unlike their bigger counterparts, because of their ability to quickly follow the target. Systems developed today use the auto cannon feature, originally intended for air to ground use although development in short range missiles could even replace guns in this role too.
Most modern air defence systems are fairly mobile. Larger systems are still able to be mounted on trailers or are designed to be hastily disassembled or assembled but early systems were awkward and needed more roads and rail networks. Mobility has become much more of a focus; recent systems are usually self-propelled (eg. Guns or missiles mounted on trucks or trailers) or hauled easily. Commonly a permanent system can be acknowledged, attacked and destroyed, but a mobile system has the ability to surprise the enemy.
- Development of the 40mm Bofors AAA GUN-
The Swedish Navy purchased a number of small artillery guns, they asked Bofors to develop a 20 mm weapon. Although this 20 mm design was not put into production, the Navy quickly became discomforted with it, and in 1929 enquired with Bofors regarding a more competent replacement. mostly reluctant because of the small Swedish market, Bofors eventually agreed if the navy paid for the development of a prototype. In the late 1800 a smaller version of a 57 mm semi-automatic gun developed as an anti-torpedo boat weapon. The first prototype was a re-barrelled Nordenfelt adding a moving bolt mechanism. The major problem established was feeding the weapon in order to maintain a reasonable rate of fire. A bolt that was heavy enough to handle the stresses of firing the large round was too heavy to move quickly enough to fire swiftly. Zinc shell casings were used to solve the problem as they burned up when fired. It proved to be cumbersome as it left heavy zinc deposits in the barrel and was later dumped. Newer experimental machinery that simply “threw” the round into the gun from the real without guidance was developed. This was the answer they were looking for.
A German company called Krupp acquired a 33% share of Bofors. Krupp engineers started to update factories to use up to date equipment, however the 40mm project stayed silent. The prototype was completed with trails finished in 1930, Bofors reported that manufacture could commence. Bye the end of the year and with changes to the feed mechanism it was firing 130 round per minute. Continued development saw it as a viable weapon in October 1933. The rate of fire was shortened to 120 rounds per minute, but improved when the barrels were horizontal as gravity helped with feeding rounds, as the rounds were fed into the breech from four round clips which had to be replaced by hand. The gun was also notable due to its advanced sighting system. The trainer and layer were both provided with reflector sights for aiming, which a third crewmember standing behind them "adjusted" for lead using a simple mechanical computer. Power for the sights was supplied from a 6V battery.
Bofors developed a suitable towable carriage displayed in Belgium in April 1935, the gun could be fired without setup however with limited precision and if there was time the operators could lower the gun onto supporting pads so the wheels are off the ground, the legs folding out from the side of the mountings, all to be completed in under a minute.
-The British and Australian Army Bofors-
The task of converting the gun from metric to imperial measurements was started when the British bought the licence from Bofors. In order to use the gun for mass production changes had to be made such as the use of an assembly line as the original Bofors design was intended to be hand-assembled, and many parts were labelled "file to fit on assembly".
The gun was considered so important to the defence of
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-Conclusion-
The Swedish firm of Bofors is famous above all for the seemingly immortal 40mm automatic cannon which carries many connotations. Just the mention of Bofors conjures up such imagery of large guns and cannons but the weapon itself does not carry the same malice involved with the connotation of the gun - the fact that guns kill people and are an expression of war and violence - instead the Bofors Anti-aircraft Gun was used as a defensive weapon and therefore displayed a view of strength and gave a psychological advantage to those who use it in defence. The fact that a movie was made about the Bofors in 1940 only reinforces this observation.
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Wikipedia, Bofors. Retrieved May, 29, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bofors
Wikipedia, Anti-aircraft Warfare. Retrieved May, 29, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-aircraft
Wikipedia, Bofors 40mm. Retrieved May, 29, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40_mm_Bofors
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