I ran across an article written in 1950 about VT fuzzes. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq96-1.htm It mentioned varying degrees of problems and design challenges. If anyone could help in answering some questions it would be very much appreciated. Any idea of what the usual number of 3.7" AA guns were in the mix of British AA batteries? How many years could these shells be stored before the failure rate really started to reach critical levels? Would this also affect their use a low levels over land? So we have a 20% to 30% failure rate right out of the factory. Is that what I'm reading? What kind of countermeasures are we talking about? Any other vulnerabilities that need to be taken into account?
Saw a history channel presentation on the use and eventual improvement of the VT fuse----when it was improved it made a great improvement in our armaments effectiveness....sorry I cannot remember the name of the show that covered it. It is just a related subject but I will mention how at the beginning of the Viet Nam conflict our armaments were performing very badly and had to be improved. The military implemented some "Quality Control" to oversee that proper manufacturing processes were followed. Eventually things were turned around and quality was restored.
The VT fuze was reasonably reliable. I would put the dud rate at less than 10% based on readings on use. Jamming is a matter of knowing what frequency the fuze is operating on and hoping that the enemy isn't firing them on several frequencies (the counter-countermeasure to simple noise jamming). Jamming requires three items: 1. A receiver that can detect the fuze's signal to allow the operator to tune to the proper frequency. 2. A jammer of sufficent power that can operate on on the correct frequency. 3. A reasonably directional antenna that points, more or less, at the incoming shell. As for storage most components are going to deteriorate over time. I would estimate based on other similar items there might be problems after 12 to 18 months in storage in non-optimal conditions maybe as little as 6 in poor conditions.
Article written in 1950 does not paint such a pretty picture as you have T.A http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq96-1.htm 70 to 80%. Susceptible to jamming and deterioration.
Just found this thread. My experience was with the VT fuse supplied to the U.S. Army's field artillery in the mid to late 1970s. I'm sure we didn't get the newest ones for use in our practice firings, but I do remember a fairly high rate of duds. After all these years it's hard to remember exactly, but a failure rate of 20% or higher was what I remember. You also could have premature detonation if the shell went through rain, dense, moisture laiden clouds or hail. I also suspect that birds could set the things off if the shell came close enough. Several years ago I read that the Germans were also working on fuzes of this type. They discarded the radio concept because it was thought to be too suceptible to jamming. They tried using accustic fuzes but they couldn't get them to go off reliably.
Can't say as I remember when Stalin made that statement, but Julius Rosenburg didn't pass the VT fuse to his Soviet handler, Aleksandr Feklisov, until Christmas Eve, 1944, and it would have taken the Soviets a while to duplicate it, then produce it in quantity. So, I would have to say, "No."
Give it a try at navweaps.com, there´s plenty of discussions about AA-weapons. Here is something I found overe there: Antiaircraft Action Summary · World War II
Fantastic information Markus. Thank you. I lost track of this thread and just discovered it. Thanks again.
What guns in the Royal Navy used the VT fuse? I've been searching for a while and can't seem to find it.
According to: http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq96-1.htm "The Mk 56 was to be used in the British Navy 4" and 5".25 guns and the Mk 60 to be used in the British Navy 4" guns and some of the 4".7 guns. ... The British Navy has been supplied with AA fuzes for its principal AA guns. The British Army has been supplied with AA fuzes for its 3".7 AA gun and with artillery fuzes for its principal howitzers."
