antiaircraft guns flaming onions

Has anyone any information on the German AA gun which fired these shells ? or any good description of gun or ammunition used ? Required for an article I am writing. Many thanks Alan Rowe.

Hi Alan,
I am doing research on the German flak guns of 1914 and 15, the 7.7cm balloon and Luft cannon. I am trying to find a few pictures to build 1/76th scale models of these. Do you have a source from the internet for such pictures? So far I have found 2 lines of data, one for each gun, and nothing else.
I am afraid I have no info on "flaming onions." I do recall a book called FRITZ, edited from the title character's war diary by his son or grandson. He went from an Officer candidate in field arty to the CO of a 7.7 battery of flak and then after trng school to CO of one of the first 88 batteries. You might check that book.
Good Luck,
Jim French.

Greetings Alan: If you go back sseveral0 pages you will find answers to you question as the Forum had a little verbal rounde Billy H. 09 Aug 00.

Jim French Thanks for reply. I will obtain title of a German book on AA (English version) when next I visit a military Library. Presumably it will have the photos you are seeking.

Alan, Ray Withnal has a copy of Eric Watsons work on the FO gun in the society files...

chris

This may seem like a ridiculous answer, but from the books I have read, apparently "flaming onions" was not a type of gun/ammunition, but rather a nickname for batteries surrounding the "sausages" or observation balloons. It was kind of a play on words. This is what I understand...but hell I may be wrong.

[Vin]

Oscar

You may well be right. “Flaming Onions” are described in the context of balloon defence in accounts I have read.

‘“Flaming-onions” were a form of incendiary projectile which looked just like their description. Their ceiling was about 3000 fee, they were apparently a string of about 12 to 15 flaming balls of some incendiary substance, and though very fearsome in appearance, I never saw any of our machines hit by them. But it is on record however, that one of our pilots was hit, the only one during the Sqd’s nine months at the front’

Capt John Wright 4AFC



Vin

I think the Flaming oignios were the 3.7 cm Maschinegewehr kanonen. However I hvae to lok up my manual ragarding the Flak armament in WWI (I loaned it out)