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Old 8 May 2000, 10:15 AM   #2 (permalink)
Vigilant
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Join Date: Aug 1998
Location: Devon
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There were indeed special AA artillery pieces. I doubt a normal gun (even a howitzer) would have had the elevation necessary to hit a plane.

I saw a British example at the weekend at the IWM. It consisted of a 13-pounder mounted on a Thornycroft J-type lorry.

I would guess that dedicated AA machine-guns were only a feature of the latter part of the war, when there was a sufficiency of MGs in the armies. The ground was getting much deadlier for pilots - witness the way in which MvR overflew three (IIRC) AA MG sections on his short last flight.

Regards,

Vigilant.
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