40 mm Bofors AA guns made in GB and US

[Gunner]

Hi Guys:

I couldn't get good enough definition on blow up but I'd bet that the tractor in the 1950 picture is a Ford LAAT. Definitive would be a good look at the front bumper for the winch fairlead, the hand crank support and the brush guard mounts. On the body look for the horizontal handles that open the lockers for tools and ammo.

Interesting to note that the spare is on the roof... CMP roofs aren't that solid... the weight of the air sentry hatches caused them to buckle, let alone 200 lbs of 11:00X20 tyre and rim!

Round roof hatch points to late production and, if we can get confirmation on the LAAT body, would be a relatively rare thing as not many LAATs got the hatches. I guess they figured that bird gunners would be doing air sentry with the Bofors not with a .303 girlie gun.

Cheers! Mike

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

I have found out that those 40 mm Bofors guns Mk III on carriage Mk II are waiting for D-Day at Ordnance Depot Bicester on 4th April 1944.

So please tell me where is Bicester?

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Royal Army Ordnance Corps Depot, Bicester [pronounced as in BISTER] is or was until recently [as it was closing at least in part] in Oxfordshire, and is/was near RAF Bicester, an airfield where there is a gliding club now. There was apparently a War Department railway and was a major depot and large employer.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Have I got it right? LVT 4 called "Buffalo" by the British but "Alligator" by the French?

Here a French LVT 4 in Suez 1956.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Originally posted by Bill Murray
Stellan:
Here is a Polish one for you I have not seen you post before.
From Illustrated London Daily News of about 1938 I think.
Bill

Looking on the wheels and the sights I come to the conclusion that those eight guns are from the original Swedish-made batch Poland bought in Dec 1935 together with the license rights.

But I am not entirely sure of that.

Stellan

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Who is he? Not the man in bowler hat but the officer standing to the left (on the picture right) to the Prime Minister?

Gen Sir Frederic Pile, GOC British AA Defence?

The officer left in forage cap. Which unit had such multi-colour caps?

The wheels has six bolts wich suggest that this is a Polish-made Mk I gun or possibly an early made British Mk I.

[Rob Fast]

My Bofors.

[Rob Fast]

OK.

[Rob Fast]

OK

[John McGillivray]

Which unit had such multi-colour caps?

You can clearly see the cap badge of the person standing behind the ammo feeder of the gun. It is of the Royal Artillery (RA). The 40mm Boffors were only used in the Light Anti-Aircraft Regiments (LAA Regt), which were all part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The same cap badge was also used in the Canadian Army. There it is the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA).

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Thank you John - yes I can see the cap badge.

And thank you Rob for those fine pictures of your gun. I see you have the "Polish" sight to the left and a British "spider-web" to the right.

Here a Zeiss new model sight from Finland.

Stellan

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Austrian made Bofors guns.

Those had sights type Goerz. Other types were Zeiss (shown by Rob Fast above) or Aga-Baltic (Sweden).

The target-calculators were
1) Bofors FC m/35, m36 and m/38 (Sweden)
2) Goerz (Austria and Poland)
3) Juhasz-Gamma (Hungary)

Polish made carriages (British Mk I A) had six wheelbolts instead of five.

But what type of truck is towing the gun?

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

I beleive only one Army 25 mm AA gun m/33 was made. There were however several Navy 25 mm AA guns m/32 produced.

The Soviet Union bought at least one 25 mm m/32 and license rights. The engineers L.A. Lokev and M.N. Loginov of No 8 Artillery Factory near Moscow made an upscaled version in 37 mm known as M 1939.

These were also produced in large quantities by factories 4 Krasnojarsk, 8 Moscow and 586 Kolumna.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Accoding to the book "Boforskanonen" this picture should show a 40 mm m/36 gun on demonstration in Stockholm 1938.

It is however wrong. It is the 25 mm m/33 gun wich was borrowed from Bofors.

To the right in grey greatcoat HM King Gustaf V (80 yrs). In grey uniform with three stars on collar HRH Crown-Prince Gustaf Adolf (later King Gustaf VI Adolf). In the background far right HRH Prince Carl - former GOC Cavalry.

When Prince Carl tried to lay the gun the King said: "Don´t trouble yourself Carl. You don´t understand it. You are just a horseman!"

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by Stellan Bojerud
But what type of truck is towing the gun?

It is very likely an Austrian Steyr 640 6x4 truck.

HTH,
Hanno

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

A. Sights

Older type Zeiss sights have no cover. If I remember right the factory was Carl Zeiss GmbH, Jena, Germany.

Newer type Zeiss sights = See Rob Fast´s picture or Finish naval picture above.

Aga-Baltic (Swedish) sights have a cover that is vertical also at the front side.

2. Computers

Bofors older types (m/35, m/36)
Bofors newer types (m/37 or younger)
Goertz type (Austrian/German, Polish)
Juhasz-Gamma (Hungarian)

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Aga-Baltic sight:

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

The Aga-Baltic sight. Used a o by Argentina.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

And here is the Zeiss sight (new model - 1937 and younger). Older Zeiss sights found on Polish and Hungarian made guns have another (shorter) type of cover hood.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Photo 1944.

What type of prime mover?

[John McGillivray]

It looks like a German Steyr RSO.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

I wonder:

RSO = Raupenschlepper Ost?

[Bill Murray]

Stellan:

go to www.zuckerfabrik24.de for lots of pics of various Steyr military including the raupenschlepper ost.
Bill

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Thank you for Steyr - Bill!

I have got a lot of help with finding out details about the Bofors guns. So now I am down to the wheels (see also thread on Softskin forum).

The carriages measures:

GB Mk I, US M1 and M2
Lenght 5200 mm
Width 1820 mm
Free space 440 mm
Wheel diam 860 mm


GB Mk II and Mk III
Lenght 6390 mm
Width 1720 mm
Free space 220 mm
Wheel diam 780 mm

The first 40 mm Bofors mobile guns were ordered:
1935 July. Austria 8 pcs.
1935 Aug. Belgium 8 pcs.
1935 Dec. Poland 60 pcs.

First delivery with 8 pcs to Belgium and 4 to Austria was made in 1936. 48 guns were delivered in 1937 of which 4 to Austria and 44 to Poland.

This is a delivery photo from Bofors 1937. It seems likely that it is a gun for delivery to Poland.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

I think the question about GB "Polish sights" has found an answer thanks to Wojciech (Woj) Mazur in Poland.

The sights were made by SA Polskie Zaklady Optyczno (PZO) , Warszaw, and seems to be an improved early Zeiss type.

Here it is (photo from Woj):

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Bofors m/37 with Polish sights.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Comments on the wheels please.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

In August 1937 Argentina ordered 60 guns from Bofors. Of these only six were delivered before the German insasion of Denmark and Norway cut off the sea-link from Sweden.

On 1st March 1940 the Swedish Government placed the remaining 54 guns under embargo. Of these 42 were used by the Army Anti-Aircraft Artillery and 12 by the Coast Artillery.

But were the guns exported to Argentina after WW 2 or did this country only have the six guns delivered before April 1940?

Picture: At least one gun is preserved in Argentina.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Preserved gun in Argentina.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Is this a C 60 L?