The German proximity fuse.

The German proximity fuse.

The development of the US proximity fuse by the US in WW Two is
regarded as a unique allied triumph.

Little known however is that the Germans independently developed and
successfully test fired almost 1000 rounds of a similar proximity fuse
near the wars end that if introduced into service would have had a
dramatic effect. The allies estimated that the availability of the
proximity fuse would force them to abandon use of the B-24 Liberator
due to its lower flying altitude compared to the B-17.

The Allied Proximity fuse was used on both Anti-Aircraft Artillery and
anti-personnel howitzers where they were set to explode approximately
50 feet above the ground. At that height they would produce a lethal
zone over a terrifyingly wide area. When used against aircraft it
seemed to increase effectiveness of a round by 3-7 or more.

The proximity fuse was fielded as an AA weapon from ships in the
Pacific from June 1943 where it was reasoned that secrecy could not be
compromised as dud rounds would fall into the sea. (I have no
knowledge of its use against the Japanese Troops on islands). It on
one occasion apparently helped shoot down 90 of 120 attacking Japanese
planes.

It was first supplied to Britain to help overcome the V1 cruise missile
fired at London where it in combination with radar and computer
directed guns reduced the mean number of rounds expended to destroy a
V1 from 4000 to 180.

Finally there are records of it used against German troops during the
Ardennes Offensive (Battle of Bulge). It was reasoned that the
Germans would not be able to reconstruct the fuses in time to make use
of them. In fact the 'folklore' on the Internet is that they
captured some 20,000 but did not recognize them and also that they
recovered duds and reasoned that they were triggered by the Earth's
magnetic Field. (Note the magnet field theory probably came from the
troops themselves before being analysed by more technical branches of
the German forces)

The allied fuse workings.

Technically the Allied fuse was not radar: it did not send out a pulse
and listen for an echo. It had 4 tubes. One tube was part of the
oscillator. When a 'target' that was about a =BD wavelength in size
came within a few wavelengths it would load the amplifier and the anode
current would increase. Two additional amplifiers would detect this
change and then triggered the 4th valve (a gas filled thyraton) to set
of the detonator. Contrary to other reports it apparently did not
trigger on Doppler shift either or on frequency change. There were
many shock hardening techniques including planar electrodes and packing
the components in wax and oil to equalize the stresses.

The German fuse workings.

The fuse was based on electrostatic principles.

The circuitry of the German fuse is not precisely known to me as I do
not have the schematics however the details are in allied files refred
to I do not have a circuit layout drawing. It is known that the nose
of the shell was electrically insulated and isolated from the rest of
the shell. It was built by the company Rheinmetall. The program was
halted in 1940 then restarted in early 1944 and then terminated again
due to being over run by the allies at the point that it was ready for
production.

Initial fuse testing demonstrated a sensitivity of 1-2 meters and a
reliability of 80% when fired against a metal cable target. A circuit
adjustment yielded an increase to 3-4 meters and a reliability of close
to 95%.

Further work showed a 10-15 meter sensitivity. This was with 88mm
canon shells. The shell to all intents and purposes ready for
production.

References are "Truth About the Wunderwaffen" by Igor Witowski who
cites "Proximity Fuse Development - Rheinmettal Borsig A.G.
Mullhausen. CIOS report ITEM nos 3 file nos XXVI -1 (1945)

Capacitance based fuses became highly developed after the second world
war due to their high resistance against jamming techniques.

It is unlikely that the shell could have been easily degraded by
jamming or chaff. (unlike the Allied shell).

I can speculate as to several ways that this might work. It is
referred to as a "influenz zunder" based in electrostatic
principles.

Method 1: Bridge Cicuit. The shells external capacitance is made
part of a bridge circuite with an internal reference capacitor in the
other arm. Any disturbance caused by an large object such as an
aircraft would cause a current to flow across the bridge that would be
amplified.

Method 2: QT or charge transfer methods. A high speed vibrating
contact charges the shell and then discharges it into a known
capacitance which is then measured.

Method 3: making the shell body part of a resonant circuit and
detecting frequency changes.

I can not find the precise reason for the abandonment of the work in
1940 however it probably relates to the 'fuhrer befehle' or fuhrer
directive that with few exceptions all work that could not be put into
production within 6 months were to be terminated to increase resources
for those that could (in order to support operation Barborosa). It
was at this time that the Germans also abandoned their magnetron and
microwave development teams and programs. Many programs suffered
severely due to this; something that was to have far reaching
consequences for the German war effort.

What would have happened if the proximity fuse was not abandoned in
1940 but development continued such that it entered service in 1943?

Eunometic wrote:

consequences for the German war effort.

What would have happened if the proximity fuse was not abandoned in
1940 but development continued such that it entered service in 1943?

The Allies would have need bombers to fly at higher altitudes than the
B-17 mormally did and would have required some kind of "smart bomb"
technology. Maybe bombs guided by narrow beam radio signals. Lasers
would not have been ready on time.

Bob Kolker

As far as I can see the only aircraft the allies would have that could
survive above German airspace and much of Europe would be the Mosquito.
The B29 would eventually come along but it wouldn't be available in
quantity till late 1944. Becuase of the high casualities the American
would have to cut their B17 based bombing rates in half and opperate at
higher altitudes. The lack of B24s means no Ploesti raid.

Presumably Wellingtons could be fitted with two stage supercharged
merlins and a presurised fueselage.

Basically I think you are right. Bombing altitude would increase from
the usuall 20,000-25,000 to 35,000-40,000 to avoid casualites. Medium
altitdue aircraft such as the B26 Marauder and B25 become outmoded.
German industry would reamin more productive and strong. Bomb gudience
becomes essential.

"Eunometic" wrote in message
oups.com...
As far as I can see the only aircraft the allies would have that could
survive above German airspace and much of Europe would be the Mosquito.
The B29 would eventually come along but it wouldn't be available in
quantity till late 1944. Becuase of the high casualities the American
would have to cut their B17 based bombing rates in half and opperate at
higher altitudes. The lack of B24s means no Ploesti raid.


Only if you assume the proximity fuse is a 100% effective super weapon

Presumably Wellingtons could be fitted with two stage supercharged
merlins and a presurised fueselage.


Presumably NOT, a pressurised fuselage is a non trivial modn.

Basically I think you are right. Bombing altitude would increase from
the usuall 20,000-25,000 to 35,000-40,000 to avoid casualites. Medium
altitdue aircraft such as the B26 Marauder and B25 become outmoded.
German industry would reamin more productive and strong. Bomb gudience
becomes essential.


Reality intrudes here, you still need to aim the gun someplace
close to where the bomber is for the fuse to work, losses
would undoubtedly rise but the presence of proximity fuses
post war didnt halt bombing and the simple reality is Germany
would have to produce em by the million and lacked the
industrial capacity to do so.

Keith




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In article ,
Keith W wrote:

"Eunometic" wrote in message
Only if you assume the proximity fuse is a 100% effective super weapon

Presumably Wellingtons could be fitted with two stage supercharged
merlins and a presurised fueselage.

Presumably NOT, a pressurised fuselage is a non trivial modn.

Actually, the flying breadbasket /was/ built in a high-altitude, pressurised
version (in fact much of the UK development of pressurisation was done
using the Wellington). Obviously the fuselage itself wasn't pressurised
(fabric not being much good for that) but a pressurised crew area
was developed and flown. The two types were the Mk.V and VI, both
fitted with pressurised cockpit and high-altitude versions of the Bristol
Hercules.

http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine...120/welly.html

Vickers were leaders (in .uk) in working on stratospheric
aircraft - the Barnes Wallis proposals for the Victory
Bomber was one strand, the original design for the Windsor
another (hence the guns in remote-control barbettes in
the tails of the engine nacelles) and the 75- and 100-
ton giants of the 1944 programme a third. None ever
reached squadron service, but all (except the Victory)
were far more than just paper aeroplanes.

--
Andy Breen ~ Interplanetary Scintillation Research Group
http://users.aber.ac.uk/azb/
"Who dies with the most toys wins" (Gary Barnes)

Germany had a wide range of proximity fuses under development and/or
testing in the last year of the war:

Code Names & Descriptions:

BAD, Acoustic, under Graf Zeppelin Institute

ELKU (Elektro-Akoustic), and applied to PAPLITZ

FUCHS, Radio by AEG Berlin, intended for Hs-117, Hs-298, and other
missiles

ISEGRIMM, Electromagnetic by Orlich Institute of Danzig.

KAKADU, Radio by Donaulandische GmbH of Vienna. 3,000 were produced for
the Hs-293- used Doppler effect.

KRANICH, Acoustic by Ruhrstahl AG of Brackwerde. Highly rated German
proximity fuse.

KUGELBLITZ, Radio by Patent Verwertungs Gesellschaft of Salzvurg.
Developed for the Rhinetocktor missile. Used Doppler-shift effect.

KUHGLOCKE, Electrostatic by Rhinemetall-Borsig. Intended for missiles.
Prototypes only.

KUHGLOCKEN, Smaller version designed for AA shells.

LOTTE, Infrared for an unspecified missile- abandoned.

MARABU, Radio by Siemens-Halske under sub-contract of Rheinmetall AG.
Designed for the Hs-117, Hs-298, Rheintocktor and Wasserfall missiles.
Firing trials.

MARDER, Radio by Orlich Institute of Danzig.

MEISE, Acoustic by Neumann & Borm of Berlin.

PAPLITZ, Infrared by Elektro Akoustic Institute at Namslau then at
Kiel. A.K.A. "ELKU". Developed for Hs-117 and Wasserfall. Test firings.

PINSCHER, Radio by Orlich Institute of Danzig. Five prototypes.

PISTOLE, Photo-Electric, this project was incorporated into
WASSERMAUS.

ROULETTE, Infrared by Brickmann of Gera.

STIMMGABEL, Acoustic by the Graf Zeppelin Institute. Developed for
parachute-retarded bomb dropped over Allied bomber streams. Tested.

TRICHTER, Radio by Blaupunkt. Field tested.

WASSERMAUS, Photo-Electric, developed for the Wasserfall missile.

WIESEL, Radio by Orlich Institute of Danzig.

ZUNDER-19, Developed for 250kg bomb by Rheinmetall-Borsig. Started
1937. Cancelled 1943. Work continued into 1944.

Rob

The rare Windsor bomber:
http://www.jaapteeuwen.com/ww2aircra...%20windsor.jpg

Rob

Arndt the Clueless wrote:
Germany had a wide range of proximity fuses under development and/or
testing in the last year of the war:

SNIP

Just gazing at this list makes you realize the TOTAL madness of the
German R&D effort during WWII

While the US and Britain combined efforts in Project V of Section T of
the NDRC (hence "VT" fuze)

Eunometic wrote:

References are "Truth About the Wunderwaffen" by Igor Witowski who
cites "Proximity Fuse Development - Rheinmettal Borsig A.G.
Mullhausen. CIOS report ITEM nos 3 file nos XXVI -1 (1945)

Capacitance based fuses became highly developed after the second
world
war due to their high resistance against jamming techniques.

It is unlikely that the shell could have been easily degraded by
jamming or chaff. (unlike the Allied shell).


What would have happened if the proximity fuse was not abandoned in
1940 but development continued such that it entered service in 1943?

SNIP

The Allies would have developed specific ways of jamming the fuse -
nothing is unvulnerable

British Scientific Developments - A British scientific mission carries to
the United States details of many important developments. Amongst these is
the recently invented cavity magnetron, vital for short wavelength radar and
the eventual defeat of conventional U-boats. Also for the close-proximity
fuse which becomes so important in the 1945 battles with Japanese Kamikaze
aircraft


"Eunometic" wrote in message
oups.com...
The German proximity fuse.

The development of the US proximity fuse by the US in WW Two is
regarded as a unique allied triumph.

Little known however is that the Germans independently developed and
successfully test fired almost 1000 rounds of a similar proximity fuse
near the wars end that if introduced into service would have had a
dramatic effect. The allies estimated that the availability of the
proximity fuse would force them to abandon use of the B-24 Liberator
due to its lower flying altitude compared to the B-17.

The Allied Proximity fuse was used on both Anti-Aircraft Artillery and
anti-personnel howitzers where they were set to explode approximately
50 feet above the ground. At that height they would produce a lethal
zone over a terrifyingly wide area. When used against aircraft it
seemed to increase effectiveness of a round by 3-7 or more.

The proximity fuse was fielded as an AA weapon from ships in the
Pacific from June 1943 where it was reasoned that secrecy could not be
compromised as dud rounds would fall into the sea. (I have no
knowledge of its use against the Japanese Troops on islands). It on
one occasion apparently helped shoot down 90 of 120 attacking Japanese
planes.

It was first supplied to Britain to help overcome the V1 cruise missile
fired at London where it in combination with radar and computer
directed guns reduced the mean number of rounds expended to destroy a
V1 from 4000 to 180.

Finally there are records of it used against German troops during the
Ardennes Offensive (Battle of Bulge). It was reasoned that the
Germans would not be able to reconstruct the fuses in time to make use
of them. In fact the 'folklore' on the Internet is that they
captured some 20,000 but did not recognize them and also that they
recovered duds and reasoned that they were triggered by the Earth's
magnetic Field. (Note the magnet field theory probably came from the
troops themselves before being analysed by more technical branches of
the German forces)

The allied fuse workings.

Technically the Allied fuse was not radar: it did not send out a pulse
and listen for an echo. It had 4 tubes. One tube was part of the
oscillator. When a 'target' that was about a ½ wavelength in size
came within a few wavelengths it would load the amplifier and the anode
current would increase. Two additional amplifiers would detect this
change and then triggered the 4th valve (a gas filled thyraton) to set
of the detonator. Contrary to other reports it apparently did not
trigger on Doppler shift either or on frequency change. There were
many shock hardening techniques including planar electrodes and packing
the components in wax and oil to equalize the stresses.

The German fuse workings.

The fuse was based on electrostatic principles.

The circuitry of the German fuse is not precisely known to me as I do
not have the schematics however the details are in allied files refred
to I do not have a circuit layout drawing. It is known that the nose
of the shell was electrically insulated and isolated from the rest of
the shell. It was built by the company Rheinmetall. The program was
halted in 1940 then restarted in early 1944 and then terminated again
due to being over run by the allies at the point that it was ready for
production.

Initial fuse testing demonstrated a sensitivity of 1-2 meters and a
reliability of 80% when fired against a metal cable target. A circuit
adjustment yielded an increase to 3-4 meters and a reliability of close
to 95%.

Further work showed a 10-15 meter sensitivity. This was with 88mm
canon shells. The shell to all intents and purposes ready for
production.

References are "Truth About the Wunderwaffen" by Igor Witowski who
cites "Proximity Fuse Development - Rheinmettal Borsig A.G.
Mullhausen. CIOS report ITEM nos 3 file nos XXVI -1 (1945)

Capacitance based fuses became highly developed after the second world
war due to their high resistance against jamming techniques.

It is unlikely that the shell could have been easily degraded by
jamming or chaff. (unlike the Allied shell).

I can speculate as to several ways that this might work. It is
referred to as a "influenz zunder" based in electrostatic
principles.

Method 1: Bridge Cicuit. The shells external capacitance is made
part of a bridge circuite with an internal reference capacitor in the
other arm. Any disturbance caused by an large object such as an
aircraft would cause a current to flow across the bridge that would be
amplified.

Method 2: QT or charge transfer methods. A high speed vibrating
contact charges the shell and then discharges it into a known
capacitance which is then measured.

Method 3: making the shell body part of a resonant circuit and
detecting frequency changes.

I can not find the precise reason for the abandonment of the work in
1940 however it probably relates to the 'fuhrer befehle' or fuhrer
directive that with few exceptions all work that could not be put into
production within 6 months were to be terminated to increase resources
for those that could (in order to support operation Barborosa). It
was at this time that the Germans also abandoned their magnetron and
microwave development teams and programs. Many programs suffered
severely due to this; something that was to have far reaching
consequences for the German war effort.

What would have happened if the proximity fuse was not abandoned in
1940 but development continued such that it entered service in 1943?