per ardua per mare per terram Posted 4 July , 2007 Share Posted 4 July , 2007 Are there any good descriptions of the Anti-Aircraft defence of the UK and AA measures on the other fronts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regulus 1 Posted 4 July , 2007 Share Posted 4 July , 2007 The ones along the Belgian coast of the Marinekorps Flandern, any additional info is appreciated by the way... THE FLAK UNITS FLAKGRUPPE KUSTE Grossherzog Originally at Oostende (see map) and later in two parts near Bredene 4 x 8.8 cm Zeppelin Near Vlissegem 4 x 8.8 cm Baden Near Molenhoek At Heist Also known as the Flagge Batterie in 1915 St. Paul Near the Braunschweig at Knokke 4 x 8.8 cm Lisseweghe Between Lissewege and Zeebrugge 3 x 8.8 cm Württemberg ? Possibly the 4 x 10.5 cm at EOW west of Battery Lubeck Zeebrugge 3 x 10.5 cm Eisenbahn Flakzug Küste A railway AA battery 2 x 8.8 cm Sperrbatterie Ostende South of the Arsenaal ? Revolverkanonen Batterie Ostende ? 3.7 cm Maschinengewehr Flakzug ? 20 x MG ? Mole Zeebrugge (see batteries Zeebrugge Mole) ? Near the dock at Zeebrugge Revolver Kanonen Batterie Zeebrugge ? 3.7 cm Caesar East of Blankenberge ? Brunhilde Near Uitkerke 4x 10.5 cm ? East of Wenduine 2 x 8.8 cm Feldflak Blauwe Sluis at Bredene Probably 3.7 cm FLAKGRUPPE WEST CO Kap.lt. Reymann at Gistel Flak 1A On the dike between Westende and Middelkerke 4 x 8.8 cm Flak 1B Mariakerke between the chapel of the dunes (Duinenkerk) and the former airfield 3 x 8.8 cm Flak IIA ‘Marine Flak’ Near the farm Klein Kalkaartsteen at Raversijde 2 x 8.8 cm Flak IIB ‘Köster’ South of Stene 2 x 8.8 cm CO Lt. Peters Flak IIIA ? 3 x 8.8 cm Flak IIIB In the dunes near Middelkerke 2 x 8.8 cm Flak IV ? 2 x 8.8 cm Flak V ? 2x 8.8 cm FLAKGRUPPE BRUGGE CO Kap.lt.d.R. Carl Hollweg According to Alex Deseyne a total of 28 8.8 cm, however it is clear that he didn’t count in the pieces that were installed on and around the airfields of the Marinekorps inland themselves. Andreas Near the ‘Refuge’ at St. Andries 6 x 8.8 cm Kreuz At St. Kruis near the orphanage 5 x 8.8 cm ? Near St. Pieters in the area of the windmills ? ? At the start of the old road to Oostende 2 x 8.8 cm Stokvelde ? Along the road Loppem-Steenbrugge ? ? Assebroek, along the road towards the Zevecote castle ? ? St. Kruis near castle Ravingen ? ? Meetkerke, along the old road to Oostende 4 x 8.8 cm Flak Dudzele Dudzele, probably near the canal Erected 21 may 1918 4 x 8.8 cm, only two operational by EOW MOBILE FLAK Bayerische Flugabwehr Maschinen Gewehr Abteilung CO Hauptmann Bösmuller at Stalhille A mobile group, travelling by rail and with trucks. Other not yet identified : Marine Flak Moere Marine Flak Bamburg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Henschke Posted 5 July , 2007 Share Posted 5 July , 2007 Anti-Aircraft Defence in forward areas in early 1918 was based on an echelon system, with three zones. This was to counter enemy aircraft flying below about 3000 feet which could only be dealt with by small arms fire, as friendly aircraft and anti-aircraft guns could not successfully attack enemy aircraft flying at these low levels. The enemy used low-flying aircraft for:- a) Contact patrol work. Harassing troops in forward areas with machine gun fire and bombing. c) Bombing billets, camps, dumps, railheads, etc. The system of defence was organized as follows: - a) A forward line of Lewis guns (1st Echelon). A second line of Lewis and machine guns (2nd Echelon). c) Lewis guns attached to Artillery to protect Artillery groups (3rd Echelon). The 1st Echelon in the Forward Zone was made up of Lewis guns, supplied by brigades in the Line. Lewis guns were placed approximately 200 to 500 yards behind the front system, according to the ground and the areas which it is was found the enemy shelled. Single guns were positioned not more than 800 yards apart; guns in groups of two or more not more than 1500 yards. According to SS 197, Tactical Employment of Lewis Guns, dated January, 1918, at a height of ‘3000 feet one gun can cover effectively a circle with 500 yards radius; therefore one gun per 500 yards of front is required to provide a continuous belt of fire.’ Stokes mortars were also used in this zone. The defence of the 2nd echelon was made up with a combination of Vickers and Lewis guns, supplied by brigades in the line, supplemented by machine guns of the reserve line defences. When Vickers guns were employed, one of the considerations for the siting was so that they could play their part in the general defence scheme. This echelon was placed 1500 – 2000 yards behind the first system. Again the principle of single guns not more than 800 yards apart was employed. The concept of anti-aircraft defence in the 3rd echelon was for artillery protection, both Field and Heavy. The Lewis guns were found from the artillery allotment for that purpose, with the gun teams consisting of 1 NCO and 3 men per gun. Batteries in February 1918 were issued two Lewis guns for this purpose, with AA sights and AA mountings. Guns were in groups of 2 or more and not more than 1500 yards apart, and not more than 200 – 300 yards from the battery positions. According to an August 1917 amendment to SS 142 ‘Provisional notes on Firing at Aircraft with Machine guns and other Small Arms’ Tracer ammunition was made ‘available in limited quantities.’ Chris Henschke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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