Sophisticated Remote Control Turret System and Firing Computer used on board the Aircraft
Dating to 1945, this restricted WWII training film was produced by the War Department. It features animation that was likely done by the Warner Bros. studios with voices by Mel Blanc. The film looks at the sophisticated remote control turret system and firing computer used on board the aircraft. The analog computers in the B-29 central fire control system made corrections in three main areas to accurately aim the aircraft’s guns: ballistics, lead, and parallax. The B-29 was the first production aircraft to use them to remotely aim and fire aircraft gun turrets. The system in the B-29 employed analog electromechanical computers that used small, electrically-driven mechanical switches, called relays, instead of levers and gears. These devices were significantly faster than strictly mechanical computers.
The cartoon opens as an animated man shoots a machine gun in a 1940s arcade game. The character is great at the game and gets sucked into the selective service office 1:15. The man winds up in a B-29 1:40. The man explores the plane while the narrator speaks. He’s frustrated because he just wants to shoot guns but the purpose of the film is to teach that shooting is less about guns and more about mindset and training – and the technology of the GE Reflector Gunsight 2:28. The movie is also about highlighting the advanced technology in firepower possessed by the B-29 overall. Cartoon character fires a cannon from a rampart at a passing ship and needs to account for “lead” 3:10. The animation goes on to show the problems that guns needed to compensate for in the past 3:20. In air combat the gunner has to fire from a moving platform to hit a moving target 3:45. The modern gunner has a remote control turret system 4:15. A sight, a computer and the actual guns 4:30. The computer solves all the problems of a modern gunner 4:57. The sight is operated by the gunner 5:10. Animation shows the optical unit on the sight 5:20. The gunner frames to target 5:33. The computer gets the information from the sight and the computer sets off the guns 5:55. The character controls the gun with his sight 6:15. The range wheel controls the size of the reticle 6:29. The gunner sets the wingspan dial to tell the computer the size of the target 7:00. The platform moves at a high-speed 7:35. The line of sight and the gun coordinate 7:53. Animation shows how the computer adjusts for lead and speed 8:16. Lead must be decreased for targets that are closer 9:02. The offset is decreased to create the proper deflection 9:15. Typical enemy attack on a bomber 9:42. The cartoon gunner tries to frame the enemy airplanes 10:25. Several planes fill the screen at different speeds and it is very difficult 10:37. The character has trouble framing the slow plane 11:02. If the range wheel is set wrong, the bullets will not hit the target 11:30. The gunner tries to frame the slow plane but it is already on top of him 11:48. The gunner discovers where the triggers are on the sight to engage the guns 12:31. The gunner misses the plane 12:47. You need to continue framing while you’re firing 12:57. The narrator compares the gunning to driving a car and learning to use a clutch 13:22. The character has grown a beard implying how long it’s taking him to learn the new technology 13:45. GE Reflector Gunsight is the new B-29 Bomber gunning technology 14:00. The gunnery cartoon character flies away on his platform. The end. T.F. I – 3475.
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
Credit to : PeriscopeFilm
