British Ordnance Collectors Network
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
40mm bofors dummy HE round
- Thread starter KMLS
- Start date
The Bofors 40mm born in Sweden in the '30s and became, probably, the best anti-aircraft gun of World War II.
Bofors was great at selling licenses - the Americans shelled out $500,000 in 1941 (serious money back then!), the British bought the license in '37, and basically half of Europe lined up to get it.
But the Germans... played it sneaky! Instead of paying, they waited to conquer half of Europe and just took all the Bofors guns they found lying around, renaming them "4cm FlaK 28". Classic German style: "License? What license, we'll take them for free!"
Americans were mass production maniacs - they took the Swedish design and completely overhauled it to pump out 39,200 of them! The British instead made a mess of different versions (Mark I, II, III... all the way to XI). The Japanese copied the ones captured at Singapore.
With all these countries producing 40mm ammunition - Americans, British, Germans, Swedes, Canadians, Australians - the projectile in the photo could be from anyone! They were all compatible but each had their own little details.
www.navweaps.com
Bofors was great at selling licenses - the Americans shelled out $500,000 in 1941 (serious money back then!), the British bought the license in '37, and basically half of Europe lined up to get it.
But the Germans... played it sneaky! Instead of paying, they waited to conquer half of Europe and just took all the Bofors guns they found lying around, renaming them "4cm FlaK 28". Classic German style: "License? What license, we'll take them for free!"
Americans were mass production maniacs - they took the Swedish design and completely overhauled it to pump out 39,200 of them! The British instead made a mess of different versions (Mark I, II, III... all the way to XI). The Japanese copied the ones captured at Singapore.
With all these countries producing 40mm ammunition - Americans, British, Germans, Swedes, Canadians, Australians - the projectile in the photo could be from anyone! They were all compatible but each had their own little details.