#WarMovies #AntiAircraftGuns #AirplaneAttacks #ExplodingFire
Have you ever watched a war movie and noticed that when airplanes are attacking, some of the incoming fire from anti-aircraft guns explode several feet away from the aircraft for no visible reason at all? It’s a common phenomenon in war movies, but is it real? What causes it? Let’s dive into this intriguing topic and find out the explanation behind this cinematic portrayal of aerial combat.
##Understanding the Phenomenon
In war movies, the explosions that occur several feet away from the aircraft during an aerial attack are often used for dramatic effect. However, in reality, this phenomenon does have a basis in truth. The exploding fire from anti-aircraft guns at a distance from the aircraft is known as “proximity burst” or “airburst.” Proximity burst occurs when the shells fired from the anti-aircraft guns are intentionally detonated at a certain distance from the target, rather than making direct contact. This technique is used to increase the likelihood of hitting the target by creating a wider area of effect.
##The Science Behind Proximity Burst
So, why do the shells explode at a certain distance from the aircraft instead of making direct contact? The answer lies in the way proximity fuses work. Proximity fuses, also known as VT fuses (Variable Time), are designed to detonate the shell when it reaches a predetermined distance from the target. This distance is set based on the altitude and range of the target aircraft, and the shell is detonated using a variety of methods, such as radar, radio signals, or even sound waves. When the shell explodes at a distance from the aircraft, it creates a burst of shrapnel and fragments that are then projected towards the target, increasing the chances of hitting it.
##The Importance of Proximity Burst
Proximity burst plays a crucial role in anti-aircraft warfare by providing a wider coverage area for targeting enemy aircraft. This is especially important when dealing with fast-moving and agile targets like airplanes. By using proximity burst, the anti-aircraft artillery can create a zone of danger around the target aircraft, making it more difficult for the pilot to evade the incoming fire.
##Real-life Examples
Proximity burst has been used in various historical battles and conflicts. One notable example is during World War II, where proximity fuses played a significant role in the air defense of Allied forces against enemy aircraft. The effectiveness of proximity burst was demonstrated in engagements such as the Battle of Britain, where British anti-aircraft guns used proximity fuses to successfully target German Luftwaffe aircraft. The use of proximity burst in these battles showcased the effectiveness of this technique in aerial combat.
##Conclusion
So, the explosions that occur several feet away from the aircraft in war movies are indeed based on a real phenomenon known as proximity burst. This technique is used to increase the chances of hitting enemy aircraft by creating a wider area of effect with the exploding shells. Understanding the science behind proximity burst gives us a deeper appreciation for the complexities of aerial combat and the strategies employed in anti-aircraft warfare. If you’ve ever wondered about the realism of these cinematic portrayals, now you know the real-life basis behind this intriguing phenomenon.
In conclusion, the exploding fire from anti-aircraft guns at a distance from the aircraft in war movies is a real phenomenon known as proximity burst, and it plays a crucial role in targeting enemy aircraft during aerial combat. Through the use of proximity fuses, the shells are detonated at a predetermined distance from the target, creating a wider area of effect and increasing the likelihood of hitting the aircraft. This technique has been proven effective in historical battles and conflicts, highlighting its importance in anti-aircraft warfare. Next time you watch a war movie and see those explosions in the sky, you can appreciate the real-life science behind this captivating cinematic portrayal of aerial combat. 🛩️🔥
This is “flak” – an anti-aircraft weapon that’s designed to scatter metal fragments at a certain altitude and hope the plane strikes it or sucks it into the engines.
Actually *hitting* a plane moving at several hundred miles per hour was tricky business in World War 2, but if you could determine that the enemy bomber formation was flying at 22,000 feet you can fire flak at them with altitude fuses set to detonate at 22,000 feet.
Then the bomber flies into a hail of metal and gets swiss-cheesed.
AA flak fire, which this is likely exploding shells you’re talking about here are often set to detonate at a specific, calculated altitude. Hopefully the same altitude as the plane they are shooting at, so its not at all unreasonable to have a shell explode at the same altitude as a plane, AA fire is also somewhat inaccurate, its hard to hit a fast flying plane (thats why you shoot tons of ammo at them, each shot doesn’t have a great chance, but more shots is more chances)
That said, so much of what you see in movies is just meant to heighten drama, and if I was making the movie, I want the drama to be high, I want barely misses on the plane as much as possible to keep up the tension, regardless of true reality.
In WWII the anti-aircraft fire used shells with time fuses. The ground crew had to estimate the altitude of the enemy aircraft, set fuses for that height, fire, and adjust. As you can imagine this made it difficult to get their fire close to enemy aircraft. But there was some leeway as scoring a direct hit on the aircraft was not necessarily the goal – the shells were designed to explode into big clouds of steel shrapnel, and aircraft are made of thin aluminum. So if they exploded in the vicinity of the planes, or the planes had to fly through the clouds of shrapnel, they would be damaged.
Later, the allies developed proximity fuses that worked on radar and caused the shell to explode when it got within a certain distance of an object. These were much better than using timed fuses and allowed the allies to shoot down a lot more aircraft than previously.
That’s how a lot of ground to air and air to air missiles work. Think of Iron Dome.
All you have to do is get the missile close enough to the plane so when it explodes it scatters flak which damages the plane. Sort of like a shotgun shell with buck shot.
The anti aircraft rounds were fired with timed fuses. The gunners operating the AA guns not only had to aim, but also judge the time of the rounds flight distance to the plane and set the timer. Like a grenade, they didn’t have to get a direct hit, the rounds just needed to explode within range of the plane. Late in the war, the Brits developed a “proximity fuse” that changed everything. It was such an improvement it was probably their biggest military secret of the war. It was some ingenious engineering and a fascinating story.
Back before electronic targeting systems were a thing, hitting a moving plane, especially at high altitudes, was very hard. For this reason most anti aircraft defenses used “flak” which were shells with an adjustable fuse which could be adjusted to explode at a predetermined altitude, and when they did they sent shrapnel in all directions. This was very effective since you only had to get the shell close to a plane, not even a direct hit, and one shell could hit multiple planes in a formation.
Those are supposed to be flak, they have a timed fuse that goes off at a certain altitude or a set amount of time so the shells airburst and throw out a bunch of shrapnel. It doesn’t actually need to hit the aircraft, but if the flack rounds were a few feet away like you see in movies the plane would be heavily damaged, but it’s very cinematic. It’s kinda like how most explosions aren’t a huge dramatic fireball.
They’re not shooting at the plane; they’re shooting at a point in the sky that they’re hoping the plane will fly through. Every gun has a predetermined area to shoot in, so they’re basically trying to put up a cloud of shrapnel the plane will fly through.
Same concept for Navy ships. If you look at newsreel film of Japanese air attacks on a US carrier group, you’ll see lots of ships that appear to be randomly firing in the air. That’s because each ship had an assigned area to protect and each gun on the ship had an assigned field of fire. Again, hopefully, all the guns are putting up a curtain of shrapnel and bullets that the Japanese planes would have to fly through.
At least, that’s how it was supposed to work. Coordinated fires…
It’s really *really* hard to hit a fast moving airplane at high altitudes with a single bullet.
So we made bullets that explode into big balls of razor sharp metal fragments and fire that hopefully explode just in front of or around the plane so they fly through the danger debris and get shredded.
This is called “flak” the gun operators on the ground estimate how far up in the air the enemy plane is and set the boom bullet to explode when it gets to a certain height. Then keep firing more to make the airspace as hostile to the aircraft as possible.
Of course, this doesn’t work if the plane decides to then fly higher or lower than what you set the fuse too unless you get *really* lucky as to happen to hit it on the way up.
Now a-days we have missiles that can chase a plane and blow up when it thinks it’s close enough. Same principle but now it has the ability to correct if the plane tries to evade, to an extent anyway.
Sometimes the little light flashy things you see are marker rounds to help gunners find their target.
I legit only figured this out 2 weeks ago after thinking about it watching the WW2 doc on netflix – in a video game called unreal tournament, there was a gun called the flak cannon. It would explode and fling shrapnel everywhere and damage people nearby. put both together and viola
Something all of these answers are missing to make it really ELI5 in response to why they seem to “miss” – you’re seeing the cloud from the explosion of the flak shell, not the shrapnel which is the part used to do the damage. So you could still get damaged by the shrapnel you don’t see. Similarly with grenades, defensive grenades send out shrapnel so are dangerous to use when advancing (you or your buddy might get hit with the shrapnel that is impossible to predict the path of), and so offensive grenades use a concussion/shockwave effect instead – you will always know the area of effect of that compared to shrapnel.
Movies don’t depict flak or grenades very well because 1) Real grenades are dangerous and unpredictable, as opposed to big gas-based plumes of flame which are clear and relatively safe; and 2) It’s bad movie-making to not make the effect of something clear and somewhat expected – if something or someone is damaged by an invisible piece of shrapnel, the audience will be confused.
could be flack you’re talking about, or could be a proximity fuse. the proximity fuse for AA guns is often considered the most important weapon developed in WW2. to the extent that military officials were worried that dud shells might land where German or Japanese forces could collect and reverse engineer them.
I will add to this that yes times fuses were the standard until the US developed the proximity fuse which didn’t need to be set would just explode close to the target
https://www.historynet.com/proximity-fuze/
Modern anti-aircraft guns ( since WW2) are fitted with so-called proximity fuses. They use sophisticated sensors such as radar to determine, when they’re in the optimal proximity to their target, and then explodes and peppers the target with deadly metal fragments. Getting a direct hit against a fast moving plane is too hard, so it is simply more efficient to have the ammo exlode near enough to the targets and using fragmentation shells instead of using high-explosive shells, that detonate on impact with the target.
I’ve seen it here in Kiev godknows how many times. And yes this part of air defense looks just like in movies.
You don’t want to be at a camera shooting distance though.
Yes. Airburst ammunition (i.e. explosive rounds made to explode before they hit anything) is actually incredibly common. Much of the damage is done by shrapnel. Exploding near the target based on a timer or proximity fuze can turn a miss into a fatal hit, or allow an artillery shell to explode in the air, raining deadly shrapnel from above into trenches that would protect the occupants from flat-flying shrapnel from a ground burst.
There were even attempts to build an infantry rifle that had the option of firing grenades that would explode at a distance preset using a laser distance measurement from the sight. Find an enemy behind cover? Lase the cover, press the “+1 meter” button, aim above the cover, shoot… and the grenade will explode right above the enemy’s head while they think they’re safely behind cover. Various practical and legal concerns killed the project (Google for OICW), but it shows how widespread the concept is.
Proximity Fuses.
Even in WW2 they had fuses that could sense they were near an enemy plane. Essentially as they were spinning, the centrifugal force pushed electrolyte fluid from the center of the fuse to the outside filling small gaps in a reactive substance and resulting reaction created enough electrical energy to power a small device inside. The technology was so important that the fuse was as closely guarded as the B-52 and the Atom Bomb.
Today the same job can be done by radar or lasers.
In the same way that depth charges don’t need to detonate on the submarine to turn it into a watery coffin, AA fire just needs to damage the plane in enough to put it out of action. Even surface to air missiles don’t actually strike the target, the proximity fuse detonates the missile close enough to the plane to cause horrific damage. War is hell people.