Command unit PUAZO-3

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PUAZO-3

The predictor PUAZO-3 ( Russian : Прибор управления артиллерийским зенитным огнем - ПУАЗО 3, abbreviated 3, transcription : P Ribor u prawlenja a rtilleriskim s enitnym o gnem) was used for fire control with the 85-mm anti-aircraft guns M1939 equipped anti-aircraft batteries . With the help of the device, the guide values ​​were determined from the target coordinates of an air target and passed on to the guns. The command device , which is essentially a replica of the Czechoslovakian Škoda T7 , was manufactured in the Soviet Union from 1940 . In the National People's Army of the GDR, the device was also referred to as PUAZO-3.

development

Already at the end of the First World War it became clear that fighting the ever higher and faster flying aircraft required suitable anti-aircraft artillery operations. The determination of proved problematic was the increasing lead point , the results from the direction of movement and speed of the air target and the time of flight of projectiles. With the help of the ring sight commonly used for anti-aircraft weapons, the lead point could only be estimated, but not determined. From the consideration of being able to calculate the lead point with the help of the target coordinates of the air target and their rate of change, the first command devices for the guidance of AA batteries emerged. These devices, constructed as analog computers , were able to use the target coordinates determined by optical rangefinders to determine the guide values ​​for the guns and for large-caliber anti-aircraft weapons also the duration of the time fuse of the grenades. From the beginning of the 1940s, these command devices were also coupled with radar stations to determine the target coordinates.

The first Soviet commando PUAZO-1 ( Russian ПУАЗО 1 ) was created in 1930. With it and its successor PUAZO-2 ( Russian ПУАЗО 2 ), which was available from 1934 , the calculated shot values ​​still had to be transmitted to the guns orally or by telephone. Overall, the performance of these command devices was unsatisfactory. However, since a command unit was urgently needed for the new 76 mm Flak M1938 and 85 mm Flak M1939, the military leadership of the Red Army announced a competition to develop a new unit. Neither the PUAZO SK ( Russian ПУАЗО СК ) developed in 1937 nor the simplified PUAZO ( Russian Упрощенный ) presented in 1938 were convincing and so neither of the two devices was considered as a successor to the PUAZO-2, but the decision was made to replicate a foreign device. In this regard, American, British and Czechoslovakian devices were examined. An essential criterion for the selection was the possibilities of the Soviet armaments industry. The People's Commissariat of the Armaments Industry assumed that it was not possible to replicate complex devices in the Soviet Union. The Czechoslovak Škoda T7 was therefore chosen . The device was easy to copy, since the construction did not use cone bodies and subsequent systems, which was disadvantageous for the precision of the information obtained. The implemented algorithms were also chosen unfavorably, which was particularly noticeable in the speed of processing. The operating effort was also very high. It was already clear at the time of selection that the device had no development potential. It was therefore considered as early as 1939 to replicate the German auxiliary command device 35. The auxiliary command device had only a limited range of functions compared to modern German command devices - wind influences and horizontal and vertical position differences between the guns and the observation post were not taken into account - a replica appeared to be possible in the Soviet Union.

The design was adapted for series production in the central design office of the Scientific Research Institute No. 20 ( Russian ЦАКБ НИИ-20 , German  ZAKB NII-20 ). The command device was manufactured from 1939 in Plant No. 205 of the People's Commissariat for Shipbuilding.

construction

4 m rangefinder base Dja
Back of the PUAZO-3. On the left the scale for the flight time of the grenade, on the right the scale for the elevation angle. The azimuth could be corrected with the handwheel in the middle.
On the left the scale for the duration of the detonator, underneath the hand wheel for setting the detonator time The PUAZO's visor was adjusted to the height with the large handwheel. The visors are missing from all devices shown.

The PUAZO-3 consisted of

  • the actual command device, also known as the basic device
  • the 4 m distance measuring base DJa
  • the power supply and
  • a single-axle trailer.

The basic device was built on the single-axle trailer. During the transport, the rangefinder DJa was loaded onto the trailer.

The 4 m distance measuring base DJa was constructed according to the principle of a spatial image rangefinder . It was used to measure the slope distance as well as the elevation and side angles to the target. The rangefinder was not linked to the base unit, the values ​​determined were transmitted orally or by telephone and set manually on the command unit. The crew consisted of four soldiers.

The basic device was a mechanical computer. The values ​​determined by the rangefinder were continuously set on the device, the air target was set up with the basic device. There was a reflex sight for the elevation angle on the left and the azimuth on the right. By turning the corresponding handwheels, the device and thus the sight was swiveled horizontally, while the sight for the elevation angle was moved independently of the command device by turning the handwheel, so that the aerial target was constantly in the crosshairs of the sight. Turning the handwheels also led to the corresponding values ​​being set in the command unit. The determined guide values ​​- side and elevation angles - as well as the duration of the detonators were continuously determined by the device as long as the aerial target was kept in the crosshairs. For the first time with a Soviet command device, the values ​​were transferred electrically to the guns. Since the 85 mm Flak M1939 had no electric directional drives, the values ​​on the gun were displayed on a so-called zero pointer device. One pointer indicated the values ​​determined by the commando, a second pointer the directional angle of the cannon. The directional gunners had to align both pointers manually.

With the command device it was possible to determine guide values ​​for air targets at an inclined distance of 7,000 to 13,000 m, the altitude range was limited to 50 to 9,600 m. The accuracy of the determination of the elevation angle was 0–05 lines , that of the side angle 0–10. The detonator running time was determined with an accuracy of 0.14 seconds.

In the configuration described, the PUAZO-3 could not be used at night and with poor visibility. Since there were no follow-up systems, the PUAZO-3 could not be used to determine lead values ​​for maneuvering targets.

The operation of the command device consisted of eleven soldiers. The command unit weighed 2,600 kg in the marching position and 2,000 kg in the combat position.

commitment

The PUAZO-3 was deployed in the flak units of the Red Army equipped with the 85 mm flak M1939 and used there during the Second World War .

The device was also used by the North Korean and Chinese troops during the Korean War . The PUAZO-3 was coupled with the gun alignment stations SON-2 and SON-3, which instead of the range finder provided the target data for the command unit. This made it possible in principle to combat aerial targets at night and with poor visibility. In general, the equipment with radar and command equipment on the Chinese and North Korean sides was inadequate. The PUAZO-3 turned out to be completely out of date and unsuitable for fighting jet aircraft. With it, guideline values ​​for high-speed and high-flying targets could no longer be determined.

The East German NVA also used the PUAZO-3. The device was probably introduced with the 85 mm anti-aircraft gun in the barracked People's Police and taken over when the NVA was set up. The number of soldiers deployed to operate the facility was reduced to seven through a change in the process organization. With the elimination of the 85 mm flak, the PUAZO-3 was also eliminated.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Давыдов: ГОДЫ И ЛЮДИ , p. 140ff
  2. ↑ a b c Missile and Weapons Technical Service in Kdo. MB III, technical catalog, command unit PUAZO-3
  3. ↑ Missile and Weapons Technical Service in Kdo. MB III, technical catalog, 4m distance measuring base DJa
  4. ↑ for the device description see Н. Н. Никифоров, П. И. Туркин, А. А. Жеребцов, С. Г. Галиенко: Артиллерия. P. 386, for the exact method of operation and handling see Учебник сержанта зенитной артиллерии
  5. ↑ see С. С. Лотоцкий: Война в Корее. 1950-1953.

Web links

Commons : PUAZO-3  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

  • М.М.Лобанов: РАЗВИТИЕ СОВЕТСКОЙ РАДИОЛОКАЦИОННОЙ ТЕХНИКИ; издательство "Воениздат", 1982 (Russian)
  • Collective of authors: Handbook for air defense gunners. Military publishing house of the GDR, 4th edition 1975.
  • Wilfried Copenhagen: The land forces of the NVA. Motorbuch Verlag, 1st edition 1999
  • Raymond J. Watson jr .: Radar Origins Worldwide: History of Its Evolution in 13 Nations Through World War II. Trafford Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1426921100 (English).
  • Учебник сержанта зенитной артиллерии, ч. 2 стрельба зенитной артиллерии малого и среднего калибра. Воениздат МО СССР, 1949 (Russian).
  • Прибор управления артиллерийским зенитным огнём (ПУАЗО-3). Руководство службы. Воениздат, 1945 (Russian).
  • С. С. Лотоцкий: Война в Корее. 1950-1953. ПОЛИГОН, 2000, ISBN 5-89173-113-4 (Russian).
  • Н. Н. Никифоров, П. И. Туркин, А. А. Жеребцов, С. Г. Галиенко: Артиллерия. Воениздат МО СССР, 1953 (Russian).