Hi Malcolm
I've been reading this thread with interest waiting to read the solution to the mystery. I was wondering all along if the solution was going to be the generator set for the battery fire control system to drive the director or was it going to be a SP (self propelled) unit meant for moving the gun units short distance to relay the firing position.
What I have always wondered was the director unit telling the gun crew where to fire (in short an electro mechanical fire control computer) or was the director actually controlling power traverse and elevation electric motors on the gun itself?
The US version of this generator set M-5 is relatively common and they are a very nice little unit. Very quiet running as they tick over at 1000 rpm if running 50 cycles or 1200 rpm running 60cycles. The US M-5 was built as a 3 phase 125 volt unit 60 cycle unit and as a 3 phase 130 volt 50 cycle unit, specifically designed to power 40mm Bofers. (see manual
http://www.canadianmilitarypattern.com/Generator.htm )
What I always found interesting about the M-5 unit was the effort they put into it for dual taps in the control panel for the 50 or 60 Cycle at different voltages (see page 73 of manual). From what I have read on these units the reason for this was so that the gen sets would work with the British Bofers units.
Now as to the comment about use of 40 MM as battery fired central fire control units. The only references I have ever seen to specific combat use was on the English Coast against V-1s but this reference is a little soft as it was speaking primarily about 90 MM units controlled by SCR-584 Radar Units.
Has anybody come across more information on the 40MM fire control systems?
PS- The M-5 unit makes a nice gen-set to provide power for camping use at shows for my C60S Radio Truck.