Brian,
Dome Trainers were definitely used by the British Army for gunnery training, with a Bofors in the centre under the hemispherical dome, and a projector sending moving images of planes to be aimed at.
I have a User Handbook for Apparatus, Dome Training, No.6 and "Portobel", dated 1962. The introduction says "This apparatus is an anti-aircraft gunnery trainer developed on principles similar to the Apparatus Dome Training No.4. Used in conjunction with a service dome, it provides a substitute for field training with aircraft co-operation when training anti-aircraft gunners on L.A.A. weapons. It provides also realistic gunnery practice under conditions closely resembling those experienced in actual warfare."
Half a dome survives still in situ at the Malta War Museum, which is housed in a building that was originally built as a Territorial Army Drill Hall. No doubt the dome would have been very useful for evening training sessions, or when the weather did not allow outdoor training. The dome is made out of plywood stuck on to a wood framework, probably produced locally to a W.D. design. It is about 20 feet in diameter, and supported about seven feet off the ground. I have an impression that it would be painted in silver (or aluminium ) paint, probably to produce a more vivid image from the projector.
I do not know when they started to be used, but I would suspect that World War 2 was the ideal time as they were badly needed to train hundreds of gunners in as short a time as possible!
The 1962 "Portabel" was a portable structure made out of proofed fabric that could be inflated to form the dome. Entrace was through an airlock with two sealed doors at each end of a short entry tunnel. A blower kept the whole thing inflated, and made up for any leaks.
The projector provided images of different planes flying under varying conditions, as well as realistic sound. The apparatus also created gun noise and images of clouds, to add realism.
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George Cross Island
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