40 mm Bofors AA guns made in GB and US

[John McGillivray]

Here are a few more photos of the 40mm Bofors in service with the Canadian Army.

The first is of the 3rd LAA Regt. RCA, at Bexhill on the South Coast, in the UK.

[John McGillivray]

Another Bofors on the South Coast.

[John McGillivray]

A Bofors and its tractor being help by a dozer across a flooded stream in Italy.

[Alan Brock]

There is a picture dated Oct 6th 2004 showing a Bofors next to a SCR584 radar set.
The radar shown is not in fact an SCR584 but the pictures attached are !

and another SCR584 pic...

[Tony Smith]

Time to revive this interesting thread.

Another Bofors has been located (more on that story later..), and can anyone ID the manufacturer (Stellan, Godwin??)

The platform is made by BPM Ltd in 1941:

[Tony Smith]

While the Gun Casing is made by AR in 1942:
Any ideas who these manufacturers may be?

[Godwin Hampton]

Tony.
The second picture refers to the mounting, so you still have to unearth the third plate stuck to the right hand front of the actual gun casing, starting ORD...

The PLAT ( platform ) plate in the first photo shows that it is a Mk11 model, not the original Swedish Mk1. This model, designed in England by Nuffield Mechanisation, used running gear off the Morris Commercial PU 8 cwt. truck. Hope the 9.00 - 13 tyres are in good nick!

These Mk11 models were produced in England, Canada and Australia, and many sub-contractors were involved.

According to the Terry Gander book, in Canada the main producer was the Dominion Bridge Company at Vancouver. In Australia the Government Ordnance Factory at Maribyrnong, Victoria with sub-contractors including the Ford Motor Co., H.V. McKay, Massey-Harris, and the Paton Brake Company amongst others.

Unfortunately none seem to fit the bill.....

Eagerly awaiting more on this Bofors

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

I suggest AR stands for:

A.Reyrolle & Co Ltd, Hebburn-on-Tyne
Late 1941 – Dec 1943 totally 1.580 guns made.

Greetings

Stellan

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Wehrmacht Police Troops w/ Captured Bofors AA Gun!!! Item number: 290057375950

[alamotex]

Have only recently followed this thread. Does anyone have info on the trainer dome which was used to simulate gunlaying ? or was it only used for aircraft recognition ? I seem to recall that images were projected onto the curved ceiling and that the sound effects were realistic. Brian Mendes.

[Godwin Hampton]

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.

[Ewan WT]

I have just joined the Forum to research the Dome Trainer. This was the first anti-aircraft simulation technology invented by my grandfather, Lt-Commander Henry Stephens, for the Royal Navy in 1940. This is the Pathe News in 1951.

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/dome-trainer

Henry's private journal has been deposited in the Imperial War Museum and the BBC made a documentary in 2025, narrated by the British actor Stephen Fry. YouTube has parts of the documentary.

There was a huge demand for this technology with 43 domes being built across the UK including one at Langham which survives today. This puzzling dome structure was a forerunner of today's immersive experiences including Imax screens, aircraft pilot simulation and computer games. This revolutionary invention saved thousands of lives and shortened the Second World War.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/i...ect/1030031411

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02rcd2x

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02rc8dl

I would be pleased to have any more information on the Dome Trainer and the gunnery used inside it. At Scapa Flow there is a further installation of what looks like a rear gunner turret developed for air-to-air gunnery. This is not in any of the official records that I can find!

Best wishes,

Ewan Ward-Thomas
Grandson of Henry Stephens, RN

[Pete M]

This is a hugely informative thread and has been very useful to me in identifying a 1937/39 Instructional model of the 40mm Bofors that I am trying to restore. I think the model, like most instructional models used by the British Armed forces, was made by Bassett-Lowke, it is made of brass and is about 1/8th scale. From the information I've gleaned from Terry Gander's book and the wonderful information in this thread I think I've identified the model as a Mk I Bofors on a Mk I carriage, possibly Mk IA (Polish Carriage). The model also has the "Bofors/Polish Course and Speed Corrector" although parts of it are damaged/missing.

I was heartbroken half-way through the thread to discover that Stellan had died, especially so as he was a real driving force in learning new information about the Bofors and also the prime mover in keeping this thread alive. In one post he indicated that he was preparing a book on the Bofors, does anyone know how far he got with that and if anyone has taken it on after his death?

In one of his earlier posts Stellan showed a photograph of some girls with 40mm Barrels and wanted to know which factory this was? I think there's a high degree of probability that it is the 'Hush-Hush' factory that was in Tubney woods just outside Abingdon. The manufacture of the barrels was re-located here after the Coventry factory was bombed. Article on the subject here:

https://www.heraldseries.co.uk/news/...elped-win-war/

On the subject of the wheel nuts, Terry Gander's book, page 49, indicates that the Mk IA (Polish) Carriage's are identifiable from five bolts on the wheel hubs. However, earlier in this thread Stellan indicated that it was the Swedish made carriages that used five wheel nuts and the Polish carriages that used six? Does anyone know for sure? Certainly on page 21 of the Gander book there appears a 1938 photo, taken in A B Bofors workshop, which shows a 1936 model Bofors, ultimately destined for Dutch East Indies, which has five bolts on the wheel hub. This would seem to indicate that Stellan has it correct and that Gander inadvertently transposed the numbers, or did the 1936 model simply involve a re-design to the Polish style?

There doesn't appear to be an option to upload images to this site so I'll have to look into getting some images up on a web hosting site so you can see the model.

[Pete M]

Another quick question regarding the mounting places on the Mk I carriage for the Ground Spikes. On the photos I've seen so far there are two ground spikes mounted, side by side, on the side of the cruciform just to the right of the Travelling Lock for the Gun. I presume there is at least one other, or possibly two ground spikes, mounted on each of out-rigger arms as well?


You can see more clearly what I am talking in photographs of this Dunkirk survivor at IWM. If you look at the second photo, just behind the left-side wheel you can see two Ground Spikes mounted on the side of the carriage, one pointing left and the other pointing right. There's a third ground spike visible on the out-rigger arm.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30025446

On the model I have there are a total of three ground spikes mounted on the carriage. One of each out-rigger arm and a third on the side of the main beam of the cruciform, just to the right of the travelling lock, where the photos normally show two ground spikes. Does anyone know if there is a particular Mk, or national make, that has only one ground spike mounted on the side like that?

[Grant Bowker]

You should be able to upload pictures(select "manage attachments" in the additional options area below the text composition area). The most common problems seem to come from oversize images (both pixel count and file size can be trouble). See http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/showthread.php?t=19 for some more guidance. If all else fails, another member may offer to wrangle the photos to fit.

[Pete M]

Thanks for that Grant, I missed that option and was simply trying to use the Icon at the top of the edit box. Will now go back to my original post and add a few pics.

[Les Freathy]

Two more nice photos of the 40mm Bofors on the MK1 carrage

Les

[alamotex]

Godwin I did a photo search of the Imperial War Museums On Line Collections www.iwmcollections.org.uk and found photograph number CH 18567 taken in December 1943 at the RAF station Leuchars which may have been inside a No.4 Dome Trainer. Does the sound and film projector in the foreground resemble any illustrations in your user manual for the No. 6 trainer? The gun certainly does not look like a 40 mm Bofors.

Brian

[Godwin Hampton]

Brian, I'm out of my depth here!

The gun, as you pointed out, is NOT a Bofors but two Browning aircraft machine guns on some sort of anti-aircraft mounting, probably for airfield defence. I would suspect that the guns are mounted staggered to allow the ammunition belts not to interfere with each other.

The sight is obviously common to both guns, and mounted between them.

The projector is similar, but naturally less modern. The 1962 one was fitted on a cabinet with wheels, much like a mechanic's tool chest. The one in the picture is projecting the image on to a mirror, and this would then be turned and tilted to make the image on the dome move. Thus speed could be altered, as well as the angle of flight. I would imagine that this was limited to half the dome, 90 degrees to the left and to the right of the projector, but this should not have been a problem since each anti-aircraft gun would usually have a limited arc of fire in action.

Hope this helps.

Godwin

[Les Freathy]

Some more Bofors images, Fyll you will like the first two a crowd gathers around a recent arrival in Greece, note the locals sprinkled with sailors
Les

2nd King George of Greece visits a RAF base anti aircraft defences

[Les Freathy]

Excercises in the UK in 1941, demonstration for the benefit of junior officers

[Les Freathy]

US 40mm Bofors landing in Operation Torch, note the doublr rear wheels

[Les Freathy]

I took these photos of a preserved Bofors years ago and cannot remember where, i rather fancy that Fordson power major in the field beyond

[Les Freathy]

Good rear view shot of the MK2

[Les Freathy]

I think this photo is just post war around 1946/7

[Les Freathy]

Now thats the way to do it, winches under the armpits in reality there must have been a cable atched to a vehicle out of sight

[Les Freathy]

Training in the UK 1941

[Les Freathy]

Finally for now the defence of Gibraltar

[Les Freathy]

Late model bofors, cant remember the name for that sighting system was it Stiff key of similer

[Les Freathy]

I tookthis shot i think at Duxford must be 15plus years ago, yep looking at that 60 ton lump on the right thats where it is