Type 5 15 cm AA Gun

Infobox Weapon
name=Type 5 15 centimeter anti-aircraft gun


caption=A Japanese Type 5 anti-aircraft gun.
origin=Japan
type=Anti-aircraft gun
is_ranged=yes
is_artillery=yes
service=1945
used_by=Japan
wars=Second World War
designer=
design_date=December 1943
manufacturer=
unit_cost=
production_date=May 1945
number=2
variants=
spec_label=
weight=9.2 tons (gun only)
length=
part_length=9 m (L60)
width=
height=
diameter=
crew=
cartridge=
caliber=149.1 mm
action=
rate=14 rpm
velocity=930 m/s
range=13.9 km against a target at 12,000 m.
Effective ceiling 16,000 m
max_range=14.8 km against a a target at 8,000 m.
Maximum ceiling 20,000 m
feed=
sights=
breech=
recoil=
carriage=
elevation=0 to +85 degrees
traverse=360 degrees

The Type 5 15 cm AA Gun was a Japanese 150 mm caliber anti-aircraft gun used in the World War II.Only two were produced in total at the end of the war in August, 1945. These where deployed in Kugiyama in Suginami ward, a suburb of Tokyo.

Although the Japanese Military were aware of the development of the American B-29 bomber, they were unaware of its specifications, specifically its operating altitude limits. It was thought that the newly developed Type 3 12 cm AA Gun would be able to reach the bombers. By late 1943 it became apparent that the B-29 was capable of flying at altitudes in excess of 10,000 meters, beyond the effective ceiling of the Type 3 12 cm gun. A project was initiated in December 1943 to address this. To save time, the project would simply scale up the existing design to 15 centimeters.

The project was completed relatively quickly with test guns ready for firing 17 months after the project starting. However it was already too late by that point in the war — all the major Japanese cities had been destroyed, and American bombers were moving onto secondary targets. The guns themselves were not mobile, requiring deployment in fixed positions.

The guns that were deployed were moderately successful. In a single engagement on 1 August 1945 they brought down two B-29s. American bombing raids, however, avoided Kugayama after the incident and as a result the guns had no subsequent chance to fire.

Effectiveness

A postway American report evaluated the effectiveness of Japanese anti-aircraft fire. The report demonstrated that the 15 cm gun was more than five times more effective than the 12 cm gun, and that the engagement envelope was considerably larger.

The guns were deployed with a dedicated Type 2 electronic fire control system, with an above ground optical tracker and a targeting computer installed in a nearby bunker, this was linked electronically to the guns fire control director, allowing precise target tracking. "Effectiveness of Japanese AA Fire",US Naval Technical Mission to Japan, 1946]

References

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