1 Like
The 150cm Flakscheinwerfer (Flak Searchlight) was designed and used by Germany during World War Two. It was developed in the late 1930’s. They were used to support 8.8cm Flak batteries throughout World War Two, with each battery in theory being equipped with 9 searchlights.
The searchlights were mounted on a specially built trailer 4-wheeled trailer and were towed by truck or half-track. The light output was 990 million candlepower. Electrical power for the searchlight was provided by 24-kilowatt generator which was attached to the searchlight via a 660 -foot-long cable. The searchlight had a full 360 degrees of traverse. Detection range for the searchlight was approximately 5 miles for aircraft targets flying between 13,000 and 16,000 feet. They served with German anti-aircraft units in all theaters of the war.
Next to the searchlight is the German Telemeter KDO Kommandogerat 40 (range finder). The German Kommandogerät (command control computer) 40, known as a Director, was an optical range finder used principally for large anti-aircraft guns, such as the 8.8cm Flak 36 or the 10.5cm Flak 40. By calculating the length of the tube and the angle at which the lenses were positioned, the crew could pinpoint aircraft target locations. Introduced by the German military in 1941, this Director was utilized by all three services and could be modified for use with almost any anti-aircraft gun. In the field, the Director required a 5-man crew; two men to input azimuth and elevation data, a third man to set the slant range by means of a 4-meter stereo range finder mounted on top of the Director, a fourth man to set the horizontal angle of approach, and a fifth man as general operator.
Using the Director, the time from acquiring a target to firing the first round could be achieved in less than 30 seconds. A slant range of up to 18,000 meters (11.1 miles) or an aircraft altitude of 39,000 feet could be targeted. A flak pattern fired according to the “predictor’s” data was deadly for Allied planes during their unswerving bombing runs. For transport, the Director is mounted on a special trailer, equipped with lifting devices, and towed by a light truck. This Kommandogerät 40 was in service until 1969 in Finland and is believed to one of three that remain in existence and the only one in North America.
...
The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.
