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technique Frangible Bullets In a new gunnery training program, plastic frangible bullets are fired at specially armored and equipped P-63s so that gunners in bombing planes may improve their marksmanship by shooting at "live" targets. With gunners blazing away at them—just as they would against attacking enemy fighters—pilots of these Kingcobras made daring passes from every angle. When bullets hit the plane's armor-plated skin, the plastic pellets splatter harmlessly and a large light in the nose blinks on for two seconds and then off again, like a pinball machine, telling the gunner that his aim has been accurate. Approximately 110 microphone pick-ups located under the dural deflector plates on the fighter transmit electrical impulses for the signal, while an additional automatic recorder in the P-63 cockpit tabulates all hits so each gunner can be radioed his score. The shatterable bullet which makes this superior type of gunnery training possible, represents two years of tests and study by AAFTC, National Defense Research Committee and ATSC engineers, as well as ballistic experts and laboraticians at Michigan, Duke and Princeton universities. The perfected result is a lead-plastic composition bullet molded and baked like a clay marble which is tough enough to withstand the rugged treatment of a machine gun, yet so brittle that it pulverizes upon impact. It can be inserted in a .30 caliber shell casing with a minimum powder charge, and despite a muzzle velocity of 1,360 feet per second, will not puncture a piece of thick glass beyond 200 yards. The first air-to-air firing with these frangible bullets was against an armored A-20 called the "Alclad Nag" in the late spring of 1944 at Fort Myers, Fla. After the test, the pilot reported, "The bullets sounded like rain-drops and did no more damage than water." As a target plane, however, the A-20 was too slow and could not execute high-speed fighter tactics. Use of the P-63 for this purpose seemed indicated, since its thin, bullet-shaped nose had minimum frontal exposure and its engine and cooling ducts afforded built-in protection. ^[[Armor plate - 1,400 lbs of [[?]] ➝]] Armor plate modifications increased its normal weight to 10,000 pounds gross, cut about 50 mph off its top speed and reduced its maneuverability. But at 25,000 feet—the selected firing altitude—the Kingcobra still presented a fast, difficult target. During a recent practice session against new P-63s, hit recorders showed that gunners in a B-17 using standard training sight equipment and flexible .30 caliber guns firing frangible bullets, scored approximately 100 hits during 10 to 12 attacks by the Kingcobras. Our New Aerial Armament More guns, faster shooting, greater sighting accuracy, precision gunlaying and remote turret control are only a few of the elements of greater firepower now packed into the armament of AAF bombing planes and fighters. 75 mm cannon have been converted from hand loading to automatic, some gunnery stations mount four instead of two .50 caliber machine guns, and fighters can carry four extra guns in droppable containers. In addition, rocket-firing devices have been improved, armor protection has been increased, bomb racks, releases and bomb control systems have been redesigned and bomb-sights have been perfected to drop the right number of bombs at the right instant with the right bombing angle on the right target. New electronic devices which permit bombing by precision instrument through overcast have also been developed. And more destructive weapons are on the way. High on the list of armament im- ^[[I shot at this plane from a B-24 waist, upper turret and tail positions. Bill Jones]] [[image - black & photograph of pulverized frangible bullet]] Target plane used for frangible bullet gunnery training. Nose bulb goes on when hits are recorded. At left is slug showing pulverization of composition tip. [[image - black & photograph of target plane "Pin Ball" with tail number 269654]] [[strikethrough]] 48 [[/strikethrough]] AIR FORCE ^[[21]] [[end page]] [[start page]] ^[[945 - Lab Technition]] Cpl. Frazer, William F. 16188785 Cpl. Gullizkson, Milton A. 17118940 Cpl. Irvin, Chester R. 19129246 Cpl. Jojola, Richard C. 38584873 Cpl. Shelly, Daniel A. 32632391 Cpl. Sutherland, Kenneth H. 16186512 Cpl. Urban, Jack C. 33568491 Cpl. Duer, Clarance D. 17200602 Cpl. Johnson, Joseph J. 35473693 Cpl. Corn, Ralph M. 34430692 S/Sgt. Green, Timothy H. 14181735 Sgt. McDonald, Mack H. 14103809 ^[[941 Photographer]] ^[[940 - Aerial Photographer]] ^[[66 66 12 8 152]] Cpl. Adams, Jacob D. 32954806 Sgt. Adams, John B. 35618305 Cpl. Aliferis, Theodor 32823197 Cpl. Anderson, Gilbert M. 19205038 Cpl. Barnes, Edgar G. 38514149 Cpl. Brenner, Albert 2228584 Cpl. Dalzell, Warren H. 11113710 Sgt. Hale, Frank L. 39123007 Cpl. Hansen, Robert C. 39707147 Cpl. Harrigan, Edward D. 33595894 Cpl. Hughes, Eugene W. 39588064 Cpl. Icard, Paul F. 35843106 Cpl. Jensen, Robert 19209995 Pvt. Krieger, Paul B 18047075 Cpl. Salantri, Frank L. 33473063 Cpl. Turner, Max F. 17133999 S/Sgt. Jeers, William R. 13127453 S/Sgt. Mickelwright, John 32365214 Sgt. Rusche, Charles B. 35479678 S/Sgt. Wessman, Magnus 32140655 [[underlined]] B-24 (939) [[/underlined]] ^[[939 Aerial Photographer-Gunner]] Cpl. Culbertson, Homer O. 35598993 Cpl. Dupar, Robert W. 19195496 ^[[→]] [[underlined]] Cpl. Jones, William E. [[/underlined]] ^[[←]] [[underlined]] 35903979 [[/underlined]] ^[[←]] Cpl. Larkin, William G. 17182387 Cpl. Leonardis, William 42106637 Cpl. Pepchinski, Leon J. 12229823 Cpl. Semander, Zane E. 18228125 Cpl. Sugarman, George 12100786 Cpl. Sweeney, Joseph G. 12201162 Cpl. Tylke, John 42147227 P-61 (580) Cpl. Parshe, William A. 35847309 S/Sgt. McChesney, James D. 36216983 Cpl. Cass, Rynex L. 12201201 T/Sgt. Chapman, Roger S. 6391135 Cpl. Cherry, Lynn P. 19207762 Sgt. Currier, James L 33200910 Sgt. Curtis, Max A. 36415281 Cpl. Dargen, Donald F. 37263802 Cpl. Day, William C. 17183802 Cpl. Doskocil, Albert J. 13190389 ^[[23]]
