The Ballistic Computer

Abstract

Under ideal conditions the operators at the tracker of an anti-aircraft gun director should see each shell burst at the plane and on the crosshairs of the telescopes. If the target were flying an unaccelerated straight-line course, and the atmospheric conditions and shell ballistics were as assumed, a series of repeated conjunctions of shell burst and target would be proof that all the complicated circuits of the director were functioning properly, that all constants were correct, and that all adjustments were properly made. Proof of this direct type, however, could be obtained

only under battle conditions, while in testing a new design or type of director it is preferable to test the director alone so that all the other errors are eliminated. To get such proof, a plane would be flown as if on a bombing run, and the director operators would track it in the usual manner.