In addition to the existing 88mm anti-aircraft gun we have in game, I would like to see the addition of the M2 90mm anti-aircraft gun at ports, factories and HQ.
The 90mm anti-aircraft gun was one of the finest pieces of artillery fielded by the Allied forces and was designed counter the threat against high flying and fast aircraft. It was also used in the anti-tank role and as coastal artillery to counter the threat of watercraft. It also had better field of fire than the German 88mm gun we currently have in game.
Stats:
Firing Table Muzzle Velocity: 2,700 feet/second
Breech: Semi-automatic
Maximum Rate of Fire: 15 to 25 rounds/minute
Elevation Limits: 0º to 80º (down to -10º on the M2 mounts)
Recoil Type: Hydro-pneumatic
Fire Control Director: M7 or M9
Maximum Effective Slant Range: 11,500 yards
Maximum Effective Horizontal Range: 12,600 yards
Maximum Effective Vertical Range: 11,000 yards
Maximum Effective Fire Control Altitude: 30,000 feet
This picture shows the field of fire the M1/M2 was capable of. The image clearly depicts is the 20º dead arc in the vertical plane and the limiting range of a standard fuze. The limiting range prevented the projectile from detonating too close to the gun and its crew.
In addition to the time fused rounds it normally employed, the M2 was used AP rounds to engage tanks when used in the anti-tank role and also had point detonating rounds for use against ground targets.
This image shows an army M2 crew loading a time fuzed round against a ground target in the Pacific. Time fuses were regularly used against ground emplacements to employ airburst over enemy troop positions.
The M2 differed from the M1 by a single-axel front and rear two-tire bogies, folding platforms and armor shielding for the gun crew. Unlike the M1, the M2 didn't have to be fully emplaced before firing, allowing it to engage both air and ground targets more quickly than the M1 90mm AA gun. The M2 mount also depressed to a -10°, allowing the ninety to wrestle with ground troops, armored vehicles and various water craft when necessary. Like the M1, the M2 incorporated a direct fire sighting system for use against ground targets or watercraft.
We hear how the German 88mm gun struck fear in the hearts of Allied soldiers when employed as field artillery or anti-tank gun, the same can be said of the 90mm striking fear in the Germans when used as field artillery or as an anti-tank gun. The Germans referred to it as "Ratschbum", which was in reference to the sound the guns made when fired at German positions. The high velocity of antiaircraft shells shot from a ninety enabled the initial rounds to arrive over enemy positions with little audible warning. Follow-up rounds were delivered at a rapid tempo, placing accurate fire on surprised hostile troops scrambling for cover. The ninety's high rate of fire easily outpaced the 2 to 6 rounds per minute of a standard field artillery piece. This enabled antiaircraft batteries to place an effective concentration of fire on ground positions, making the guns invaluable for disruptive interdiction on enemy troop movements or in a neutralizing counterbattery role against hostile artillery positions.
Here is a M2 employed at the Battle of the Bulge in the anti-tank role. The 90mm gun was capable of knocking out any German tank.
Here is another M2 being fired "from the wheels' to engage ground targets in Italy.
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