BOFORS WALKAROUND

We were at Solent Overlord years ago when we caught sight of this Bofors anti-aircraft gun. Although it was tricky to get some clear shots, we photographed the gun for Scale War Machines.

The Bofors is a pretty ubiquitous weapon system. It was used by both Allied forces & the Axis powers alike. In fact, it is one of the longest-running artillery sagas in history – the gun still being used to this day.

The Swedish Bofors company first perfected the design for a rapid-fire 40mm anti-aircraft artillery piece. First introduced as a naval weapon, the terrestrial gun appeared in 1935. It was then ordered in large numbers by many armies including Poland, Belgium & Norway. Armies & navies alike valued the rate of fire, the range of up to 7000m (absolute maximum) & the sighting system. Firing involved a team feeding four-round clips to the gun.

During World War Two, the British ordered many units & converted the design to suit their own specific needs & production methods. In the end, to improve the design still further, they had to devise their very own sighting system & fire control methods & many additional alterations were made. The Americans too took their own approach & were a major user of the type.

The Canadians, meanwhile, had their own unique variants (seen here though hard to tell the differences). So if you want to model Bronco Models Canadian version (Ref: CB35028) this should be of use. Likewise if you have any other detailed reference shots, submit them to us, so we can start to show all those different variants & the differences between them...