A Review of the Literature on Use of Tracer Observation as an Antiaircraft Firing Technique

Abstract

A survey was performed concerning the effectiveness of observing the trajectories of tracer ammunition as a method of adjusting antiaircraft firing. The survey included (a) a review of military reports and journal articles dating from the 1920s, (b) an analysis of relevant psychological research, particularly in the areas of visual perception, information processing, and man-machine dynamics, and (c) informal interviews of military personnel, scientists, and engineers. It was learned the current highly divergent opinions concerning effectiveness of tracer feedback were also held prior to and during World War II. The documents reviewed failed to show any testing in which tracer and non-tracer techniques of firing were compared for hit frequencies or any other comparative measure of effectiveness.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1968
Accession Number
AD0675581

Entities

People

  • E. W. Frederickson
  • Robert D. Baldwin
  • Robert J. Foskett

Organizations

  • George Washington University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Ammunition
  • Antiaircraft Gunnery
  • Applied Psychology
  • Control Systems
  • Engineers
  • Firing Rate
  • Information Processing
  • Machine Guns
  • Military Personnel
  • Munitions
  • Psychology
  • Students
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Three Dimensional
  • Tracer Ammunition
  • Weapon Control

Readers

  • Organizational Psychology.
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.
  • ballistics.