From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
The development and installation of 40 mm and .5' guns for aircraft.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 176\1\ img132 | |
| Date | 15th January 1941 | |
| - 2 - Cont'd.{John DeLooze - Company Secretary} 3. 40 mm. GUN. (a) Installation. Air Commodore Huskinson expressed the opinion that the 40 mm., having reached such an advanced stage of development, should immediately be installed in a Beaufighter and tried in the air. It was therefore agreed that this experiment should go forward and Ve. said that he expected to have two guns ready by the middle of February. The installation has already been looked into and it was not anticipated that there would be any difficulty in finishing off this side of the job. There is a machine at Hucknall which, at present, tests on gun heating are being tried out on, and the same system can be used for the 40 mm. (b) Ammunition. It was pointed out that some special ammunition had been designed for the 40 mm. aircraft gun, but it was not known whether it had been produced. Air Commodore Huskinson agreed to look into the matter, and also to endeavour to obtain 1,000 rounds of practice ammunition of the Navy pom-pom, Mk.{R. E. B. Meade-King} VIII. type for magazine development. (c) Contracts. Air Commodore Huskinson provisionally agreed to produce a contract for development of a magazine and the installation of the two 40 mm. guns in the Beaufighter. 4. .5" BROWNING. Some discussion took place as to the armour piercing qualities of the .5" American ammunition. It was agreed that, when Adams returned from the U.S.A., Ve. will discuss some tests that have been made, with him and the experts who are carrying on the work. In the meantime, development work on the .5" will continue as it was considered invaluable as a means of learning how to make an automatic gun. - Continued - | ||