Fuze Keeping Clock
Encyclopedia
The Fuze Keeping Clock was a simplified version of the Royal Navy's High Angle Control System analogue fire control computer. It first appeared as the FKC Mk1 in destroyers of the 1938 Tribal class
, while later variants were used on sloops, frigates, destroyers, aircraft carriers and several cruisers. The FKC Mk1 was a non-tachymetric
anti-aircraft fire control computer. It could accurately engage targets with a maximum speed of 250 knots (490 km/h).
s (GRU) which gave tachometric capabilities to the system, and radar
which greatly improved ranging and rate keeping accuracy.
Tribal class destroyer (1936)
The Tribal class, or Afridi class, were a class of destroyers built for the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Australian Navy that saw service in World War II...
, while later variants were used on sloops, frigates, destroyers, aircraft carriers and several cruisers. The FKC Mk1 was a non-tachymetric
Tachymetric
A tachymetric anti-aircraft fire control system refers to a method of generating target position, speed, direction, and rate of target range change, by computing these parameters directly from measured data....
anti-aircraft fire control computer. It could accurately engage targets with a maximum speed of 250 knots (490 km/h).
Operation
The FKC received aircraft altitude, range, direction, and speed input information from the Rangefinder-Director, vertical reference information from a Gyro Level Corrector and output to the guns the elevation and deflection data needed to hit the target, along with the correct fuze timing information, so that the shells fired would explode in the vicinity of the target aircraft. Most guns controlled by the FKC had Fuze Setting Pedestals or Fuze Setting Trays where the correct fuze timing was set on a clockwork mechanism within the AA shell warhead.Development
Type 285 radar was an early addition to the FKC system, being fitted on new destroyers from mid 1941 onward, and retrofitted to existing destroyers as time and opportunity permitted. Later variants increased the maximum target speed to 500 knots, and were combined with Gyro Rate UnitGyro Rate Unit
-History:The Royal Navy, after World War I, became increasingly concerned with the threat posed by aerial attack. In 1930 the RN began equipping ships with the High Angle Control System, a non-tachymetric anti-aircraft fire control system, that would compute the gun laying orders and the time fuze...
s (GRU) which gave tachometric capabilities to the system, and radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
which greatly improved ranging and rate keeping accuracy.
