Скачать или смотреть 1945: Japan Dismayed by U.S. Proximity-Fuze (VT) Shells That Changed Naval Battles

1945, Okinawa, Yamato, Japan, U.S. Navy, VT proximity fuze, Variable Time fuse, radar shells, 5-inch AA, Johns Hopkins APL, Merle Tuve, Guadalcanal, radar picket, kamikaze, Doppler, vacuum tubes.
The weapon that turned near-misses into lethal airbursts: America’s VT (Variable Time) proximity fuze. In this cinematic micro-history, we follow Yamato’s last sortie toward Okinawa and the U.S. destroyers whose 5-inch guns fired shells with miniaturized radar “brains.” Born from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory under Merle Tuve and protected by extreme secrecy, the fuze armed in flight, transmitted at ~180 MHz, read Doppler shifts, and detonated at optimum fragment distance—automating the split-second judgment of anti-aircraft gunnery. First proven off Guadalcanal, mass-produced by Kodak/Sylvania/Bell Labs supply chains, and fielded across radar-picket screens during the Okinawa campaign, VT fire multiplied hit-probability 3–5×, safeguarding U.S. carriers against kamikaze waves. Japanese pilots reported “intelligent flak” that anticipated maneuvers; engineers, short on copper, precision tubes, and intact factories, could not replicate the ecosystem behind it. Beyond tactics, VT marked a philosophical shift: from warfare as human art to engineered certainty—foreshadowing guided missiles and modern air defense. This film blends cockpit and CIC vignettes with the math, machines, and moral cost of electronic precision.