The Birth of Air Defense SSG Batchan, SGT Dehart, SGT Doran, SGT Laing, SGT Licklider ADA ALC The Birth of Air Defense In a time before air-breathing threats were a concern for any military, the United States focused efforts on artillery and infantry. This all changed once World War I began, on a battlefield dominated by artillery there was a need for Air Defense Artillery. This timeline began around 1907 and included Coastal Artillery Defense to defend the nation. It also includes the United States entering World War I without much antiaircraft experience and utilizing other European nation’s equipment. In order to deal with these new threats the United States created and utilized their own Air Defense equipment. The branch benefited from this period and would eventually use these lessons to improve for future conflicts. The United States Army helped develop Air Defense Artillery, which led to the development of new equipment, techniques, tactics, and procedures that resulted to the Air Defense Artillery we know today. In the year 1907 Artillery Corps separated into Field and Coastal divisions. This was the initial step which led to efforts countering the unforeseen airborne threat that arose during World War I. The Germans, …show more content…
For example, the Patriot missile system is still using ideas and theory involving the munitions to increase the probability of a confirmed kill. During the early years of World War I Air Defenders used high explosive rounds designed for ground targets without much success. Furthermore, leading to the invention of fused airburst rounds that would detonate at the desired altitude to enable the operator to achieve a proximity kill. Advancements included the fused airburst round that utilized a mechanical fuse to trigger detonation, and could be set to detonate on contact to achieve a kinetic kill much like todays PAC 3