[Billfish]

Explosive Trees (Enemy Aircraft flys within 50 meters they go off like a bomb)

wtf? really? do these occur naturally in your part of the world? hock:

After the attacks beginning mid August 43 upon the Wewak complex of bases and all others continuing on through mid 44, the Japanese realized after the almost daily attacks that the 5th Airforce was utilizing a new weapon though one that did not scare them as much as the heavies on the whole yet was clearly more precise and efficient.....The Strafers in the form of A-20s and B-25's.

Though having numerous spotters and listening posts, rather crude and ineffective radar, and after a short while even able to prepare for the attacks as one officer put it "like clockwork the enemy attacking the same time each day", this new threat they had little to no defense against.

Heavies they had a fair chance. Have patrols waiting, listen, kick on the search-lights and hammer them with flak like the allies had not seen in the Pacific up to that date, then take cover before the bombs hit and hopefully get another shot at them once having passed........In contrast though B-25's are outrageously loud, the terrain to some degree masked the noise so direction as well as visual sightings. So the best they could hope for were fighters spotting the enemy though usually tied up with allied fighters, and simply due to what it takes to swing an anti-aircraft gun for the most part had to simply use light machine guns during the pass which was obviously risky. In the end, the strafers flying so low most flak guns or even light rapid fire cannon were worthless either unable to arm so close, swing fast enough, or get more then a few if light, or 1-2 rounds out if heavy all under direct fire..........If lucky they'd get to make shots IF, if the strafers turned out to sea.

To that end, two methods were devised for trying to knock them down. The first being air to air bombs of clustered phosphorous munitions......The second and much more practical was to set/attach in the tree tops at the ends of the strips yet more so on the ridges, explosives (some phosphorous and some HE with no doubt shrapnel) wherein upon the commencement of the attack those assigned would rush to their designated points and wait.......As a plane would pass over low enough to the tree, they would manually (no doubt electrically from a distance) set off the explosives......The ultimate effectiveness debated.

So not your part of the world I guess...........I live where if there is a will there is a way, not just cute comments.

K2