| Original caption: “African natives prepare for air attack. Guarding against possible enemy attacks in Africa, Guarding against possible enemy air attacks, British troops are training African natives in anti-aircraft units. The instructors, veterans of the Battle of Britain, have found the natives apt students and cool under fire. An African unit is shown loading one of the 3.7 millimeter [sic] ack-ack guns under the supervision of British non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers.” Guarding against possible enemy attacks in Africa, crack veterans of the Battle of Britain are instructing African natives in anti-aircraft units in the use of the Quick Firing 3.7 inch (94 millimeter) anti-aircraft gun. This gun was Britain’s primary heavy anti-aircraft gun during World War II. New African recruits listened attentively as their instructor, a British artilleryman, 1st explained the operation of a radio range finder. Officers in the command post kept their eyes on the target as the gun immediately ahead of them fired. The command post is referred to as the “Brain Trust” by the native gunners. A British non-commissioned officer awaited the signal to fire as the natives use an Allied plane as practice target. With the plane as the target, the natives receive actual combat practice by firing directly at the plane rather than ahead of it. The pattern of shell bursts behind the plane is easily scored in this manner without the use of a sleeve target. The Quick Firing 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun was manufactured in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. The United Kingdom Royal Army was slow to use it in the direct fire or anti-tank role, as the Nazi Germans did with their 88 (3.46 inch) millimeter Flak 18/36/37/41, which shredded Allied tanks starting in North Africa in 1941. Once the Quick Firing 3.7-inch gun was employed in direct fire, its 45,000 foot (13 kilometer) range proved every bit as deadly as the German weapons. This photo, part of a series of 5 images, was circulated in the African American press in April 1943. Original caption: “African natives prepare for air attack. Guarding against possible enemy attacks in Africa, Guarding against possible enemy air attacks, British troops are training African natives in anti-aircraft units. The instructors, veterans of the Battle of Britain, have found the natives apt students and cool under fire. An African unit is shown loading one of the 3.7 millimeter [sic] ack-ack guns under the supervision of British non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers.” Guarding against possible enemy attacks in Africa, crack veterans of the Battle of Britain are instructing African natives in anti-aircraft units in the use of the Quick Firing 3.7 inch (94 millimeter) anti-aircraft gun. This gun was Britain’s primary heavy anti-aircraft gun during World War II. New African recruits listened attentively as their instructor, a British artilleryman, 1st explained the operation of a radio range finder. Officers in the command post kept their eyes on the target as the gun immediately ahead of them fired. The command post is referred to as the “Brain Trust” by the native gunners. A British non-commissioned officer awaited the signal to fire as the natives use an Allied plane as practice target. With the plane as the target, the natives receive actual combat practice by firing directly at the plane rather than ahead of it. The pattern of shell bursts behind the plane is easily scored in this manner without the use of a sleeve target. The Quick Firing 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun was manufactured in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. The United Kingdom Royal Army was slow to use it in the direct fire or anti-tank role, as the Nazi Germans did with their 88 (3.46 inch) millimeter Flak 18/36/37/41, which shredded Allied tanks starting in North Africa in 1941. Once the Quick Firing 3.7-inch gun was employed in direct fire, its 45,000 foot (13 kilometer) range proved every bit as deadly as the German weapons. This photo, part of a series of 5 images, was circulated in the African American press in April 1943. Original caption: “African natives prepare for air attack. Guarding against possible enemy attacks in Africa, Guarding against possible enemy air attacks, British troops are training African natives in anti-aircraft units. The instructors, veterans of the Battle of Britain, have found the natives apt students and cool under fire. An African unit is shown loading one of the 3.7 millimeter [sic] ack-ack guns under the supervision of British non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers.” Guarding against possible enemy attacks in Africa, crack veterans of the Battle of Britain are instructing African natives in anti-aircraft units in the use of the Quick Firing 3.7 inch (94 millimeter) anti-aircraft gun. This gun was Britain’s primary heavy anti-aircraft gun during World War II. New African recruits listened attentively as their instructor, a British artilleryman, 1st explained the operation of a radio range finder. Officers in the command post kept their eyes on the target as the gun immediately ahead of them fired. The command post is referred to as the “Brain Trust” by the native gunners. A British non-commissioned officer awaited the signal to fire as the natives use an Allied plane as practice target. With the plane as the target, the natives receive actual combat practice by firing directly at the plane rather than ahead of it. The pattern of shell bursts behind the plane is easily scored in this manner without the use of a sleeve target. The Quick Firing 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun was manufactured in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. The United Kingdom Royal Army was slow to use it in the direct fire or anti-tank role, as the Nazi Germans did with their 88 (3.46 inch) millimeter Flak 18/36/37/41, which shredded Allied tanks starting in North Africa in 1941. Once the Quick Firing 3.7-inch gun was employed in direct fire, its 45,000 foot (13 kilometer) range proved every bit as deadly as the German weapons. This photo, part of a series of 5 images, was circulated in the African American press in April 1943. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0684.jpg |
| Image Size | 840.81 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2372 x 2933 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 1, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | |
| Country | Africa |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NLR-PHOCO-A-65334B |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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