instruments

These are Japanese instruments. From left to right: koto (zither), kokyu (bowed), shamisen (plucked). The large plectrum used to play the shamisen is called the bachi, which is hit against the skin of the instrument, giving the shamisen a very percussive attack.

Located at Fort Lytton, this was one of several four-gun anti-aircraft positions situated along the Brisbane River, a system designed to monitor and prevent aircraft entering Brisbane airspace during WWII by using the river as a navigational aid. They also protected Allied facilities located along the river. These defensive positions were located at Colmslie/Lytton, Victoria Park, Balmoral, Pinkenba, Hendra, Hemmant, Amberley and Archerfield. The Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery had standard four-gun emplacements, with magazines, a central control room, and a gun crew of 10-12 men. The Australian Women’s Army Service were involved in operating instruments such as range finding and spotting, but generally not in the firing of the guns. By 1944, when the perceived threat from Japanese invasion had decreased, personnel on the battery was limited to maintenance and training purposes. The Lytton HAA was disbanded in January 1945, and all Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery sites in Brisbane were disarmed at the end of the war. Source: mappingbrisbanehistory.com.au/history-location/6-385th-au...

Women In Ack-Ack Units Here By PAUL GOLDENSTEDT. Military Commentator MEMBERS of the A.W.A.S. are now being trained in Queensland for service in anti-aircraft units. Hundreds more girls are required to serve in this branch. The girls are being trained to use the delicate instruments associated with anti-aircraft gunnery. In other commands, women have proved particularly competent in this duty. Many commanding officers claim that they are defter with their fingers and possess greater powers of concentration than men. Business people will appreciate that women are more efficient switch attendants than males; this has also proved to be so in the Army signal services. Show Aptitude A small Queensland detachment of the A.W.A.S. is undergoing preliminary training in the use of the predictor, one of the most complicated anti-aircraft instruments. It has revolutionized anti-aircraft defense with the accuracy of its calculations. Normally it takes three months to drain a soldier to use it efficiently. Women selected for this branch are given special aptitude tests and have displayed extraordinary adaptability to the work. They come from all walks of life. There are country girls, shop girls, domestics, milliners, and typists, who know as much about the identification of enemy aircraft and the delicate range-finding instruments as the soldier next to them. A special appeal for recruits for this work is now being made. Those who enlist in recruiting depots should specify that they wish to be drafted to anti-aircraft defense. Source: Courier Mail, 18 August 1942 trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50127185?browse=ndp%3A...

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