Sweden develops the Bofors for a Baltic defense problem

Sweden already operated the pom-pom but wanted a weapon better suited to small Baltic forces facing Soviet twin-engined aircraft. Without a large fleet formation or dependable fighter screen, the Swedish Navy valued fire that could influence an attacker's decisions farther from the ship. Bofors initially doubted that the small naval order justified development, so Swedish naval support was joined by army funding. The weapon finished its first development phase in 1930, went through naval trials in 1932, and continued to change before the model associated with 1936 service. That roughly eight-year process contrasts with the pom-pom's wartime development in about a year. Prolonged peacetime refinement produced a superb weapon suited to a different requirement from the older system.