Whether producing roughly 2.4 million rockets a year was justified remains open, but Z Batteries had institutional advantages. Home Guard personnel up to age sixty could crew them, whereas conventional anti-aircraft guns imposed greater physical demands and used younger crews. No. 2 and No. 4 projectors went to North Africa on 3-inch gun trailers, and a No. 4 unit fired its rockets against an Italian infantry attack. The barrage could frighten and disrupt exposed troops in open terrain. Canadian experience helped lead to the Land Mattress surface-to-surface rocket system. The weapon found value through manpower policy and adaptation even while its original air-defence efficiency remained debatable.
Notable Point · 35:32-37:30
Z Batteries used older crews and found a battlefield role
Z Batteries traded enormous rocket consumption for less physically demanding crews and helped inspire a surface-to-surface battlefield weapon.