World War I aircraft guns

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Warplane Weapons Discussion Board
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Subject: World War I aircraft guns
Jerry W. Loper 11/28/2006 9:18:25 AM

I've read that throughout part of World War I, German scouts supposedly had an advantage in firepower over Allied scouts because most German scouts were armed with two machine guns, while most Allied scouts (early on at least) had only one. Then, a few years ago, I read a statement from a German ex-flyer that German machine guns had a lower cyclic rate of fire, implying that the German edge in firepower was not so great. So, all in all, how well were German and Allied scouts armed, in comparison to each other?

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Heorot 11/28/2006 4:46:41 PM

Actually, the German Parabellum LMG 14 fitted to German aircraft had a cyclic rate of 650 rpm against the allied Vickers mg with a cyclic rate of 450 rpm and Lewis MG with a cyclic rate of 550 rpm. However, the Germans invented the synchronisation gear which was a great advantage to the Germans until the allies found out how to do it too.

As for how many guns were fitted, that was limited to the ability to fit them and the performance of the aircraft. By 1917, all proper fighters on both sides were fitting twin mounts. Really, superiority was dependent on the airframe design.

This is a good page to see the progression timeline:

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Heorot 11/28/2006 4:49:41 PM

Damn this site and it c0cked up method of screwing up likns. heres the link in text.

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