The machine gun is synced to the propeller somehow, otherwise the propeller would be cut to ribbons. How is it synced?
2006-12-19 11:58:16 · 10 answers · asked by Dave 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Synchronized Guns
At the beginning of the war two-seater planes were used. It was the job of the observer to use a revolver, rifle, or hand grenade against the enemy plane. Soon after single-seater planes were invented with machine guns on the front, Roland Garros created deflector plates to allow planes to fire through the propeller. Later, as an addition to these plates, Anthony Fokker and his team began work on a system allowing planes to have forward firing machine guns that were synchronized with the propellers. A cam was placed on the crankshaft of the engine and was in line with each propeller blade. Whenever a blade was at a position where it might be hit by the gun, the cam activated a pushrod that stopped the gun from firing. This device was placed on many German planes. This gave them a big advantage until Allied planes began using them in 1916.
2006-12-19 12:04:18 · answer #1 · answered by Joe S 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
To avoid propelller being destroyed by bullets machine guns was set to fire outside the prop-disk, or they were syncronized.
They were syncronized using a mechanical device....
Imagine a gear solidal to the engine axis (turning at the same speed as the prop), this gear having teeth related to the blades, and these teeth prevented the machine gun from firing while the tooth was in a determined position.
2006-12-19 13:30:19 · answer #2 · answered by sparviero 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you listen to old movies (or even some new ones), i remember the Blue Max, you can hear the stutter of the machine gun as it fired through the props. It wasn't fully automatic and had a slower rythym, if you will. The cams and the gears sound reasonable to me, as they stated above...i just wanted to throw my 2 cents in.
2006-12-19 15:25:34 · answer #3 · answered by Its not me Its u 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There was a chain, driven by a gear on the back of the motor, that allowed the gun's action to be enabled only for a certain arc of the radial rotation of the chain. It was synchronized to the position of the prop.
2006-12-19 12:02:56 · answer #4 · answered by Dorothy and Toto 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I forget if it's the engine propeller shaft or a slight alteration to the gun itself. It was Anthony Fokker's development.
www.howstuffworks.com
Check that under ' synchronized guns '. ( WW1 )
2006-12-19 12:04:58 · answer #5 · answered by vanamont7 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some just used armored blades and took the chance that the pilot would not get hit by a bullet. I think the later ones used a firing mechanism like a howitzer only had blank spots on it where the propeller was.
2006-12-19 12:01:41 · answer #6 · answered by DrRocco 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
there is a little gear the when the prop goes around it stops the mechanism in the gun. the gun needs a part of the prop to work but when it is in front of the gun it doesn't work.
2006-12-19 12:00:36 · answer #7 · answered by Me 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Google this, it was something called an interruptor gear which was activated by a cam on the propellor shaft, the cams were placed so that the gun could not fire when the prop was in front of it.
2006-12-19 12:03:04 · answer #8 · answered by ash 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The guns did not shoot through the propellers.
2006-12-19 12:00:36 · answer #9 · answered by Automation Wizard 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I saw a docum. that said it was not, and that the guns were positioned to not be able to fire through prop, untill some guys figured out that it wouldnt shread the props....untill it eventually did... so for a while they thought it wouldnt shread the props and made the planes to be able to shoot through them.......a lesson learned the hard way....lol
2006-12-19 12:02:05 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋