The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-05-29
BROWNING GUN
STANDS THE TEST
Perfect Functioning Report.
ed in the Trial Under
Severe Conditions
HEAVY TYPE WILL
BE ONE SELECTED
Proves Value for Firing Between Re-
volving Blades of the Propeller
Several Thousand of Marlin Aircraft
Guns Manufactured.

esf F. ss
WASHINGTON. May 29.-Announce-
ment is made by the war department
that the Browning machine gun had |
successfully undergone a test to deter
mine its value for use with aircraft. |
The statement is made that the gun
functioned perfectly and that the model
of the weapon to be used with aircraft
will be the heavy type with the outer
jacket removed.
sThis is one of the three types of
machine guns, said the official an
nouncement, with which the rate of
fire can be so synchronized with the
revolutions of the propeller of tractor
airplane that the gun can be fired b,
the pilot of combat plane through The
revolving blades Firing in that fash
ion, it is necessary to aim the machine
gun by steering the plane directly at
the target The direction of the plane
gives direction to the fire and the plot
can fire the machine gun while con-
trolling the plane
sAirplane propellers revolve at from
500 to 1000 revolutions per minute
The machine gun is connected with the
airplane engine by mechanical or hv-
draulic device, and imnulses from the
crank shaft are transmitted to the ma
chine gun The rate of fire of the ma
| chine gun is constant, and its fire ia
| synchronized with the revolving pro-
peller blades by wasting certain
percentage of the impulses it receives
from the airplane engine and by hav-
ing the remaining impulses trip or pull
the trigger so that the gun fires just at
the fraction of the second when the
propeller blades are clear Of the line of
fire. The pilot operates the gun by
means of lever which controls the
circuit and allows the Impulses to TRIP
the trigger.
| 1.-The test given the Browning gun
was severe. A gun was mounted on the
frame of an American combat plane
and connected with the airplane en-
CINE. The test was conducted on the
ground and in place of the propeller
a metal disc was attached to cranl
shaft. The Browning gun was then re
CURED to register hits on the meta
disc as it revolved at varying speed
from 400 to 1000 revolutions per min
ute. The slightest hang fires or de
lay in action on the part of the gun
, would have been shown by the failur
J of the bullets to hit precisely on tn
snot on the disc representing the centr
of the zone of fire. The gun functione,
| perfectly.
J Besides the Browning, the Unite,
t States viii also employ the Marlin air
. craft gun as a synehronized weapon
Several thousand of them have bee
t manufactured and the gun is in guam
1 tity production.
"The British and French use til
/ Vickers as a synehronized machine CUR
u 1.-THE Lewis aircraft machine gun i
ased by the British, French and Amer
! can forces, but for different purpos,
= In two seated combat plane fixe
machine guns are mounted forward I
be operated by the pilot and fexibl
!; guns are mounted to be operated by til
:. observer in the rear seat of the plan
= The observer operates Lewis guns o
:, flexible mounts, firing to right or lei
r of the plane.
5, cit is of vital Importance to hay
20 absolute reliability of function in
y synehronized machine gun on tractt
airplanes. Delays in fire or malfun
ID tions due. to faulty construction or in
Of perfect ammunition cause bullets
v strike the propeller blades. As man
re as fifteen bullets have been known
strike propeller blade without eau
ing an airplane to fall, but the dal
ger of such occurrences is neverthele
obvious. For that reason every effort
- made to provide the most perfect tyl
~ of weapon for this work. Only special
IL selected ammunition is used