EARLY AIRCRAFT ARMAMENT — The Aeroplane and the Gun up to 1918
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Characteristics
| ISBN-10 | 0-85368-990-3 |
| Book cover finish(es) | Hardcover ( round back binding ) with a dust jacket |
| Condition | Like NEW |
| Author(s) | Harry Woodman |
| Publisher | Arms & Armour Press Ltd. |
| Number of pages | 254 |
| Published date | 1989 |
| Language(s) | English |
| Size | 19.5 x 25 x 2 cm |
Description
When war broke out in 1914, pilots took to the skies armed only with personal sidearms, rifles, or carbines. Soon, however, armament manufacturers and the respective air corps engineers were working flat out to develop effective machine-gun systems that could be installed on aircraft and made to work efficiently. In the meantime, dozens of improvisations saw active service, their successes or disasters affecting the progress of each country’s advances as they strove for aerial superiority above the battlefields of Europe.
Many professional military men had seen the necessity for armed aircraft prior to hostilities in 1914, but the conservatism of the military establishment ensured that this work did not progress with official backing. Those countries which, thanks to the foresight of certain individuals, were furthest ahead were best placed to capitalize when fortunes changed for the concept of armed aviation. It was only once these steps were begun that the famous dogfights and the resultant aces could become reality.
Harry Woodman has examined such developments in all the leading European nations of the period—Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, and Austro-Hungary—as well as in the United States. He covers an enormous range of armaments including those of Lewis, Vickers, Madsen, Colt, Browning, Bergmann, Spandau, Marlin, Villa Perosa, the Russian Maxim, and many more.
Also detailed are the technological developments undertaken in those few brief years, including gun mountings, various forms of ammunition, gunsights, the use of big guns, and, naturally, the frantic search for crucial synchronization gears. There is no better-informed treatment than this available; the book includes more than 200 contemporary photographs and some 70 superb line drawings.
