davparlr
Senior Master Sergeant
* Is there a general rule as to which type of gun (machine gun or cannon) would be mounted in a fixed position and which type would be able to swivel? I know a machine gun would have to be able to pivot. Otherwise the pilot would seem to be very limited as to when he could shoot.
Early in WWl, several aircraft were armed with a gunner in front of a pusher (propeller in the rear) who could swivel a machine gun. A Frenchman by the name of Roland Garros (I suspect the same person the French tennis stadium is named after) fixed a forward firing gun on his tractor aircraft (propeller in front), mounted a deflecting steel plate to protect the propeller (which wasn't 100% successful) and soon demonstrated that aiming the aircraft, with shot down Germans, was a superior design. Add to this Anthony Fokkers syncronization gear on the propeller (interrupting the machine gun when the prop is in the way. Which was inspired by Garros aircraft after he shot himself down) on his German Eindecker fighter, and history was made. Since that time, nearly all fighters have had their primary machine gun armament fixed along the centerline of the aircraft. Wing mounted guns were aimed to converge at some selected point or points.