WW1 aircraft

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That Lewis gun may be within reach of the gunner. The pilot sits almost under the trailing edge of the wing, and the gunner only had a waist strap (if anything) so was a lot more mobile.
 
I wonder how the pilot managed that rear firing Lewis on the B.E.12 ?
It had to be pretty hard to aim looking over your shoulder .
 
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Yep, it's also worth considering that the early (pre-interruptor gear mounted scouts) had the mount (as in the (Louis) Strange mount) as a means of not shooting off your own propeller, whereas in the Brisfit, 2F.1 Ship's Camel and S.E.5a it was more of a supplement to existing forward firing armament and meant that the pilot could fire at an aircraft above. Louis Strange recounted an episode whilst flying a Martinsyde S.1 where he had to hang on for dear life by the Lewis gun case as the aircraft inverted itself. Here's a wee link to a model of the episode in question:

Martinsyde S.1, Inverted, with Louis Strange by reducedAircraftFactory on Shapeways

Nice pics of B.E family too, Wojtek.
 
tyrodtom said:
I wonder how the pilot managed that rear firing Lewis on the B.E.12 ?
It had to be pretty hard to aim looking over your shoulder .
Click to expand...

I was curious too and did a little research, that was the only pic I could find of the gun mounted like that and I don't see a rear view mirror. Perhaps it is mounted on a swivel that allowed the gun to be moved forwards and left their for storage.
 
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