Interesting Fact #9
This may be known to many, but a revelation to others



The pilot having the ability to fire his machine gun forward, without shooting his own propeller

off, wasn't always the case. Fly our Bristol Scout, with the angled Lewis Gun. Or the Nieuport

11, with the Lewis on the top wing, not the easiest to reload.

A French pilot in 1915 name of Roland Garros, fitted heavy steel deflector wedges on his

propeller where the bullet might contact, then fired his Hotchkis machine gun, at the surprized

Germans. He scored 5 Victories, before he was shot down and was captured before he

could burn his ship. Then his secret was known by both sides.

The next advancement was by the Germans, the interrupter gear, which mechanically stopped

the gun from firing when the propeller was in the way.

The Fokker EIII was a very poor aircraft, it was slow, a terrible climber, not very agile, it was

a wing warper, hard to fly. But it had an interrupter gear, which made it a deadly weapon

But in war, aircraft get shot-down, it was a secret no-longer

And the race was on
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