FIGHTING IN THE AIR.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 62, 16 March 1915, Page 4

FIGHTING IN THE AIR.

A. London journal gives an interesting Tiol« regarding n new aeroplane gun.

It is stated on extremely good authority that a gun has at lust been designed which can be used with remarkable accuracy from an aeroplane travelling at high speed. Hitherto it has been regarded as almost impossible for an airman so to judge both speed and distance as to enable him to fire a weapon during flight with any degree of precision. The new weapon, it is said, has provided a means whereby the task is made simple. A certain Government has taken up the invention, and has already developed it considerably by continued experimental work. During the original tests, it was . found that a target measuring Oft by 45ft could be hit 45 times out of 50 shots, fired from a machine gun flying 50 miles per hour. The marksman afterwards stated that he could no doubt have hit with the full 50 shots, but that he used live on an adjacent sheet of water before aiming at the target, in order to get his range. In its present form, the gun is capable of firing no fewer than 750 shots per minute, ft weighs about 231 b, and there is a complete absence of flame or recoil. It takes but four seconds to discharge a magazine of 50 cratridges, and two seconds to fix in place a fresh clip. An ingenious arrangement is provided to prevent the gun becoming overheated.