ISR Audio Tour Part 1

ISR Tour: Sopwith Camel


Listen Later

One Foreign Materiel Exploitation (FME) story during the war involved the synchronized machine gun. French pilot Roland Garros and his mechanic armored his prop with steel plates to enable a machine gun fire through it. He said about one in 10 bullets would ricochet. Garros downed several German aircraft with it before going down behind enemy lines. The Germans tried to copy his design with disastrous results because the French used copper-jacketed bullets and the Germans used steel-jacketed ones that shattered the wedges and the props. Anthony Fokker’s engineers fully realized the idea of the mechanically synchronized machine gun to fire through the prop. They made it work thanks to basic engineering and more dependable German ammunition. The Fokker Scourge ensued, where the Fokker Eindecker fighter wreaked havoc on Allied aircraft for a number of months. The British also developed mechanically synchronized gear, but took a different approach as well. Using the Theory of Sonics developed by Romanian physicist George Constantinescu, they used vibrations transmitted through a mixture of kerosene and oil to outperform mechanical systems. As a bonus, when German engineers tried to copy it they failed, believing it was a simple hydraulic system. The truth remained a secret until after the war.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

ISR Audio Tour Part 1By National Museum of the U.S. Air Force


More shows like ISR Audio Tour Part 1

View all
Air Force Radio News by Defense Media Activity - Air Force

Air Force Radio News

21 Listeners

DoD News Daily by War.gov

DoD News Daily

7 Listeners

The Contracting Experience by Air Force Materiel Command

The Contracting Experience

48 Listeners

Palmetto Guardian by South Carolina National Guard

Palmetto Guardian

7 Listeners

Air Force Handbook 1 by Air Education and Training Command

Air Force Handbook 1

65 Listeners

DIA Connections by Defense Intelligence Agency

DIA Connections

87 Listeners

Inside the Castle by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters

Inside the Castle

33 Listeners

Pathway to Wings Podcast by HQ Air Force Recruiting Service

Pathway to Wings Podcast

11 Listeners

TRADOC Talks by U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command

TRADOC Talks

7 Listeners

Get to Know TRICARE by Defense Health Agency

Get to Know TRICARE

27 Listeners