In various pics of WWII a/c (mostly Brit I think) I see colored squares over the wing gun ports. Sometimes they're red, sometimes yellow, and I think I vaguely remember one with green. I was told once that means "guns loaded", which is feasible, but why different colors? Shouldn't there be a standard color or is it simply a matter of availabilty, and any tape or covering meant the guns were loaded, so don't squeeze the trigger?
When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return. --Leonardo Da Vinci
Whatever was available to the mechanics was used to cover the ends of the barrels to keep out the charming English weather. They were also used in most theatres, from the desert in North Africa to the jungle conditions in the Pacific.
Water, rain, sleet, snow all make gun barrels rust. Dust, sand and dirt also tend to cause lots of wear problems. Guns need to be cleaned often to maintain them in good working order. The tape was sometimes canvas squares glued in place, to keep the guns clean on the ground and in the air prior to being used. Think of how much dust would be in the air when a squadron scrambled off a dirt strip!
The first round would rip a suitable hole for the rest to follow. Maybe this affected to flight path of the first round, but most machine guns of the day fired about 500 rounds per minute, so even a short burst would let a few fly.......
Many guns experience jamming problems and with a bit of age and wear will jam more often. Keeping them clean helps to reduce the problem and plenty of oil and elbow grease is used to keep everything clean. Typical early Spitfires had 8 guns and the mechanics would have had a run of work keeping them running. Similar patches were used by most countries in WW2 and since.
Thank's Peter for explaining something that I had always wondered about. In many WWII films featuring combat aircraft -- especially British -- in a dogfight, you see these shots focused on the machine guns .. and the gunports always looked ragged with bits of fluff around -- not very neat looking. Now I understand.
As Bushy states about the weather, he's quite right. Doped fabric was the thing. It also kept any bouncing stones or lumps of grass from getting stuck down there.
I wonder if there are any stories or pictures of rounds piling up behind each other down a barrel ?
I knew someone who serviced Spitfires in Italy during WWII, and he told me ground crews would use service-issue condoms to cover the gun/cannon barrels.
barrels to keep out the charming English weather. They were also used in most theatres, from the desert in North Africa to the jungle conditions in the Pacific.>>
Thank you sir--This isn't even close to what I was told and assumed, but it makes more sense, and something I hadn't even considered.
When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return. --Leonardo Da Vinci
I wish I could ask my Dad about this one. He serviced B-24s out of Foggia '44-45. On a play on his name and another certain "attribute" the Italian fellas in the unit nicknamed him "Stugatz". He liked that. After they told him what the "gatz" stood for he liked it even more. He was proud to tell that story... repeatedly.
I wonder how many 20mms he donated muzzle covers to. ;-)
WmB
To reply, get the HECK out of there snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net
Taping over gun ports was also common in the pacific theater to keep dust and sand out of the browning gun barrels to keep them from jamming, which, if you ever read any WWII navy or marine corps flyers' books, were notorious for jamming without any help. Sometimes, they would add an "extra" port, to fool japanese pilots into thinking they had four .50 caliber guns in each wing instead of three.
On British fighters with 'internal' machine guns - i.e. where the barrel did not protrude beyond the contours of the wing - the gunports were covered over with a patch of linen - same stuff as used on the elevators and ailerons.
The red colour probably came from the dope used to tighten the fabric- sort of red oxide dope ?
On fighters with gun barrels that extended outside the wings - such as the cannon-armed Spits, Typhoon, Tempest etc, the cannon barrels were often covered with a condom.
Probably a bit of both. With no disrespect to the pilot concerned (or any still around) old mens' memories tend to wander a bit, especially when discussing their glory days.
One other point seldom modelled - I have (somewhere) an article written by an RAF armourer who states that they often pasted on bits of newspaper over the cartridge ejection ports to prevent them getting blocked by dirt or grass. He was referring to Spitfires during the BoB, which were operating out of grass strips, so the comment makes sense to me. Remember, the armourer's job is to make sure the guns will fire when the pilot presses the tit, so anything to help the job along...
The Lancaster crews (and many others!) often used condoms as a seal around the microphone for the intercom. They were much more conmfortable in the cold at altitude and worked much better than the original equipment!
Guess they heard a few jokes about it over the years!
Obviously, the tape was there to hold the upper and lower wing halves together until the glue was dry. Due to the wartime rubber shortage, rubber bands were in short supply and Zona clamps had not yet been invented. Curt
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