Correct me if I'm wrong. Every type of aircraft( Or am I thinking of bombers?) in the Lufftwafe had a Gunner either at the back shooting with a Machine gun from the back of the plane or at other sides. I saw at the movie "Battle of Britain" where Germans in their planes used a system like that. Were MG's used in the planes or some other type of gun? Yes the US used the Browning but what about Germany. As you can see below of a German fighter bomber. There are two glass frame windows. Ofcourse the Pilot is above. But notice that there is another window frame at the below front head of the plane and a gun sticked outside the window. And theres even another one at the point above behind the pilot one. In the movie I saw it is...even under the plane where the gunner stays. Normally what guns did they used from their planes?
as far as I know they fired MG38's and no doubt MG42's later on. These would be either belt or large drum fed. I am not aware the Germans had the equivalent of the .30 or .50 that the US used so much Any know what the Brits used as the Bren was no good and the vickers presumably too bulky and fidly FNG
The standard Luftwaffe MG for flexible mounting in the early part of WW2 was the Rheinmetall-Borsig MG 15. This used a 75-round saddle drum. Later in the war it was replaced by two other MGs: the 7.92mm MG 81 (a very small and light gun which was often mounted as a twin gun: the MG 81Z), and the 13mm MG 131. Some use was made of 20mm MG-FF cannon, in particular flexibly mounted in the nose of some Ju 88 planes.
why use a gun different to the MG34 which I believe chambers the same or close to the same round? The two look also very similar. FNG
The Army chose the MG 34, the Luftwaffe the MG 15. They were separate organisations and made their own decisions. The MG 34 had certain things the MG 15 didn't need, such as a quick-change barrel and selective fire, and it was also normally belt-fed (although a magazine could be used) whereas the MG 15 was only magazine-fed. Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion forum
Not a lot, no. They were both chambered for the standard 7.92x57 military rifle/MG cartridge, although aircraft guns generally used more specialised ammunition types. The MG 15 fired slightly faster at 1,000 rpm rather than 900 rpm. Of course, they differed in "furniture" details as well: the MG 34 had a shoulder stock, a bipod, and different sights. Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion forum
The RAF used the Vikers 'K' gun (an air-cooled Vickers) the Lewis gun (air cooled but without the huge jacket) and the Browning.
FNG asked what weapons toe brits used... So when the MG-42 became more wide spread did the airforce continue to use the MG-15 or did they switch?
I've already answered that in my first post in this thread: "Later in the war it was replaced by two other MGs: the 7.92mm MG 81 (a very small and light gun which was often mounted as a twin gun: the MG 81Z), and the 13mm MG 131." The MG 42 was never issued for aircraft use. Why should it be? The MG 81 was smaller, lighter and faster-firing (1,600 rpm). Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion forum
iirc rudels tail gunner was a former dentist (doc holliday?) who was said to be a excelent shot and absolutely devoid of fear ,i guess he had better be ,rideing with rudel ...im not sure if the gunner survived the war ,anyone ?
I think Rudel went through more than one back-seat gunner in the course of the war. I'm thinking "three" off the top of my head. He was shot-up and down multiple times. Lost a leg too. Tim
Man linked to this website in a post on the "Most Decorated Soldiers" thread ( http://www.fun-online.sk/forum/viewtopi ... c&start=20 ): http://members.aol.com/ab763/rudel.htm
isnt it ironic how rudel lost his long time freind and fearless gunner not in the epic comats they faced in the air but on the ground while trying to rescue another trapped stuka crew .rudel must have been really exhasted and unable to move if he had to watch helpless while hentschell drowned only a few feet from shore .he no doubt suffered many nightmares from his ordeal that day but i guess he never applied for post traumatic stress syndrome disability pay from the veterans administration .
