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Thread: Spitfire gun fired after 70 years in peat bog

  1. #1
    Adam Smith's Avatar
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    Spitfire gun fired after 70 years in peat bog


  2. #2

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    Wonder if a modern minigun or AMRAAM could do that!

  3. #3
    Chad Jensen's Avatar
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    Had to watch that a few times...wow.
    Chad Jensen
    EAA #755575

  4. #4

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    I think it was probably well oiled in service, then buried in the mud away from air so that it didnt rust. In service the .303 Brownings were reliable and had a good rate of fire, and light weight. They shoot a small bullet though, The were more reliable than the U S 50 cal or the British 20mm cannon which packs a lot of hitting power but of course a heaveir gun. Ive shot a 30 cal on a half track, noisy so that I didnt try the 20 mm.

  5. #5
    Mayhemxpc's Avatar
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    More reliable than an M2 machine Gun? Although I never fired a Browning .303, the Ma Duece (designed by the same guy) was the most reliable automatic weapon I ever had the occasion to use. It is so reliable that it is still a principal weapon of the US armed forces almost 100 years after its introduction and the secondary weapon on our main battle tanks today. If the 303 is even more reliable it must have been flawless.
    Chris Mayer
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  6. #6

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    Chris Mayer, The article is about guns in airplanes, not tanks. They dug up the remains of an airplane, not a tank. Did you look at the story above? As for reliability of guns in fighter planes, I believe the Browning .303 was more reliable than an American 50 cal. The P-51 had problems with its guns jamming initially, I think they added heat and may have turned the guns on the silde. I dont know of any such problem with the Brownings 303s though they did have jamming problems in the early 20 mm cannon. Note that tanks dont operate, for the most part at high altitude. And as for a the the 50 call being a princpal weapon today in tanks, it is not used in fighters today as far as I know, may be in copters, but again copters dont have a 43,000 ft ceiling.
    I think the guns dug up with Glacier Girl, 50s? did fire.
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 08-05-2017 at 06:50 PM.

  7. #7
    Mayhemxpc's Avatar
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    Bill Greenwood, I was also talking about machine guns. I only mentioned tanks insofar as to say that the M2 was so reliable that it is still in service today. The .303 Browning and the M2 both have the same operating system, both being developed from the Browning M1917 machine gun. The .303 had some specific modifications done to it for use in aircraft by FN in Belgium. This may have provided some improved performance over the M2 when mounted in aircraf at high altitude. I am not sure about that, however, as the USAF seemed to move from .30 Browning to .50 as fast as production allowed and kept the M2 as primary aircraft armament until replaced by 20mm cannon.

    further, if you read my pos, I was not disparaging the 303. Rather I said that given what I know of the M2, if the 303 was more reliable than the M2 then it must have been a truly amazing gun.
    Last edited by Mayhemxpc; 08-06-2017 at 07:50 PM.
    Chris Mayer
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    The Ma Deuce (50 Caliber) is so reliable it is still used by our military today!

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Yellowhammer View Post
    The Ma Deuce (50 Caliber) is so reliable it is still used by our military today!
    Yellowhammer - Might you be trying for a necroposting award? Just wunderin' - lol - for the record, there isn't one. The action is usually reserved for noobs or trolls.

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