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Thread: Spitfire gun fired after 70 years in peat bog

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  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
    N424AF
    www.o2cricket.com

  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

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    The Ma Deuce (50 Caliber) is so reliable it is still used by our military today!

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