Wing mounted machine guns
12-28-2005, 01:30 PM
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Wing mounted machine guns
This came up in our flying field discussion this morning (waiting for the fog to clear).
What was the first plane to incorporate wing mounted machine guns? Not the over the top wing installation on WWI fighters, but true in the wing mountings as found on most WWII fighters.
Please indicate source of any information you might have that pins this down, Plane, year, etc.
What was the first plane to incorporate wing mounted machine guns? Not the over the top wing installation on WWI fighters, but true in the wing mountings as found on most WWII fighters.
Please indicate source of any information you might have that pins this down, Plane, year, etc.
12-28-2005, 07:29 PM
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RE: Wing mounted machine guns
Looking through some of my reference books the earliest one I can find with wing mounted guns was the Northrop A 17 which had 4 .30in Brownings.
The A 17 was originally called the XA 13 and first flew in August 1933. The A 17´s with an upgraded power plant were first delivered in August 1935. I am not sure when they incorporated the in-wing guns though.
The A 17 was originally called the XA 13 and first flew in August 1933. The A 17´s with an upgraded power plant were first delivered in August 1935. I am not sure when they incorporated the in-wing guns though.
12-28-2005, 08:06 PM
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RE: Wing mounted machine guns
ORIGINAL: Gringo Volador
The Curtiss P36 was also one of the first
The Curtiss P36 was also one of the first
So until we see more, it is in the lead.
12-28-2005, 08:52 PM
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RE: Wing mounted machine guns
How about this one--don't know if it's first, but it is early. The Curtiss A-3; it was a two seater BIPLANE observation plane converted to an attack variant. Note the paragraph describing the armament, and the date it entered service:
12-28-2005, 09:02 PM
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RE: Wing mounted machine guns
Just another thought--whatever the first plane to have in-the-wing mounted guns was, it probably wasn't a US built plane. Our aircraft development was way behind the other world powers during the '20's and most of the '30's mostly due to the hindsightedness of the Army and Navy powers-that-be in what air power could accomplish (the very thing that Gen. Billy Mitchell was court-martialled for advocating). When it became apparent in the late '30's that war was again on the horizon, and seeing what the Germans were accomplishing during the Spanish Civil War, and their early incursions into Poland and the Eastern European countries, our Generals and Admirals began to see the light, and development of our own planes got put on the " front burner" for development, but we had a lot of catching up to do.
