Gun Jams

14 September 1998, 04:50 PM

What exactly caused gun jams in the aircraft mounted weapons of both the allies and the German/Austria-Hungary forces? The problem may differ from weapon to weapon but it seems that jams were a universal problem. From what I gather heat was the main culprit. In almost every account of an air engagement I seem to read about someone's gun seizing up on them. What a terrifying dilemma to find yourself in!

Chris

mike_baram · 14 September 1998, 06:55 PM

Although the mechanisms differ from weapon to weapon, the causes are usually a defective cartridge, dirt, temperature, or lousy design. Also, the burning of the powder can cause a buildup of carbon in the breech.
I'm sure some of the gang can think of other reasons.

14 September 1998, 08:28 PM

A lot of the american jams were due to the air force using .3 gauge american made ammunition in .303 gauge french guns. The american home front and organization had a lot to answer for in ww1. They did their best to kill their own guys with bad organization , supply and profiteering. The gun gauge/ bullets was just one aspect of it.

cam

15 September 1998, 03:08 AM

From my reading, most gun jams were caused by ammunition. Industrial tolerances weren't as rigorous at the beginning of the century as they are now, and many cartridges were sent to the front that probably shouldn't have been. A small bulge in the casing, or other defect in shape or dimension, could be enough to cause the empty cartridge to jam in the breech when the extractor was trying to take it out. In some cases, the rim wasn't properly attached and stripped off when the extractor pulled it.

Jamming was a serious enough problem that many pilots (Bishop is a noteable example) hand-loaded their belts and/or drums, carefully measuring each round and in some cases actually passing each round through the breech before loading it.

mike_baram · 15 September 1998, 06:25 AM

"Jamming was a serious enough problem that many pilots (Bishop is a noteable example) hand-loaded their belts..."
Imagine doing that with the 27' ammo belts..hand loading "the whole nine yards" as it were.
"Daddy, what did you do in the war?"
"Oh, a little flying, and a lot of hand loading, Son."

Richard_Schrader · 15 September 1998, 09:58 AM

At least it gave Bishop a lot of time to make up victory claims, and one man missions.

mike_baram · 15 September 1998, 12:19 PM

"At least it gave Bishop a lot of time to make up victory claims, and one man missions. "
In the immortal words of the great Yogi Berra, "It's deja vu all over again.".
Al, you're turn.....go for it.
Mike

15 September 1998, 01:40 PM

THE MENTION OF MACHINEGUN "BELTS" GIVES ME A THOUGHT FOR ANOTHER POSSIBLE REASON FOR SO MUCH JAMMING. ACTUALLY, AMMO BELTS AS USED BY THE GROUND TROOPS WERE NOT USED IN AERO UNITS. IT WAS FOUND OUT EARLY ON THAT A LOOSE WEB BELT FLAPPING AROUND IN HIGH SPEED WINDS COULD BE QUITE A NUISANCE, IF NOT ACTUALLY INJURIOUS TO SOMEONE. NOT ONLY WAS A GOOD DESIGN OF DISINTEGRATING LINK QUITE AWILE IN COMING, BUT ONCE A GOOD ONE WAS FOUND, THEY WERE RETAINED IN THE AIRCRAFT AFTER FIRED AND REUSED. I WOULD THINK A METEL CLIP BEING SHUCKED THROUGH A MACHINE GUN WOULD TAKE QUITE A BEATING.

Vigilant · 16 September 1998, 01:10 AM

On, say, a twin Vickers installation, if one gun jammed would that stop the other one too? Was the synchronisation affected?

Also why did temperature cause jams? I get the impression a gun that was too cold was just as bad as one too hot.

Yours curiously,

Vigilant

stephen · 16 September 1998, 02:46 AM

Cold was an enemy because of the grease that was used to lubricate the gun mechanisms. At high altitudes, the grease would congeal and actually slow down the mechanism, sometimes jamming it completely. Heat was an enemy because it causes metal to swell and contract, affecting the already loose tolerances allowed in ammunition.

Sychronization was not affected when a machine gun jammed, and a single gun could continue to be fired regardless of damage to the other gun.