rear vision mirror

[Vin]

Reflecting upon the recent Von Richthofen threads as to whether Von Richthofen’s seatbelt was fastened tightly or not to enable him to more easily turn to see if anyone was on his tail. Were rear vision mirrors ever fitted to scouts in WW 1. If not, why not ? Any thoughts ?


Vin

[rudder]

Yes, they did use rear view mirrors but your vision is limited in them. I have one on my Nieuport 16B, but you can see something in it but not much. You can see mirrors in many photos of Billy Bishop, Charles Nungesser, and others
Cher'o,
Lt. Dwight Rudder, RFC

[Vin]

Thanks, Dwight. Whereabouts on your replica is it mounted ? When I look at photos of WW 1 aircraft I cannot identify a rear vision mirror.


Vin

[Ron_F]

Gunther Rall made the statement about mirrors in a wings docu on the Me109. they werent that good, as the vibration of the machine and such wasnt that good. and if you did see something in it, they were so close it was time to bail out!
paraphrasing of course....

so, id say roughly the same on a WW1 crate..

fwiw,
Ron

[rudder]

Mine is mounted on back of upper wing cutout. Some are mounted on rear cabine struts in front of wind screen.Or off to side a bit,

[Vin]

Thanks Dwight, you are a mine of information. Have a look at the next thread up and let us know what you think.


Vin

[Ginger.]

I read somewhere observers mounted a mirror under their gun to dazzle the Hun in the sun.Does'nt seem to have put The Von off much by all accounts.

[Bob G-G]

<pic> View through the mirror on a Nieuport 17. As the pilots face is so close to the mirror the rear view is very good. We display the Nieuport with a Fokker Dr.1 and you can see him closing for a tail chase, but you have to keep one eye on it!.
Regards Bob.

http://website.lineone.net/~r.gaugall/Chanl3.jpg

[mike_baram]

Dwight,
If you see flashing red lights in your mirror, do you have to bank to the right and let him pass?
If a bullet shatters the mirror, are your next seven years gonna be unpleasant?
Mike

[Michael Skeet]

The only comments I've read about mirrors in primary sources echo Ron's remarks: those pilots who tried them found that vibration rendered them pretty much useless.

[Bob G-G]

Michael,
The solution to a mirror that vibrates is to simply wind a cord around the rear fixing bracket to brace it up. If the mirror still vibrates, do not fly the aeroplane!
Bob.

[stevedrew]

I have the same problem with the mirrors on my motorcycle, but it is the bumpy road that is the culprit.

The solution to their problem (and mine) is to check your mirrors AND look over your shoulder.

Steve Drew