Hauksbee 103 Posted September 10, 2012 Last week I was cruising amazon.com and discovered "Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I" for a mere $12.00 and at that price I could not pass it up. It arrived today. I had assumed it to be a modern book with colored illustrations, but, not so. It'a a facsimile edition of the original 1919 edition, supplemented with material from the earlier editions of 1914, 1916, 1917, and 1918. (there was no 1915 edition) Thus, it's all black & white, large format (10" x 12.5"), and, large format notwithstanding, the type is incredibly small. (6pt.?) It would be hard going even if I had my teen-age eyeballs back. But more good information about more odd aircraft than I've ever seen. A whole section on engines alone, with blueprint drawings, photos and cut-away drawings. And unexpected trivia like what the mountings looked like for MG's that fired downward through the floor. (Strafing trenches?) Oh, and the engine is an Austro-Daimler 200hp. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grinseed 19 Posted September 10, 2012 (edited) Very very carefully, if thats your thing....sorry, was thinking about something else. Firing through the floor, in Gothas at least, was a defensive measure for those pesky enemy aircraft that would try to attack by coming up the stern from below. The Gotha had a firing tunnel built into the fuselage. I have that book too. Its a beauty. Edited September 10, 2012 by Grinseed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted September 11, 2012 (edited) Hauksbee, that is a very fine catch you made there - congrats! As for the type size - there are quite huge square-shaped reading magnifiers. The book might be worth to order one of those (6pt is indeed very small). http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Magnifier-Clamp-Desktop-Base/dp/B000186ZGY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1347343690&sr=8-4&keywords=reading+magnifier . Edited September 11, 2012 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bullethead 12 Posted September 11, 2012 @Hauksbee There were a number of planes during and immediately after WW1 that had fixed, downward-firing MGs for strafing. Most were lash-ups created in the field but these inspired some purpose-built planes and gun systems. The idea seems to have fallen out of favor in the interwar years although IIRC there were a few field lash-ups again in WW2. In WW1, the idea had mixed results. Usually there were lots of guns (the average seems to have been around 6) and they were quite effective when the plane could find and attack a suitable target. However, installing these guns meant leaving the observer at home and this, plus the weight of the guns, ammo, and sometimes armor, made the strafers very vulnerable to enemy fighters. Thus, the purpose-built strafer ideas were mostly very large, twin-engined affairs able to carry all this stuff and some defensive gunners, too. And this seemed to have doomed the idea because the result was very expensive, complex to maintain, and useful only for a specialized purpose that might not always present itself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted September 11, 2012 As for the type size - there are quite huge square-shaped reading magnifiers. Indeed. In fact, I saw some at a local store last week, and shall get one today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted September 11, 2012 They are good for modelling too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted September 11, 2012 They are good for modelling too. I solved that problem by getting a second monitor for the computer. Now I can put my Modeling Window full size on one screen, and all my other Working Windows, like Animation Timelines, etc. on the other. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted September 11, 2012 No, I didn't mean computer-modelling - I meant the good old model building (plastic models, wooden models etc. - do you remember?) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted September 11, 2012 No, I didn't mean computer-modelling - I meant the good old model building (plastic models, wooden models etc. - do you remember?) Oh, those models? Indeed I do. I hail from the pre-plastic era. I spent hundreds of hours cutting balsa wood sticks, cutting formers out of print balsa sheets, gluing them up and covering with colored tissue paper. As kids in the 40's and 50's, we couldn't afford X-Acto knives (we'd see them advertised in model airplane magazines, and drool with envy). We'd filch double-edged razor blades from our Dad's supply, then snap them in half, making two single-edge blades, then take a pair of needle-nosed pliers and snap off one end at a steep diagonal making tool not unlike a No.11 X-Acto blade. Add a layer or two of masking tape on the top edge, and we were in business. Happy days. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted September 11, 2012 Now he's got what I mean... Yeah, I remember that too - a Messerschmidt Bf109 G of balsa wood: - wingspan: 32 cm - machineguns: tooth picks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HumanDrone 4 Posted September 13, 2012 I'm finishing one of those now. Trying to do Franz Stigler's aircraft from his encounter with Lt. Charles Brown's B-17 in Dec. 1943. I never thought German victory markings would be so hard to find! - 1/18th scale... hint hint... ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
