How did WW1 planes not shoot through propellers?

There are many different types of synchronization gear, but the simplest involves an irregular-shaped disk that triggers the gun to fire once per revolution, at a specific point. This produces a high rate of fire without the risk of hitting the propeller.

How do planes fire through propellers?

A synchronization gear (also known as a gun synchronizer or interrupter gear) was a device enabling a single-engine tractor configuration aircraft to fire its forward-firing armament through the arc of its spinning propeller without bullets striking the blades.

How was airplane used in ww1?

At the start of the First World War, aircraft like the B.E. 2 were primarily used for reconnaissance. Due to the static nature of trench warfare, aircraft were the only means of gathering information beyond enemy trenches, so they were essential for discovering where the enemy was based and what they were doing.

How do plane propellers work?

The propeller works by displacing the air pulling it behind itself (the action), this movement of air then results in the aircraft being pushed forward from the resulting pressure difference (the opposite reaction). The more air that is pulled behind the propeller the more thrust or forward propulsion is generated.

Why was the fighter plane so important?

fighter aircraft, aircraft designed primarily to secure control of essential airspace by destroying enemy aircraft in combat. The opposition may consist of fighters of equal capability or of bombers carrying protective armament.

How do fighter planes fly?

A plane’s engines are designed to move it forward at high speed. That makes air flow rapidly over the wings, which throw the air down toward the ground, generating an upward force called lift that overcomes the plane’s weight and holds it in the sky. The wings force the air downward and that pushes the plane upward.

Did planes fight against each other in WWI?

WWI was not the first time that planes fought against each other. It happened a year earlier, during the Mexican civil war. WWI, however, saw the creation of fighter aircraft and the first large-scale aerial combat. The war in the air developed at an astonishing rate. Here are some facts about the fighter planes of that war.

Why do fighter planes have forward firing guns?

To make fighter planes more effective, they needed forward firing guns lined up with the pilot’s view, to enable them to aim easily while flying. It created a problem. The closer it was to his line of sight, the more likely the gun was to shoot off the plane’s own propeller.

Can an aircraft propeller stop a machine gun from firing?

But this is not the case. WWI machine guns such as the German MG.08 had a firing rate of around seven rounds per second while aircraft propellers rotated at around 20 revolutions per second, meaning that even a two-bladed propeller would interrupt the gun up to six times per firing cycle, preventing it from ever firing.

How did they fix the propeller on WW1 planes?

The French made the first attempt to solve it. The propeller was reinforced with steel wedges to deflect bullets, but they could still do harm to the propeller, and the ones that bounced off might hit the pilot. In 1915, Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker provided the solution for the Germans.