Browning Extras - 1918M1 aircraft gun

The Browning 1918M1 machine gun was a conversion to fit on WW1 aircraft. It was lightened by removing the water jacket and made to fire faster by lightening the bolt, stronger recoil springs and a muzzle booster. The gun would fire about 900-1000 rounds per minute, and used metallic link belts. This short animations shows how it was integrated with a C.C. (Constantinesco-Colley) synchronising gear on a DH.4 aircraft.
Animation created using Cinema 4d, Quicktime and iMovie.
Music: 'Destination Unknown', Ugonna Onyekwe

[@monkeylee4818]

It’s amazing that to show how the synchronized machine gun worked he actually modeled the engine as well

[@HugoEckener127]

Agreed! Seeing the rocker arms ticking along was an unexpected but great detail.

[@Adiounys]

Yea, but imagine to design and build one in 1916 with a paper and a pencil...

[@johnjuiceshipper4963]

It still boggles my mind how clever this idea was. Also, outstanding animations and modelling as always!

[@stocchinet]

as a kid i always wondered how they didn't hit the blades, i thought you had to be a very skilled pilot to shoot thruogh them haha

[@samhansen9771]

When all it took was a very clever designer!

[@Bialy_1]

First they were shoting like that and just adding extra armor to the blades...

[@RS-pe5hp]

@@Bialy_1 Yeah, but it was riccochating hell :D :D

[@misterpotato427]

@@Bialy_1 no way

[@markbecht1420]

So, for all intents, the synchronized gun is a semi-auto with a remote trigger. The pilot merely controls the safety

[@vbbsmyt]

Yes, Exactly.

[@DualFeedA4]

Magnificent animation, Mr. Brassington, as always. Per Dolf Goldsmith, the "synchronizer" adaptation for the Browning 1918 (and later 1918M1) Aircraft Machine Gun was developed by Swedish-born engineer Carl Gustave Swebilius, working at Marlin Rockwell during the war. He is also credited with creating the lightened reciprocating internals design that became the Model 1918, which was produced at Marlin Rockwell and New England Westinghouse. It is said to have been capable of 1200 rounds per minute. I have recreated that design, and have run it in both post sample form and in semi with a Crankfire.

[@DualFeedA4]

@KulsprutaKid I have considered offering those in semi, just not sure anyone would want it, lol. The gun I tested with was not in proper 1918 form externally. I used a WWII type receiver that gets configured to anything I might need at a given time. It's my shop dog, as I call it. However, I do have the WWI type receivers in limited production, and the next run of those I do (not this year!) could include that if I knew there was a market. It's just the markings that have to be determined in advance, on the basic receiver box. The rest is just what parts you put on, and in. I may build one to proper spec just for the SAR show or similar event. I get the feeling no one will care but me, lol. We can only wish for repeal of Hughes, I expect. The mountains that would have to be moved are stubborn things. In my experience, guys with historic aircraft usually go the dummy gun route, which I have built for mostly vehicles and museums. Not aircraft configuration yet, but 1917s or 1917A1s, 1919A4s, and even one 1919 Tank Gun for a museum's WWI Six Ton Tractor.

[@ianton63]

This system developed by the Romanian scientist Gogu Constantinescu (founder of the theory of sonicity and inventor of the high pressure injection pump for Diesel engines) regained the air superiority for the allies in WWI.

[@bryanmartinez6600]

The answer I've been looking for.

[@MrRoboskippy]

Much better than putting bullet deflectors on the propellers.

[@b.griffin317]

always wondered how those worked. thanks vbbsmyt!

[@wyyrdojim]

Very interesting. I always wondered how these worked!😎

[@markfrench8892]

I believe it was Fokker that came up with the synchronization gear for aircraft in WWI.

[@vbbsmyt]

Yes, but the Allies quickly adopted the concept.

[@PanzerChicken69]

It's a bit of a head breaker to figure all out I pressume but it's a hell of alot better than bolting some homemade deflector wedges to the propellor of a barely airworthy Morane Saulnier I'm sure. Started by Mc Cudden & Garos, "invented" by Fokker and perfected by Browning, what a story!! Nice Animation,, big heads up from Rotterdam!

[@LeDibeau]

Thank you for your wonderful animations!!

[@d.b.1176]

Very cool, I had the basic idea of how this worked. Thanks for posting the video

[@ursaminor3740]

Finally got it.. so the trigger becomes merely a safety, and the moving slide of the synchronization mechanism is the actual trigger.

[@demos113]

Wonderful work as always.

[@sylckaavtonom4839]

It's good graphics, and the meaning is best!

[@user-returnfromhell]

Wow! How could they think this thing?!?! Engineering is amazing!!

[@krisguntner4805]

You have some seriously cool videos.

[@logoseven3365]

If I understand this, a loss of hydraulic pressure disables the firearm? Great video

[@vbbsmyt]

Complete loss - Yes. Time to turn and run away.

[@silvesby]

@@vbbsmyt *Time to draw your Webley and fight like a gentleman

[@snowwhite7677]

Yes, but the Pilots are specifically told not to loose hydraulic pressure.

[@alicemcknight149]

U

[@PanzerChicken69]

@LogoSeven LookUp the Theory of Sonics - Wikipedia, basically it's transmitting a signal true vibrations to a gas, liquid etc.

[@QNAAJTUJPRWJSGEZLPXYECAZFHODYW]

Always nice to see new videos here

[@SnafuWT]

i like how the rocker arms are moving too

[@mrsaturdaynightspecial3055]

Thank you. Happy New Year❗

[@karbengo]

Interesting.With this system, the engine shaft rotation doesn't interrupt fire, it triggers it when both the cam and firring levers are actuated.

[@peterstickney7608]

Yes. At its core, a synchronized machine gun operates semi-automatically, since the propeller rotational speed (Generally no less than 1500 RPM) is greater than the cyclic rate of fire of the gun. Note in the animation that there are about 4 firing impulses from the synchronizer before the gun goes into battery and the sear is tripped.

[@user-zf4wm3qo7p]

Отличная работа) Большое спасибо)

[@hahanuevo1434]

Excellent

[@humafarmsystem1894]

Thank you for the video. Finally I can sleep tight tonight...

[@willybee3056]

Keep up the good work. And thanks for sharing your videos.

[@maxpower6765]

Amazing design. Cheers

[@m-egreenisland7086]

Love theses videos I always wondered how they worked

[@Limescale12]

Browning was a wizard

[@full-timepog6844]

I was kinda expecting that gotye song to be on xD

[@ashthetrash2109]

The future is much cooler we have the ability to make airplanes in our home instead of driving flying cars

[@malaysianbrick7537]

Thank you so much bro!!!! You may wondering why I'm thanking you but I always wonder why BF-109 Machine gun bullet doesn't break the propeller.

[@DaDaDo661]

I wonder if there was a perceivable delay when the pilot pulled the trigger and the cam wasn't in the ready spot yet. Maybe it was too fast for a human pilot to pick up on it.

[@vbbsmyt]

Prestia2011. Don't worry about the delay. Assuming a 2-bladed propellor going at 1,800 rpm, then there will be 3,600 pulses per minute, or 60 per second. If the cam wasn't in the ready spot, then another pulse will be along in 0.016 of a second. The gun, by the way, only fires about 10-15 rounds a second. Rob

[@DaDaDo661]

@@vbbsmyt wow that's fast. Thank you

[@daveybernard1056]

A lot of the time, the ammo for thru the prop mg's was super high quality. Since hangfires could not be tolerated in this application, I suppose.

[@vbbsmyt]

Absolutely. Ammunition Batches would be tested and if sufficiently consistent, the batch would be assigned for synchronous guns. More samples for these batches would be tested at regular intervals. The packaging for 'lower' quality ammunition would be labled with 'Not for use in synchronous guns'.

[@Akcd11r2002]

Pick any one kid out of a university today that could recreate this from scratch, having never seen it...

[@Bladerunner5434]

Happy new year and thanks for a great channel. I was wondering if you could put on your "to do" list an animation of the DSHK 38/46 12.7mm HMG. Not the one with the rotating drum but the newer model still operating around the world. There is another animation channel that did the DSHK 38(with rotating drum)animation. Trouble is that the DSHK 38 isn't used and hasn't been for decades. The newer model(DSHK 38/46) is used a lot and viewers would benefit greatly from knowing how it works.

[@blackroberts6290]

iirc the DShK is always belt-feed. it was just DK thats the drum fed fifty, like the DP (iirc it also works like a DP). Shpagin put the belt and the Sh in the DShK.

[@urethracrawler115]

,, no, you are not flaying football righ- "

[@user-bm8tr4gf1k]

Спасибо за детали, очень интересно!

[@krzysobludnik]

Hello, nice job and Happy New Year

[@CollectorChronicles]

Amazing presentation. I would have just mounted a dozen Thompson’s on the wings and called it a day. I think they actually tried that.

[@skepticalbadger]

The Thompson didn't exist then.

[@crazywarriorscatfan9061]

Nice

[@kimjanek646]

Any idea why the RoF for Synchronized Brownings dropped so much compared to other guns? Online you find a lot of claims that the .50cal AN/M2 had a RoF of around 350-450 synchronized vs. 750 RPM when free firing. Similiar the Japanese 12.7mm Ho-103 and 20mm Ho-5 that were both based on the .50cal M2. The .30cal AN/M2 with a RoF of 1200 RPM apparently dropped to around 700 when synchronized. While guns like the Japanese 7.7mm Type 89 (Type 97) and Italian 7.7mm Breda-Safat, which both had a RoF of around 900 RPM free firing, supposedly only dropped to 600-700 when synchronized. From the animation it seems that the system gives an impulse to fire the gun, whenever it is considered safe. So every time a prop passes over the gun, meaning 2 times per revolution With a prop RPM of 1800 that means 3600 per minute or 60 per second. The gun only needs to wait half a prop revolution at most to fire again. So the RoF would drop from 960 RPM to 750 RPM in the worst case. Of course the 960 RPM are achived when the gun fires full auto by not engaging the sear which holds the firing pin. So maybe, if the system engages the sear after every shot, the actual RoF already drops considerable?

[@pedrosabino8751]

_Albatros eindecker, the first real fighter._

[@vbbsmyt]

Pedro: I don't have drawings for the Eindecker, would a Dr.1 do?

[@pedrosabino8751]

@@vbbsmyt Yes.

[@richardwallace6026]

so good

[@KeithHearnPlus]

Ah yes, nothing says cutting edge technology like having a bicycle pump in the cockpit. :)

[@adrian_zombturtle148]

Ahhhhhhhhh yes very futuristic technology with this interruption gear the gerries won't know what hit them

[@vbbsmyt]

Er... but the Germans actually invented the first synchronizing mechanisms, and the Allies suffered badly until they could come up with their own gear.

[@samhansen9771]

@@vbbsmyt lol 😂

[@adrian_zombturtle148]

@@vbbsmyt that's German propaganda, keep on thinking like that and you will cause moral issues lol

[@Jay-ln1co]

Better than putting metal deflectors on the blades.

[@twistedyogert]

Was there ever much of a problem with ammunition hang firing? It seems like there was quite a limited margin of error regarding the timing. The round basically had to fire immediately after the primer was struck or else the pilot would risk shooting the blades off his prop.

[@vbbsmyt]

Each batch of ammunition was tested by firing samples against a rotating wooden disk on an aircraft engine. This would show up any batch that had a tendency for an unacceptable delay and if so, the packaging from that batch would be marked ‘not for synchronised guns’. Samples from batches that were deemed suitable for synchronised guns would be tested regular intervals

[@gabormolnar1785]

Hi, May i have just a short remark .. is this method possible to synchronize the 0,5 Browning heavy machine gun? as i read somewhere that this gun was not easy to be synchronized that is why it was mostly built in wings of the WWII fighters. do you know any reason or info about it? many thanks

[@vbbsmyt]

The 1918M1 gun was fitted to WW1 aircraft so that it could shoot through the propeller arc. This required synchronising gear to avoid hitting the propeller. By WW2, aircraft were more powerful so that the guns could be fitted in the wings or in powered turrets. There was no need to synchronise the 0.5 Browning since it did not need to fire through propeller arcs. However, I can see no reason why the same synchronising mechanism could not have been fitted to the larger calibre MG - it just was not needed.

[@user-pc8tb7hg1lHandlesRDumb]

Pretty good for a wood plane

[@michaelbevan3285]

so it must have interrurpted the fire only when the breech block was back,so that the gun would be able to charge the next round into the breech. If the gun failed and did not recock automatically,the pilot had to recock the gun to get it working again.

[@stanrogers5613]

It's not so much that the mechanism interrupted firing as that it _did_ the firing (in this application). The gun's job was simply to autoload and be ready for the next hydraulic "trigger press" (and there were "trigger presses" happening while the MG was cycling, which didn't fire - you can do the same thing with a finger on the trigger of a slow-cycling semi-auto). As another commenter put it, the pilot basically just controlled the safety.

[@Servi_Dei]

Моё уважение, про синхронизатор слышал давно, устройство не видел. Автор молодец, интересно в какой программе моделирует))

[@user-ow6eu1dj1v]

А эти трубки чем заправлены?

[@mirwellduo8986]

How about three blades?

[@vbbsmyt]

How many 3-bladed aeroplanes were flown during WW1? I don't know, but the problems of balancing a 3-bladed propeller are much greater than a 2- or 4-bladed propeller. An unbalanced propeller would wreck an engine and ruin the pilot's whole day.

[@dudefairuzsetyadiviiimtsnk9582]

trigger on gun: what am i doing here??

[@alexglassburn6484]

@vbbsmyt i have a video idea for you, how about a video on the Gustav Railway cannon and all of its mechanical wonders and accessories.

[@vbbsmyt]

Alex, as always, I would need a good set of drawings. If you know of such drawings please let me know. Rob

[@alexglassburn6484]

vbbsmyt I did some research, and unfortunately most of the very specific and complicated blueprints were lost after the second world war. The only thing I could find through the Internet were some very basic blueprints showing all sides of the weapon. The only way I could see any of it possibly working not in blueprints would be through German propaganda films about the weapon.

[@MetamorphicWonders]

If a round (bullet) had a light powder load, due to a manufacturer error.. would this slower round penetrate the propeller?

[@vbbsmyt]

Possibly, however the real danger is a slow ignition. When they manufacture cartridges, each batch is tested for consistency and only the highest quality batches are used in synchronised guns. Cartridges from these batches are then regularly re-tested (by firing through a wooden disk attached in place of the propeller). Lesser quality cartridges are packaged with markings such as ‘not for used in synchronised guns’.

[@MetamorphicWonders]

@@vbbsmyt Thanks for that. Yes. i agree. i never thought about a cartridge being a slow ignition / burner. That would cause an issue. I wonder if it was common for a round to ‘hole’ the prop...

[@stianberg5645]

so... this is technically a semi auto, meaning I can hunt with it, right?

[@user-zx5pg2dx6x]

I just didn't understand. What kind of tube from the engine goes to the Cam mechanism? And what is the system filled with, oil? I recognized the engine-motor. This Is "Liberty"!

[@vbbsmyt]

Hi. The system is filled with a mixture 90% Paraffin and 10% (thin) oil. Pipework is copper. Main pipe 3.2mm internal diameter, control pipe 1mm internal diameter. I used the Rolls-Royce Eagle III as as template, but the Liberty is very similar. Rob

[@Chironex_Fleckeri]

Wouldn't the synchronizer fail in some instances where there's a hang-fire or some type of other cartridge related malfunction

[@vbbsmyt]

Ammunition for machine guns synchronised to fire between the blades of a propeller came from carefully selected batches. To test the quality of a batch, a number of samples would be fired from a synchronised gun with the propeller replaced by a solid wooden disk. A good quality batch would have all the holes concentrated midway between the ‘nominal’ propeller blades. A poorer quality batch would have the holes more widely scattered around the disk. That batch would be rejected. Thereafter test firings would be carried out at intervals to check that the good batch had not deteriorated. As for jams, the pilot had handles to re-cock the gun to clear the jam. (if the guns failed completely..... run away!)

[@WorkInProgressX]

Might be a bit of a stretch, but could you possibly make a video about the villar perosa?

[@vbbsmyt]

WorkInProgressX: Villar-Perosa is currently 'Work in Progress'

[@vbbsmyt]

Villar-Perosa animation now showing.... kzbin.info/www/bejne/roCtiYmre56bY8k Rob

[@hanzgetzeflammenwefer1049]

What if it jams

[@kxd2591]

Were disintegrating links used in WWI?

[@vbbsmyt]

My sources show that disinterating links were introduced about 1916 for aircraft guns. The principal one for the Vickers seems to be the Prideaux link. I assume the Germans also used disintegrating links for their Maxims. The first American-made aircraft gun, the Marlin, with disintegrating links was introduced in 1919.

[@kxd2591]

@@vbbsmyt Thank you. I thought these were introduced with the MG34.

[@singleproppilot]

I always thought they stuck with cloth belts in aircraft guns to avoid FOD hazards.

[@kxd2591]

@@vbbsmyt Thank you sir for the info. Love, absolutely LOVE, your videos!

[@odanewilson]

I need 300000 of those to buy ok

[@sebastianthomsen2225]

😎👍👍

[@leekaijit36]

Did this gun entered service?

[@DaDaDo661]

Yes on almost all airplanes even into World war 2

[@wikikomoto]

what engine is this?

[@vbbsmyt]

It is supposed to be a Rolls-Royce Eagle III, however the American Liberty engine is very similar. Rob

[@chanchaigunthachai8906]

M777.???

[@vbbsmyt]

?

[@zaeemrashid7952]

software name sir

[@stanrogers5613]

Cinema 4D - it's in the description of most of his videos, and on-screen in the video at the end of most as well.

[@zaeemrashid7952]

@@stanrogers5613 thanks