Cocking Hammer

[neville sutherland]

Arthur Stanley Gould Lee frequently experienced ammunition jams--which he belted into submission with a designated hammer. Question 1--are there photos of this piece of equipment? Q.2, in my readings, I have not noticed other writers referring to using a hammer to clear jams. Was its use so commonplace that mention was deemed unnecessary? Q.3, some pilots evidently took great care inspecting their ammunition before flight. How would you detect a 'faulty' round?

[AndRoby67]

Good morning Mr. Sutherland,
in my knowledge there was an hammer for fighting against gun jams in SPAD XIII. It was clipped on the floor of the aircraft left of the control column as normal equipment.
Hope useful!
Roberto

[Ransom E. Olds]

My own thought about pilots checking their ammunition is that the problems they would most likely have been able to detect would have been cartridges improperly positioned within the cloth or metal link belts, and possibly belts which were themselves defective. Military small arms ammunition with visible defects is really fairly rare, and the aircraft grade ammo used in aviation should have been to an even higher standard. Ransom

[MASTIFF]

The Mark 1 eyeball would identify bullets misaligned in the cartridge case or a split case. A caliper or diameter gauge was used to pick out deformed or expanded brass.

Cheers,
Tony

[Barry Hickson]

My understanding is that most if not all Pilots had a small hammer to assist unjamming the Vickers guns.

[errolmartyn]

Originally Posted by Ransom E. Olds

. . . Military small arms ammunition with visible defects is really fairly rare, and the aircraft grade ammo used in aviation should have been to an even higher standard. Ransom

But we are taliking here of WWI, when mass production quality probably left something to be desired compared to WWII and the present day?

Errol

[MikeMeech]

Originally Posted by errolmartyn

But we are taliking here of WWI, when mass production quality probably left something to be desired compared to WWII and the present day?

Errol

Hi

The problems in the factories in the manufacture of ammunition used in synchronised guns was recognised by the British. During 1917 'Green label' (or 'Green Cross') .303 inch ammunition was used specifically for these guns. These round were carefully selected from batches which complied with tighter manufacturing tolerances giving reliable ignition although taken from standard production lines. This proved successful which led to the establishment of special production lines in 1918 to make high quality ammunition for the RAF. This ammunition was known as 'Red Label' (also as 'Special for the RAF, Red Label', 'Special for RAF', and finally 'Special'). As in most things there was a continuous evolution of 'improvements' during WW1 to overcome problems.

Mike

[Pedro Ramis]

I strongly recommend reading the article (in two parts):
"ARMAMENT NOTES No.2 The Lewis Gun in British service", in Cross and Cockade international vol 19-2 and 19-3. These are cheap to buy in pdf form from
https://www.crossandcockade.com/store/ at a very cheap price (and they are available in a few minutes).
You can also check this one:
"There I was, dead on his tail when..." in Over The Front vol 8-1., as this one looks at the causes and possible remedies as printed in official publications (in 1917-1918). Of course, if you don't have this issue, you'll need to order from the USA and it takes long to travel...

[neville sutherland]

Thank you learned pundits for your replies. Having just re-read 'Open Cockpit', I'm still intrigued about the hammer that seemed an integral part of a Sopwith Pup's equipment --an item Gould Lee and his fellow pilots had frequent recourse to use, belting the breech/cocking hammer to dislodge a recalcitrant jammed round. Presumably all aircraft were so equipped? There must exist a photo of a hammer somewhere?

[Ransom E. Olds]

Were they not simply rawhide mallets? I'd think they probably were attached to something in the cockpit by a thong or similar. Ransom