Comments by "Colonel K" (@Paladin1873) on "The SPAD S.A – A Total Basket Case Without a Prayer" video.

  1. At 8:15 you show the SPAD fitted with three Colt Browning 1895 "Potato Digger" machine guns. That is a very odd choice for an airplane because of the way the Digger operates. It is based on the old Winchester lever action rifle, but with the lever hinged under the barrel and connected to the bolt by a linkage system. When the gun fires, gas escapes through a small hole in the barrel, striking a cup at the front of the lever. This forces the lever arm to swing down 90 degrees. A heavy spring then swings it back up. As with a lever action rifle, the linkage to the bolt forces the bolt to slide back and forth, during which movement it chambers, fires, and ejects cartridges in rapid succession. I've shot a Digger before. It requires a good deal of room for the arm to swing freely. The gun earned its nickname because the original tripod mounted ground gun had a tendency to settle into soft dirt while firing. As a result the lever sometimes scooped up dirt and tossed it about, leaving a trough in the soil. During WWI the Digger was used mainly for training by the US Army, but the Marlin-Rockwell Corporation developed an aircraft variant (Model 1917) that replaced the swinging lever with a more conventional gas tube and spring-loaded piston (as in the BAR). This eliminated the problem. However, the photo you show appears to be the original swinging lever gun. I was never aware these were ever put on an airplane. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.
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  2.  @ronjon7942  Thank you.
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