But by 1939, the concept of mounting artillery on aircraft would be revived, and with devastating results. The war ended before aircraft could be outfitted with even heavier weaponry. American ace Charles John Biddle of the 13 th Aero Squadron downed seven opponents with his up-gunned XII. Although a mediocre aircraft at best, the Spad could easily shred anything unfortunate enough to get in its crosshairs. and British squadrons on the Western Front. The heavily gunned warplanes were distributed in ones and twos throughout the French air corps with a handful finding their way into U.S. The following year, the Spad XII took to the skies - a dedicated dogfighter armed with a 12-shot, 1.46-inch cannon. Many of these early pusher-style bombers were equipped with 37 mm guns.(Image source: WikiCommons) In this case, the weapons were intended to fend off enemy fighter planes. The results were less than encouraging. The following year, France unveiled the Salmson-Moineau S.M.1, a three-man, long-range recon bird, armed with a pair of modified 37 mm field guns. In 1915, mechanics with the French air corps began outfitting the Voisin III with 37 mm cannons enabling the rickety single-engine biplane to attack targets both on the ground and in the air. Air Force) “Consider these ‘flying cannons’ (listed in order of ascending firepower)”ĪERIAL WARFARE was still in its infancy when aviation innovators devised history’s first ‘gunship’. An AC-130 Specter gunship carries a staggering assortment of cannons.
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