Hi,
I bought a book a while back about aces of the eighth army air force, and there are several good close up shots of ground crew re-arming or working on P51s and P47s.
The barrels of the guns look like they have either plugs or caps over them, and I was just wondering if this was to prevent foreign objects or rain water getting down into the breech mechanism.

The other question is related but concerns the red dope that was used to patch over the leading edge of the wings where the barrels protrude. Was this to repair the fabric around this area due to damage caused by the firing of the guns?
Some of the photos that I have seen look like the whole area is patched over covering the barrels completely.

Is there anybody in the know who can enlighten me?

Cheers.

Your first idea was correct: There were both caps and tape used to cover the opening of the guns. Sand, grit and grime can really foul up a gun, and you don't want your .50s jammng when you need them the most!

I've seen frequent mention that ground crews could see if the tape of the guns had been fired through - then they knew their pilot had been in a fight.

I had heard that also!

The reason that tape was put over the guns apertures was to prevent moisture from getting into the mechanism at higher levels, and therefore causing them to ice up.. That means the pilot could get a stoppage and the guns would jam!

Tape wasn't the only thing used... some enterprising ground-crew (and bomber gunners) would use extra prophylactics to cover gun barrel openings. The practice didn't last long though... trying to clean melted rubber off a gun barrel was not a lot of fun. And at high altitude the rubber would freeze and disintegrate.

That could also be construed as a word of warning for those considering admission to the "Mile High Club"... try it only in pressurized (and heated) aircraft!

Sandman, I don't know about you, but if it was that cold, I don't think I'd be needing 'protection' from anything else BUT the cold...

I presume the barrels tended to shrink at higher altitudes and the prophylactics fell off?

As others have already mentioned, "break the tapes" was used as a synomym for getting into action.

Talking of which, I heard that British troops serving in Norway used condoms to prevent their Sten Guns freezing. As this only protected the muzzle, they requested that Durex (the major condom manufacturer in Britain) produce a version for them some 22 inches in length. When Churchill heard about this he agreed to give the go ahead under 2 conditions:

That each condom was to have 'Made in England' and also 'Medium Size' stamped on it.

S! Comp

Thanks for the replies,
wasn't that far off the mark with the guesses but hadn't thought of moisture getting into the barrels at high altitude and freezing.

I also didn't realise that condoms had so many uses, apart from the obvious one and alternative party balloons!!