Re: trips and pics

Greg Springer (gspring@ix.netcom.com)
Wed, 25 Oct 1995 18:24:56 -0700

>On 25 Oct 95 at 6:37, Also Sprach Matt Bittner:
>
>> I would like to see some cockpit shots of the Berg D.I they have.
>

I have slides of that cockpit taken in 1989. The Eisenhour was with me
and distracted the security guards by writhing on the ground and
foaming at the mouth after I forced him at gunpoint to eat a cake of
shaving soap. (OK I'm just kidding!) ;^). It was a slow day, 116
degrees and we were the only patrons so I simply ducked under the rope
and, holding my trusty F1 with a 28 mm lens over my head, took some
shots down into the cockpit. If you like, I could snail-mail some
slides which you could make prints from. Beware the control column.
It seems to be made from larger diameter tubing than the original.
The guns appear to be infantry model Schwarzlose 07/12s. They have the
wooden firing grips still in place and water jackets. The extreme
rarity of these guns probably means that aircraft versions no longer
exist outside of Austrian museums. One of the highlights of the
Champlin Museum is the machine gun museum and it's collection of
aircraft guns from both wars. They even have a Vickers 11mm 'balloon
gun' just like Willy Coppens favored. It is visually indistinguishable
from the standard model.

Cheers!

Greg Springer

'All the world is my friend for I am a brewer.'