X-Nico

7 unusual facts about Scarff ring


Charles George Gass

It had a forward pointing Vickers machine gun for the pilot, and one or two Lewis machine guns that could be slid around on their Scarff ring mount by the observer/gunner to cover a wide field of fire.

Drift Sight

The CFS was in turn replaced by the Equal Distance Sight (EDS) designed by in 1916 by Warrant Officer Scarff, better known for the Scarff ring.

Parnall

Defence was provided by a Scarf-mounted Lewis gun in the observer's cockpit at the upper wing trailing edge while the pilot had a forward-firing Vickers machine gun.

The observer was equipped with a Scarff ring and had an uninterrupted field of fire as the fin and rudder were mounted beneath the fuselage.

Saunders T.1

He controlled a synchronised forward firing Lewis gun and the observer, sitting behind in a separate cockpit, operated a Lewis gun mounted on a Scarff ring.

Scarff ring

In the 1930s, the Germans developed a similar system called the Drehkranz D 30 (German: Turntable) which was used on a number of German aircraft, most notably the Junkers Ju 52.

Although a deceptively simple device, later attempts to emulate the Scarff ring as a mounting for the dorsal Vickers K in World War II Handley Page Hampden were failures.



see also