"Mitchell Holman" wrote in message
. 131...
"arjay" wrote in
m:

"Mitchell Holman" wrote in message
. 131...

Complete with deflector plates to allow forward firing without chewing
off the prop ....

An antidote to the "Eindecker Scourge".........

That depends on how you look at the timeline -- and who you ask.
The Eindecker was the first to use an interrupter gear.
But -- the deflector plates on the pops actually appeared in combat on a
French Morane-Saulnier _prior to_ the first use of Fokker's interrupter
gear.
It seems the British, French and German air services had all been working
independently on interrupter/synchronizer mechanisms for some time before
they appeared in 1915.
And the Fokker Eindecker was essentially the same kite as the
Morane-Saulnier. The "Bullet" was slightly faster but manoeuvrability was
virtually equal.
It would appear that what turned a slight advantage into a "scourge" was a
combination of the heavier armament of the Eindeckers (some mounted two
Spandaus) and the tactical doctrine laid down by Oswald Boelke.