Stick Shake When Firing Guns

M. J. Powell wrote:
I've noticed that on the camera gun film shown on some TV programmes
sometimes the whole picture vibrates and at other times it is quite steady.

Mike

Mostly what you are seeing is easily explained. The cameras in many of the
fighters in the ETO had a seperate switch for turning it on and off. You can
sometimes see a little flag in the uper left or right of the frame that
indicates trigger pull. On some the flag means firing and some its absence
means firing! So a single film shot can have firing and nonfiring portions and
sound affects are often added to match the vibrating portion. You also get some
shots of enemy pilots under their chutes. This is done with the camera switch,
uhm, most of the time.

A good example is the famous very long chase at treetop level by Harry Dayhuff
(or someone in the 78th) in a P47 that culminates in his blowing the left wing
off a German plane.

On the P47 the camera is mounted in the wing and you see a lot of vibration,
mostly due to the low shutter speed of about 1/30 sec. Since the P47 was very
heavy and double skinned, the pilots I have talked to never mentioned feeling
much in the way of vibration.

-- Charlie Springer