gun synchronization to fire through propeller arc

[kennethklee]

The WWII-era Luftwaffe seemed to favor gun synchronization through the propeller arc of its piston-engined fighters throughout the war, whereas the British and American fighters more often had their guns located in the wings outside of the arc, especially in the latter part of the war. Almost every single-engined Luftwaffe WWII fighter had at least two guns firing through the arc whether they were cowling-mounted or located in the wing roots. The Focke-Wulf Fw 190-series and Ta-152 series examplified the pinnacle of this technology, with most examples having two cowling-mounted machine guns (replaced by two 20mm cannon in the Ta 152C) and two wing root-mounted 20mm cannon all firing through the propeller arc. I can't recall another air force implementing this philosophy to this extent, especially with four guns (and up to four cannon) firing through the propeller arc.

I have not been able to find written references that discuss why the Luftwaffe favored this approach to gun armament in their fighter aircraft. I suspect that guns so mounted would have their firing rates decreased, and that there must have been outweighing advantages for this approach? I surmise that this type of gun mounting allowed centralization of the guns, which 1) increased the concentration of fire against targets; 2) improved the maneuverability and flight characteristics of the fighter aircraft; 3) reduced the frequency of gun jams. Are any of my suppositions correct, or were there other explanations for this trend? I also imagine gun synchronization was a tricky bit of technology and prone to malfunction, which would result in the propeller being damaged or shot off. Was this technology generally reliable?

I greatly appreciate any thoughts and ideas on this topic.

Thanks,
Kenneth