WAR

provided the timing and the firing impulse was transmitted hydraulically. The
pressure in the oil cylinder had to be maintained by means of a hand pump
beside the pilot's seat, and once pumped up, the system would function through
ten or twelve short bursts, the fluid being bled back into the reservoir. Then it
had to be pumped up again or the guns wouldn't fire, since there would be no
transmission of impulse. In the middle of a scrap this might prove a serious
omission, but remembering to keep the gear pumped up was only a small matter
of discipline and it gave the pilots something to think about.
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