WWII Era RAF Pilot's Handwritten Notebook on .303 Browning Machine Gun Operation and Specifications

WWII Era Handwritten Notebook from a Royal Air Force soldier on armaments. Royal Air Force notebook in original blue wrappers measuring 8.5" x 6.75". Over half of the notebook is written on, around 30 pages. Belonging to a K. Nairn of the 50 I.T.W. Complete with meticulously detailed notes and illustrations and diagrams of the 303 Browning, its bullets, chamber, and loading mechanisms. he writes the different types of bullets used by the 303, such as ball, armor piercing, incendiary, and tracer rounds, as well as the gun's specs: length, weight, barrel length, rifling, rate of fire, and recoil. The .303 Browning was a hugely important weapon in the British arsenal, and can be credited with turning the tide in the Battle of Britain, when it was used to devastating effect as a wing-mounted gun on RAF Spitfire and Hurricane fighters. In describing the recoil of the 303, Nairn notes: "During recoil action, rear end of the Barrel Extension will force the accelerators to rotate upwards & backwards. As they come up the accelerator horns engage in the bend of the B/B... they then rotate over & come to rest against the accelerator stop with the ramps engaged with the T shaped projection, so locking the barrel extension to the lock frame." Neat illustrations of the "Recoiling Parts" and the "Breech-Block" of the 303 Browning follow, as do the highly detailed instructional notes. Minor edgewear and creases along cover, some paper loss to spine, interiors only mildly toned and overall clean. In very good condition overall.