Hello Bomber and turret fans, i do not pretend to be the author of the following info, its stuff sent to me by various contacts. I think its a simply amazing system, and might be of interest. Can anyone add anything?
Village Inn was the codename for the British Airborne Gun in Turrets (AGLT) radar-aimed gun turret fitted to some Lancaster bombers in 1944
The AGLT system was devised to allow a target to be tracked and fired-on in total darkness, the target’s range being accurately computed as well as allowing for lead and bullet drop.
The system was devised by a team led by Dr P.I. Dee and designed under the aegis of Chief Designer Dr Alan Hodgkin, after receiving a request from the Air Ministry for such a system in early 1943. It worked on a wavelength of 9.1 cm with a pulse frequency of 660 per second.
The system consisted of a transmitter/receiver unit mounted in the navigator’s compartment and included an automatic ranging facility which relayed range information into the Computer section of a Mark IIC gyro gunsight. The turret featured a small scanning aerial that followed the movement of the guns, and a Cathode ray tube(CRT) display screen positioned adjacent to the gun sight, the image of which was projected on to the gun sight reflector screen via a semi-transparent mirror.
To use, the gunner manoeuvred his turret until the target blip projected onto the sight reflector screen coincided with the normal gyro sight aiming graticule, at which the point the guns would be correctly aimed, the inbuilt characteristics of the gyro sight almost guaranteeing a hit should the gunner subsequently open fire.:)
Top secret Z equipment an early attempt to combat friendly fire. This particular piece was fitted to the bar in the rear Turret of Lancaster’s which also mounted the Giro Ace maker Gunsight and if fitted the Village Inn Cathode ray tube. It faced backwards through the turret and picked up a beam from a following friendly aircraft in the Bomber stream. This was late war technology and got into production in very limited numbers. Lanc’s fitted with this projected a beam forward, when picked up by the Z equipment shown the guns would be disabled and prevent friendly fire in the dark.
The bomber version of the Ace Maker Giro gunsight. This was used with the village Inn system to produce kill awesome kill rates. Enemy fighters were 90% certain to receive hits from the rear turret. This technology was never used in large numbers as it came into use late in the war. The main difference from the fighter Gunsight was the turret fitting on the base and the removal of the anti glare screen as this was never required if Village Inn was fitted.
Enjoy.;) Graham
By: turretboy - 12th January 2008 at 14:01
Welcome to the forum hindenburg.
It will be interesting to see what you have.
By: hindenburg - 12th January 2008 at 12:52
I have never seen a scanning dish but i do have all the other stuff for AGLT including the large 207 control box that the gunner operates in the turret. will post some photos soon.
By: Cees Broere - 12th January 2007 at 13:18
Not sure mate – I was there just before xmas (best display at YAM for my money – it is superb)
TT
Ahum, one of the best displays of course………:dev2:
Cees
By: TEXANTOMCAT - 12th January 2007 at 13:02
TT, thanks for the link to your pictures. That sure is a beast of a turret!
Isn’t the FN121 at the Air Gunners’ Memorial Room at The Yorkshire Air Museum equipped with a AGLT collimator?
Not sure mate – I was there just before xmas (best display at YAM for my money – it is superb)
TT
By: Graham Adlam - 12th January 2007 at 10:09
Beam
if this system had been available in 1943, would the Germans not have eventually developed a system to allow their aircraft (or ground radars or something) to home in on the “beam” projected by the bombers, either by examining shot-down aircraft or by other means? Didn’t something like this happen with the “Monica” system?
interesting stuff!
cheers
greg v.
Flying towards the beam of this system probably would not be a good idea. Its hard to think off a counter measure to this other than being able top shoot outside the range of the defensive guns.
By: gregv - 12th January 2007 at 08:35
if this system had been available in 1943, would the Germans not have eventually developed a system to allow their aircraft (or ground radars or something) to home in on the “beam” projected by the bombers, either by examining shot-down aircraft or by other means? Didn’t something like this happen with the “Monica” system?
interesting stuff!
cheers
greg v.
By: Graham Adlam - 11th January 2007 at 21:01
WOW
We have a formerly AGLT equipped Boulton Paul D type turret on show in the Museum….
BPA have kindly hosted my pics:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/markansell/bpa/turrets/tdsywell.html
TT
That’s a really great turret, looks great. See PM:)
By: jpeters - 11th January 2007 at 20:52
Cool pictures thanks for sharing them. I might be mistaken but I believe I saw one of those items listed in ebay or “Spitfire Spares” awhile back. Anyone else notice one of these for sale recently or am I just dreaming? 😮
Misery loves company…I guess it’s nice to know that there are other turrets out there with parts even more scarce than mine! 😮
John
By: turretboy - 11th January 2007 at 20:13
TT, thanks for the link to your pictures. That sure is a beast of a turret!
Isn’t the FN121 at the Air Gunners’ Memorial Room at The Yorkshire Air Museum equipped with a AGLT collimator?
By: Graham Adlam - 11th January 2007 at 19:45
Unlikely
Are there any examples of the AGLT scanning aerials still in existence?
I thinks its highly unlikely any have survived, they were made in such few numbers, I would have thought by now one would have surfaced some where but havent heard of it yet. The cathode ray tube I believe is it one of four in existance, I stand to be corrected but I know that even Duxford don’t have one, the other three are in private collections. We live in hope!:)
By: TEXANTOMCAT - 10th January 2007 at 16:40
We have a formerly AGLT equipped Boulton Paul D type turret on show in the Museum….
BPA have kindly hosted my pics:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/markansell/bpa/turrets/tdsywell.html
TT
By: turretboy - 10th January 2007 at 14:40
Are there any examples of the AGLT scanning aerials still in existence?
By: 682al - 9th January 2007 at 21:04
If only these advances in turret design and equipment had been available in 1943, or even sooner.
Sir Arthur Harris pushed hard for improvements to bomber defensive equipment but despite much effort by Frazer-Nash, Bristol, Boulton-Paul, etc the major advances such as the above only came in at the war’s end.
He actually rejected the prototype FN82 turret, with .5 in. Brownings (as seen on NX611) in early 1943, but was pursuaded to accept it as an interim improvement over existing turrets. Even then, it only made it onto production Lancasters in 1945, too late for the European war.
Too little, too late.
By: turretboy - 9th January 2007 at 20:40
I’ve ogled at the pictures of these items many times, but I think that I would be a victim of friendly fire if my wife ever found out that I had bought them!
Maybe someday………..
Sign In
January 9, 2007 at 8:06 pm