Does anyone know what type of aircraft this steel frame could have been mounted to? I believe the caliber of the machine guns would have been less than .50″ given the width of the supports for the ammo cans, but the front mounts do seem quite bulky.
The distorted empty cartridge chute in the center only services the top pair of guns which are positioned slightly forward of the lower two.
The length between front and rear mounts is approximately 9 1/2″. The inside width of the front mount is 2 3/8″ and the diameter of the front mount bolt is 9/16″.
STELCO (bolt manufacturer) was based in Hamilton, Ontario.
Any ideas?
Regards,
By: Adrian Barrell - 9th April 2009 at 12:32
As I said earlier, it is nothing like the halftrack gun mount which is a massive mount in comparison bearing no resemblance to this item at all.
By: mike currill - 9th April 2009 at 12:03
Hardly what I had in mind as ball turrets were only twin gun- I have seen the M3 halftrack with a four gun set up remarkably like the one shown here.
By: ade wilkes - 8th April 2009 at 23:49
Something along tose lines came to my mind also, though I was thinking of the same setup on the M3 halftrack
The M16 half track used a modified version of B-17/B-24 ball turret powered by a small petrol engine,according to the instruction sheet on my tamiya kit.;)
By: ade wilkes - 8th April 2009 at 23:44
Great piece of kit,just dying for restoration and maybe some de-ac Brownings
By: mike currill - 8th April 2009 at 21:11
I think I might have found it Mike!
Something along tose lines came to my mind also, though I was thinking of the same setup on the M3 halftrack
By: turretboy - 7th April 2009 at 20:08
Thanks guys,
The dimensions between the front/back mounts match closely to the .303 Browning.
I’m wondering if it could be something similar to a PBY bow gun, but for a lighter caliber gun? The photo below shows four .50″ guns mounted through the bow plate of a PBY.
It’s the only thing close (sea, land & air) that I’ve found so far.
Regards,
Mike
By: Adrian Barrell - 6th April 2009 at 19:24
Hmm, that’s an M3A1 light tank hull with a Maxon quad .50 mount, a very substantial piece of equipment. The unknown mount is not robust enough for
.50 cals so I imagine it’s for .30 or a .303.
By: Peter - 6th April 2009 at 14:52
I think I might have found it Mike!
M5A1 AA prototype, another experimental weapon. Essentially just replaced the main gun of a standard M5A1 light tank with Brownings.
By: turretboy - 6th April 2009 at 04:08
I’m not sure either. It could possibly be a deck gun off a boat.
By: Peter - 6th April 2009 at 03:31
Interesting piece!
Not sure if it is aircraft though??
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April 6, 2009 at 3:12 am