Rear turret part???

Wow that looks like it could be part of the modification from the rear turret looking at the drawings..thank you for that!!
PM sent Kiteflyer!!

I saw this thread a couple of days ago, my immediate thought was that the armour looked very familiar, so much so that I went through photos of the recovery of EJ108 parts thinking that we had found a very similiar section.
So if it is indeed from EJ108, far as I was aware it was still either in the museum at Hardwick or in our store, I’d be interested to know how it’s ended up in Somerset.

Jeff

EJ108 is/was a MkIII Stirling

Hi Mike

It all look reasonable, if a little odd. There is a nice arc of holes that seem to be at the right pitch. I asked what Mark the aircraft was so that the type of turret installed might be determined – I can’t remember if the type changed as the war progressed. Having the servo feed (?) and this plate together is a big hint.

James

Hi James,

The plate could be turret related, but perhaps a field modification?

The FN120/121 was equipped with a 15 x 14 X 3/8″ armour plate in front of the gunners knees and a loose (optional?) panel that fit under the gunner’s seat cushion.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]246726[/ATTACH]

A have attached a few views of the seat. It’s under 16″ wide.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]246721[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]246722[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]246725[/ATTACH]

The other part is an ammo feed mechanism from a FN120/121.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]246723[/ATTACH]

Regards,

[ATTACH=CONFIG]246720[/ATTACH] the other side….

Ah – they are stuck together?! How are they connected – looks like there are three rivets?

Bizarre item.

I’ve been thinking that they were two seperate items!! Dur – what Mark was EJ108?

James

[ATTACH=CONFIG]246720[/ATTACH] the other side….

Oh …ok James…the circular section as part of a circle would be way too big for a turret ring I think..the rear turret being the smallest of all the FN turret rings.I did find a manufacturers stamp on the aluminium bracket.It is circular with 95 on top . ‘H&S’ in the middle and B underneath.

Hi Martin

I was referring to the aluminum part on top as being from around the window at the co-pilots seat – the rusty part underneath does look like the shape of the seat section from a turret but not quite the right shape as per AP1659A. I’m no expert but didn’t the rear turret get some extra armour plating at some point? Perhaps it wasn’t just in front of the gunner, perhaps it went under the existing seat as a mod? It would have been a reassuring place to have armour I would have thought!?

James

[ATTACH=CONFIG]246714[/ATTACH] the armoured plate part is from EJ108 which crashed at moat Farm in April 1944.this other part came with the plate which is why I thought it may be part of the rear turret.Could the plate be some sort of improvised armour from underneath the gunners seating position?? I don’t know of any armoured plate by the co – pilots seat James?? Will post a picture of the other side later.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]246699[/ATTACH]
Can anyone tell me if this is a part of a Frazer Nash rear turret please??

The dual row of holes suggests that a top hat rib ran above the curve, the one you can see twisted across the surface would be it – nothing like that in any turrets.

Could be from around an oval window, see if you can make a complete circle using the curve as a template – if not then it isn’t a circular hole and it points to a window. The reinforcing brackets to the left would nail identification if it was. If you can make a circle, what is the diameter that the hole would have been? That would narrow down the possibilities.

Is there a hole hiding under the metal in the centre of the curve? Pity the hole spacing isn’t regular, are there any holes in the curved section hidden by having rivets in them?. Doesn’t look like a fuselage one – what about the one by the co-pilots feet – that might be irregular and the brackets would meet the joint between the A/C sections.

James

Doesn’t look familiar to me.

I don’t recognise it Martin. Any history?