Elliott,

I posted a response to your question on WIX Forum and figured I’d do the same here. I can’t say for sure if the piece is part of a turret or not, but I can say that it is definately not part of a ball turret (I wish it was 🙁 ).

John

Tim,

turretboy is absolutely correct…when a part comes in the mail and she asks what it’s for and how much…just do like I do and say it’s for the turret project and that it was only about $20.

If my wife knew how much $$$ I’ve dumped into my ball turret project she’d probably throw me out of the house (and also demand that she spend an equal amount on clothes, shoes, etc.)!

John

Got mugged by several pikeys a couple of months back, only had my phone nicked which was soon barred so it was useless to them and I got a new, better phone for free (cheers guys, it needed replacing!) – police got them all, but like Taifun there wasn’t enough evidence to prove it – have to agree with Taifun’s idea of an election pledge, maybe I should be an MP

This is quite an interesting thread…but I have to ask…what is a “Pikey?”

I don’t mean to sound ignorant…it’s just that a lot of us Yanks over here in the colonies are not up to speed on some of the British slang. If anyone could set me straight, I’d greatly appreciate it.

Getting back on topic, I totally agree with trying to hang onto a family members service medals at all costs. My family is quite small but my grandmother did serve in the W.A.V.E.S. during WWII. I was able to acquire some of the service medals from the government, which she never received after discharge and have mounted them in a nice framed display case. She’s 84 and I’ve specifically asked her to leave them to me when she passes away (which she agreed to do). They will be proudly displayed in my home for my kids and future grandkids to see. My fear is that if they went to some other family member they would end up on ebay or worse yet…tossed in the trash.

I spent 9 years in the U.S. Army and fought in the 1991 Gulf War. I have all my service decorations in a display box which hangs on my office wall. Eventually these (along with my uniforms, pictures, etc) will be passed down to my two sons and eventually their children.

John

I spent 9 years in the United States Army and jumped out of airplanes while assigned to the 18th Airborne Corp located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which is where the famed 82nd Airborne is also located.

There was an airborne drop in Grenada by one of the Army Ranger battalions. They took the airfield which enabled the other paratroopers to land at the airfield instead of jumping.

Probably the last large US “combat” jump was in 1989 during the Panama invasion. If I’m not mistaken they dropped an entire battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division. I served with a few of the men that participated in this night drop and they said a few of the men were wounded even before exiting the aircraft. Many of the C-141 aircraft also came back with bullet holes in them.

John

The Lady be Good?

Earthey,

The “Lady Be Good” was a B-24 bomber assigned to the 514TH Squadron, 376th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force. The plane went missing after a bombing mission to Naples, Italy on 4 April 1943. It was one of the big mysteries of WWII and most assumed the bomber was lost in the Mediterranian.

16 years later in 1959 the bomber was discovered in the middle of the Libyan desert by an oil exploration team, miraculously preserved by the desert environment. The crew had lost their bearing and figured they were still over the Mediterranian when they all bailed out. The bomber continued to fly on auto-pilot until it ran out of fuel and belly landed on the desert floor (440 miles from the Mediterranian coast), breaking the body of the aircraft just behind the main wings. Despite the crash, the aircraft was in an excellent state of preservation. The recovery crew discovered a coffee thermos that still had drinkable coffee inside. They were even able to fire the .50 cal machine guns by simply pulling the trigger. The radio was also still in working condition.

Eventually a ground search was conducted for the crew which had parachuted. The remains of 5 crew members were found in area littered with canteens, flashlights, pieces of parachutes, flight jackets, and other personal effects. According to the recovered diary of one of the crew members, 8 of the crew trekked 85 miles north to the point at which the remains were found. The 8 men had only half a canteen of water among them during their crossing of a desert which reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit at midday.

Much more can be found online…quite a story!!

John

Rocketeer,

Looks like the right hand section of a ball turret…too bad somebody went crazy with the green spray paint. Nice piece though!!!

John