I have a Whitley front turret I would be happy to see used for filming – pretty much complete. It has a birdcage style cuppola so would make it particularly amenable for filming.

You aren’t allowed to break it though!

Many thanks for all your replies – the good and the bad!

REARGUNNER started out as a simple ‘War on the Sunday Driver’ plot but has progressed to be more along the lines of HARRY BROWN – and the ex-aircrew in it are indeed the heroes. I’m personally a huge fan of the Lancaster Bomber – it moves me to tears whenever I see one as I think of what the boys went through back then, and the mighty plane they bravely crewed. An amazing feat, and one that needs to be remembered. And I’m a tough hard-bitten 48-year old company director!

My cameraman is also the same age, and has filmed some amazing air to air footage over the years for all sorts of documentary warbird videos… so our short film REARGUNNER is just a bit of pure escapism.

So whilst the plot to REARGUNNER is a tad irreverent (some of you were almost right – they DO put the turret on the back of their minibus and…. well, I’m not going to spoil the end here…) it’s very definitely NOT your usual war film. It’s only a short – and may get broadcast but it’s not a commercial project, and hasn’t been commissioned by any TV Company.

I can promise you that we’ll treat the characters very sympathetically and it will be a story about their sacrifices for a somewhat broken Britain. All their hard work in vain? Maybe they get help in the end from a most unlikely source…. and their faith in humanity is restored.

So, I do welcome your comments good and bad, but I do realise that this film won’t be too everyone’s taste. It does have a moral, but it will be fun to watch! Just bear in mind that it’s entertainment and not a documentary though – and I welcome all the help you can give me please. Even if you hate the idea of this film, bear with us as we hope to produce something quite magical – that you just might be proud of, too.

So, anyway…. who’s got a turret then?

All my best regards, David

Try James Virgo in East London. He runs a small foundry – in fact he just cast up some blind flying panel mounts for me. http://www.jamesvirgoartwork.co.uk/

His prices are very reasonable and he is very reliable – you would be able to post patterns to him if you live a long way away. He also made my Whitley control wheel. I wouldn’t send my stuff anywhere else.

It has the anodised red firing button – not a common grip at all. Where was the other one you saw? I thought you would have one of these 🙂

There are some really good instructional videos on u-tube for solid riveting – well worth viewing.

It’s been in a crash Brian – don’t expect it to have all the curves in the right places – it’s from a Halifax.

Halifax 🙂

That’s a really impressive aircraft tyre! If someone can come up with a measurement from the hole for the hub we can probably ID the aircraft type.

Interesting thread. It’s amazing what must lie beneath ! Not wanting to hijack, mearly to add. A couple of years ago I was at Hunters Quay , near Dunoon. On the beach below the campsite was a tyre, that looked aircraft like to me. Ths area was literally buzzing during the war. The size 10 footprint was the only way I could think of to give scale ! Any ideas ?

Nice bits – yes, if you can post some part numbers and any other stamps you find. Hopefully we can ID them for you.

Regards
Elliott