Turreted Fighters

[Mossie]

Look up above you!

Yeah, but i was thinking regualr Ju87 - maybe even an A model in Spanich Civil War markings.....

Hmm, get you, a turreted Spanish Civil War Stuka would look good.

[deathjester]

how about remote operated, periscopically sighted turrets, a'la b-29 / b-36 / me-210 ? save a lot of weight.  

[GTX]

I don't see why not - especially if the concept proved successful with the earlier types.

Regards,

Greg

[elmayerle]

How about a two-seat, turreted version of the F5F or P-50?

[HOG]

Hi All.
Howzabout modern jetz, not so much a turret- more like the gun pit in the Millenium Falcon.  The F14 GIB on an office chair

going back in the cupboard now...........

[kitnut617]

the Millenium Falcon is a modern jet, hmmm!    

[GTX]

Speaking of the Millenium Falcon, I remember seeing someone in the RAAF modify one a few years back into a two seat RAAF 'aircraft'.

Regards,

Greg

[HOG]

the Millenium Falcon is a modern jet, hmmm!   

No it`s not, but life might be a bit more interesting if it was. B)
It waas just the ideea of a rear crewman in the back of a modern aircraft having access to guns top and bottom.    

[JasonW]

i can only think of 2 american fighters with the horsepower to sport a turret (1) the P-47 give it the same turret (Bendix I think) as the B-26 or (2) the P-38 although the P-38 would require some major redesign to the center nacelle to give it the room for a turret
"Panzer"

The XP-58 Chain Lightning derivative of the P-38 would have been perfect for a turret on the top middle to rear portion of the central nacelle. It was large enough to probably accomodate the pilot and a Bendix turret with gunner.

I have a resin kit of the XP-58, interesting possibilities......  B)


 

[GTX]

Interestingly, Boulton Paul didn't completely give up on the turreted fighter concept:

P.96:



P.97:



Regards,

Greg

[GTX]

Topic revival!

A version of the He-112 perhaps - say after the loss to Messerschmitt with their Bf-109, Heinkel recast the He-112 with a 2 - 4 gun turret behind the pilot.

Crude rendition of this idea:



If anyone has a better He-112 line drawing to play with I'd appreciate it.

Regards,

Greg

[GTX]

A version of the Arado-196 with a similar turret to counter the Roc?

And this:



It wouldn't be a stunning performer - but then again neither was the Roc!

Regards,

Greg

[GTX]

As for Germany, my first inclination would be to do it with the BF-110. It had the power of two engines, so I imagine if you retailored the back part of the crew cabin to take the turret, you might still keep some of the forward firing nose guns.

How's this:



Regards,

Greg

[Hawkeye]

I think turrents were incorporated into fighter designs to meet two purposes...psychological...the attacking aircraft would see those guns trained on them as they approached making them think twice to press the attack. The other is because of the aircrafts design...lack of maneuverability which made it easy prey for more nimble aircraft.

Looking back at aircraft with turrents or rearward gunners all lacked the ability to evade on their own an opponent. At some point you have to call it a truck, it may look like a fighter, shoot like a fighter, but if it cannot move like a fighter, slap a rear gun position on it and call it a lorry or light bomber.

[GTX]

Actually, from what I have read the concept for a turreted fighter was anything but defensive.  Rather the theory was that with modern fighters/bombers being so fast and strong (compared to fabric biplanes) the traditional 2 machine guns would be unable to inflict enough damage in the fleeting moments it was able to fire, especially since modern monoplanes weren't as manoeuvrable.  Therefore, to provide a better chance of inflicting sufficient damage, the turret was introduced - the idea being that the turret could 'track' the target and thus achieve more hits.  It also allowed a means to overcome the lack of manoeuvrability.  Re not putting forward firing guns, apart from the same theory applying (i.e. why waste guns that wouldn't be able to do anything?), it was also a concern that the pilot should concentrate on getting his gunner in the right position rather than chasing targets of his own.

Regards,

Greg