Turrets, the whole turrets, and nothing but the turrets......

[GTX]

Enough of this armoured vehicle turret talk...what I really want to know is:  Is there a kit/conversion available in 1/48 for the German fully powered manned Hecklafette HL 131V tail turret:

In either 4 x 13mm variant:







or twin 20mm variant:




Regards,

Greg

[philp]

Antares Models makes a conversion set for the He-277 that looks like it has that turret (72nd thou).

[Gondor]

now that sounds interesting

Gondor

[ChernayaAkula]

Not aware of any sets, but maybe someone did a conversion for the MPM 1/48 He 177A-5?

Revell's 1/72 He 177A-6 has the 4x 13mm turret. Two of those will mean an enormous amount of covering fire for my planned he 177 Zwilling!

[rickshaw]

Isn't that the one which you had to be about 4 feet tall to sit in?  It was also apparently impossible to get out of in an emergency.

I've often wondered why the Germans weren't able to field good, heavily armed aircraft turrets whereas the British were.

I do wonder though, what is the proboscis in the middle, between the guns which has a ball like object on it?  Anybody got any ideas?

[DaFROG]

Methinks it is part of the sighting system. There is a microscope eyepiece lookin thing on the inside of the turret and it looks like the guns couldn't actually be sighted through the turret glazing anyway especially is the guns are intended to actually be fired (in an aimed manner anyway) at the high angles shown in some of the pics. this would also mean that the gunner does not have to move in the turret he just looks down the sight and it shows him where the guns are pointing. Of course this is pure speculation on my part but it would definitely fit with the typical German over engineering electro-optical-mechanical  methods of trying to shoot stuff.

It is a cool looking turret (esp twin 20mm) and sounds like it is exactly the kind of impractical kind of complicated engineering which i love, now wish i'd got a HE177A6 not A5

[dy031101]

The newest incarnation of Taiwan's indigenous 105mm gun turret meant for the Clouded Leopard armoured vehicle:



I hope that it could grow into something for use with the M60 chassis, too......



Oh well, one can always dream...... 

[sequoiaranger]

rickshaw:>I do wonder though, what is the proboscis in the middle, between the guns which has a ball like object on it?<

Dunno, but I suspect it might be a "tail-warning radar" device to alert the gunner (and/or pilot) to approaching aircraft (at night), "sniffing out", if you will, enemy aricraft!

[GTX]

rickshaw:>I do wonder though, what is the proboscis in the middle, between the guns which has a ball like object on it?<

Dunno, but I suspect it might be a "tail-warning radar" device to alert the gunner (and/or pilot) to approaching aircraft (at night), "sniffing out", if you will, enemy aricraft!

I actually think it might be part of the sighting system.  In fact, I note a resemblance to the periscope gun-sight on the Ju388:

External view (first is indicated turret, second is Ju388):




Internal View (first is indicated turret, second is Ju388 - note sighting lens in both):



I wonder if this gave the gunner a better view than looking straight via the 'windows'?

Regards,

Greg