Turreted Fighters

[GTX]

During the 1930s and early '40s, the concept of turreted fighters was in vogue in Great Britain - examples include the Boulton Paul Defiant and Blackburn Roc.  What if other countries also took up the concept?  What other possible contenders could there be? Could they have been more successful?

Germany:

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.

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

Italy?
Japan?
Russia?
USA?

Regards,

Greg

[upnorth]

Well, it would have to be powerful enough to carry some fixed forward firepower. That was one of the Defiant's big problems, everything was given to a turret that couldn't cover the front. Once the German's figured that out, it was all over for the Defiant, from a day fighter perspective at least.

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.

In a way, the P-61 was America's stab at a fighter with a turret.

I do believe some of the biplane fighters that the Hurricane had in it's lineage did possess the ring turret, so maybe reincorporating that idea into the Hurricane via the enclosed turret would work into something.

I think really if you want to do it with single engined fighters, you'd have to limit the turret to two guns if you wanted to keep any forward firing ability in the aircraft. Perhaps had they done that with the Defiant so it could have at least some modicum of frontal defence, it would not have been so decimated as it was.

[Archibald]

Excellent idea!  

A Bloch MB-152 with a turret would be cool.  
A stretched Dewoitine D-510 with a turret would look very odd... (at least it would please Brian)
Potez 631 with a turret (very slow).
Laté 298 with a turret    

What else ? Fairey Battle with two turrets    
Turreted Vickers Wellesley    
(these would be nightfighters)

Would it be possible to build a turret with four Hispano mk.2 guns ? (what a firepower!)

Got another idea now... add a turret with two Hispano guns (not four Vickers like the defiant) to a Fairey Firefly    

[dy031101]

Didn't Supermarine and Hawker come up with designs based on Spitfire and Hurricane respectively?

[PanzerWulff]

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"

[gooberliberation]

I was toying with the idea of having a turreted BF 110 night fighter a-la P-61, with radar moved to wings, and with a turret in the nose. At least that way all the guns would still be firing forward.

Problem would still be aiming from behind the pilot. I wrote off the design because a staggered cockpit from like, a Do 335 trainer would be too hard and somewhat implausable.

Mabye a turreted twin-fighter, like a P-82 or a twin P-47(P-96?), with pilot and gunner on one side, and turret on the other, where the cockpit used to be.

[Mossie]

Excellent idea! 

A Bloch MB-152 with a turret would be cool. 
A stretched Dewoitine D-510 with a turret would look very odd... (at least it would please Brian)
Potez 631 with a turret (very slow).
Laté 298 with a turret   

What else ? Fairey Battle with two turrets   
Turreted Vickers Wellesley   
(these would be nightfighters)

Would it be possible to build a turret with four Hispano mk.2 guns ? (what a firepower!)

Got another idea now... add a turret with two Hispano guns (not four Vickers like the defiant) to a Fairey Firefly 

Archie, found the Bloch 1040 on Sercret Projects:



The Bell Airacuda was designed as a bomber destroyer & had turrets of a fashion, the gunners could aim the guns, but they were mainly there for reloading:


Going back to Brits, the Westland-Hill Pterodactyl VI would have had a nose mounted turret:


And of course my favourite the Westland P-12 would have had a tail mounted turret, intended for strafing ground targets but would have been quite useful for attacking bombers, even if it couldn't have caught them!:

[Mossie]

Knew I'd seen some others somewhere!  A few more, all kitted by Unicraft:

Moskalev Sigma tailess fighter:
http://www.geocities.com/unicraftmodels/on...sigma/sigma.htm

Tupolev ANT-23 push-pull 30's turret fighter:


Junkers Ju-187 Super Stuka with turret & swivel tail to give greater arc of fire:

[GTX]

The Tupolev ANT-23 didn't have a turret in real life - if had two 76mm Kurchevski APK-4 recoilless weapons which were embodied in the tailbooms, the gun gases being discharged from their tails.  Mind you, perhaps with a stretched fuselage, you could fit a turret in there.

Regards.

Greg

[Madoc]

Folks,

Did someone mention "turreted fighters?"

Westland Wyvern at Telford

Madoc

[P1127]

In spite of being turreted, I don't think the guns on the P-61 were ever used anything but firing straight ahead.

Ju87 with a Turret perhaps?

[Mossie]

Look up above you!

[P1127]

Look up above you!

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

[The Rat]

In a related vein I've got plans to do a turreted Harvard gunnery trainer, probably RCAF. I was going to use the turret off the Airfix Defiant but it looks like crap, Maybe a heat-n-smash replacement would be better.

[GTX]

Did someone mention "turreted fighters?"

Westland Wyvern at Telford

Yes, I saw that - who did it?  What's the story?

Regards,

Greg