Warbird Information Exchange

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Fighters pilots are born to make movies , bomber pilots make HISTORY, cargo crews haul their material and fame.

Tight squeeze...but a great looking Cat.

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Wow and that Rare Chin turrent too ! Dose anybody have any photos of her before she was placed in the Museum walls ? Too bad that she will never be flown again..................................or will she can only hope.

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Always Keep Em Flying !

Glen

Lookie Capt Jim! Wham! Wham! ...............................Termights

Ummm, I'm not sure I would characterize the rear ventral gun as a chin turret. Usually those are located in the front of the aircraft.

Having said that, looks like a potentially really wet place to shoot from ! Must've had a hellacious bilge pump !

I don't think that even the cutaway PBY at Pensacola has that gun position present. Never seen it before.

Rick

I think Glen is referring to the Catalina's nose turret.

The Catalina at the NMUSAF , which is a OA-10 has that lower ventral gunn postion

Shay
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Semper Fortis

not



Steve

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"Any excuse is good enough if you're willing to use it!"

nose turret or forehead turret?

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Stoney & steve

This gun is known as the "tunnel gun" position to protect the PBY from low/rear attacks, it is located in the rear fuselage "tunnel" compartment beyond the step of the flying boat hull or keel, aft of the Blister compartment, and just ahead of the fin.

It was fitted to PBY-4's onwards and had a gun strapped to the side of the rear fuselage "tunnel" that would then swing down and lock into position over this hatch.

Later PBY-5A's had two clear windows with eye-ball sockets on either side of the rear fuselage "tunnel" that would allow the gun to be fired through ball sockets for side on attack.

regards

Mark Pilkington

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20th Century - The Age of Manned Flight
"from Wrights to Armstrong in 66 years -WOW!"

Cool PBY!

In clicking that link, I feel like Captain Kirk when he landed in that alternate universe...

>
This side on picture of the same PBY from pictures posted on the Warbidz site linked above better shows the location of the "tunnel gun" at the rear of the aircraft, and one of the windows in the tunnel gun compartment that originally had the eyeball gun sockets.

regards


Mark Pilkington

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20th Century - The Age of Manned Flight
"from Wrights to Armstrong in 66 years -WOW!"

Mark
I know what a tunnel gun is and have made a water landing in a PBY in 1969, I was in the glass nose, great fun.

_________________
GOOD MORNING, WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Press "1" for English.
Press "2" to disconnect until you have learned to speak English.

Ya know there is something wrong with that Y boat, hmmmmmmm let think what is it, Now I know what it is, there is no oil leaking out of those cowlings!

Sure is a nice looking airplane.
Scott.......