All turrets on B25 Miss Mitchell now operational - W/ videos

[turret nate]

Good info, thanks Taigh. I know what you mean about the lights, right now we can activate the TEST switch and they all light up. It sure would be easier to run one wire, but the working lights would be cool. Sounds like the plan is to run them all back. If we run into problems I will contact you, I do appreciate your offer. By the way I sent you a PM about an Amplydine.

Daveyman82c, regarding the speed - there is a high speed switch on top of the top turret control handle. It moves pretty slow when this button is not depressed. The ground videos of the top turret are in slow speed mode. The video with the two other B25s was shot run running in slow speed, but later in the video (with the clear sky) there is a rotation in high speed. It is pretty snappy in high speed, I should time it some time. The control stick is very sensitive, the more you move it to the sides the faster it goes.

I have always been fascinated with WW2 turret systems, I am very grateful to have the opportunity to work on these units and share this with you all!

[cco23i]

Hey we could load the concrete bombs in her and let ya' drop them!

Scott

[Bojiboy]

Awesome! Thanks for posting the videos. What a great deal of work must have gone into everything. It was great to see the upper Bendix turret in operation. I donated a Bendix drive assembly to the So. Cal. Wing that my dad had kept since the war. I believe it was from a PBJ. If you ever get a chance to take some pictures or video of the actual drive system for the turret that would be great. I would be interested in seeing how it all looks in a complete setup, I have only seen the drive piece.

Keep up the good work!

Greg

[turret nate]

Greg - I plan on going down tomorrow and will try to take the video you requested if time permits. It may be difficult to film the drive assembly, especially if it is the top one due to the small space. There is a drive motor in the top between the guns (for moving up and down) and a larger one at the base for turning. The there are two amplydines, one mounted on the support stand and the other above the bomb bay. Can you describe the part you donated, or provide a picture? Thanks for your donation and for helping keep these things working!

[crystal lakes]

FINALLY!

I now have an idea what it was like for my dad when he was in the top turret! Fantastic videos fer sure!!! Thanks much for the postings!

Bill

I was just thinking the same thing when I read your comment Bill. Our Dads got to see some neat stuff.
Mike

[Bojiboy]

Greg - I plan on going down tomorrow and will try to take the video you requested if time permits. It may be difficult to film the drive assembly, especially if it is the top one due to the small space. There is a drive motor in the top between the guns (for moving up and down) and a larger one at the base for turning. The there are two amplydines, one mounted on the support stand and the other above the bomb bay. Can you describe the part you donated, or provide a picture? Thanks for your donation and for helping keep these things working!

Wow, that would be great! Hope it's not too much trouble.

Attached is a picture of the drive assembly. As you can see my dad did some modifying, unfortunately. He had a purpose, this turned his amateur radio beam antenna for about 60 years. He apparently removed the amplydine motor and installed his own 120volt motor. I did not find the amplydine piece when we cleaned out the house after he passed away. There are several limit switches still in place I assume were used as limit switches for the guns. He used them to limit the travel of the drive so it couldn't travel more than 360 degrees in either direction. He was in the Navy for the duration of the war and was stationed at Sand Point Naval Air Station in Washington. (my mom was there also and helped in building baby flat top carriers) That is where he got the drive, I assume, and that is why I think it may have been from a PBJ. Interesting it started out on the west coast and made it back some 65 years later. I wish it could have been more complete but I just couldn't toss it knowing some of it might be useful.

Thanks for all you folks do to preserve these pieces of history. Thanks again for any images you may provide also. I did a lot of searching to find out just what I had but never really found any images of what it all looks like together. The second image attached is of the setup for his antenna.

Thanks again!

Greg

[Hemiman]

FINALLY!

I now have an idea what it was like for my dad when he was in the top turret! Fantastic videos fer sure!!! Thanks much for the postings!

Bill

I was just thinking the same thing when I read your comment Bill. Our Dads got to see some neat stuff.
Mike

Evening Mike..

Yep, they saw some neat stuff from that view, but sadly, they probably witnessed a bunch that wasn't so neat.

Bill

[turret nate]

Greg, That is the lower drive motor and its purpose is to turn the turret. I am also a ham radio guy and could see where the lower drive could make a nice rotor. Your dad was very crafty. Our lower drive assembly has some differences, and I am not sure if this is do to different models or modifications your Dad made. Ours has two boxes attached, the first in the center is the brush box – it allows power and intercom wires up to the top when the unit is spinning 360+ degrees (so wires don’t get twisted up). The right box has limit circuits, so you can interrupt the firing circuit on the guns when they pass by parts of the plane.

Here are some pictures of our unit:












I also took some more movies up the turret working inside. The beginning shows some angles of that drive assembly. The middle has two rotations in high speed. The plane was powered by shore power, I think it moves faster when on plane power (can't run the turret much when the engines are not up, the thing draws 50-100 amps). In the end of the video I did ½ rotation in slow mode followed by a ½ rotation in fast mode, so you can see the differences in speed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxjhi1vLa8E

I plan to make an instructional video to use for our crew, for both turrets. I will ask them to watch the video before running the turrets. When I get that project done I will post the video here.

Nate

[Bojiboy]

Nate,

WOW, what can I say! That is so cool. I've looked on the internet for a long, long time trying to find pictures of how this thing looked and worked and now here it is. The video and pictures are absolutely great. I can't thank you enough!

Even though my dad was not in aviation, he would be happy to know his antenna rotor made it back to where it belongs, in the hands of folks trying to preserve our history.

What I see from your pictures, he removed the brush box and covered the opening with a blank plate. Of course he also removed the motor and installed his own. The micro switch and cam assembly is still intact. He added a Selsyn sending unit to the end of the cam/limit switch assembly. That was linked to a Selsyn receiving unit in the house that was connected to a pointer on a compass rose so he knew where the antenna was pointed. Worked very well. I'll post a picture of that remaining assembly tonight if I can. So it's sure not in its original form but at least the main part is still around. If you ever need some parts the folks in Camarillo CA. have it in their museum. They couldn’t use it because they are using a Martin turret I believe.

Thanks again for taking your own time to shoot some video and stills. You are one lucky guy to be so involved with vintage aircraft. By the way, I'm a ham also. Guess where I got that. My dad was a ham from around 1936, W0VIS was his call. While in the Navy he taught men how to operate and service radio equipment on ships before they went to sea. He also serviced teletype equipment and some radar for the duration. Sorry to ramble.

I'd like to come to Minnesota some time and look at your aircraft up close. We're in Des Moines so not too far away. I'm a member of the CAF and So. Cal. wing but it looks like I'll be sending a donation to the Minnesota wing too.

Thanks

Greg

[turret nate]

My pleasure Greg! That sure was smart for your Dad to use the selsyns, cool set up!

Do stop in and visit us. If I am around when you come in, and if the B25 is here, I would be happy to let you run the turret. Our work days are Wednesday and Saturday, usually 10AM-5PM. So unless its a holiday someone will be there. Wednesdays are probably better, the planes go to shows frequently on weekends. Everything is home right now except the P51 (Tuskgegee Airmen) which is making a curcuit.

73, Nate "kb0uxv"

[Bojiboy]

Nate,

What can I say. It just gets better and better. I'll take you up on your offer, hopefully this summer. That would be one of those once in a lifetime opportunities. I'll check in with you prior to make sure it works with your schedule.

Thanks again!
73
Greg - WD0HII

[Rob Mears]

For about $50K you could outfit a single turret with two bona fide full-auto .50-cals. Someone without a felony record would have to be responsible for them at all times (armorer), and I'm not sure about the regulations for operating them from a flying plane. You's also have to file paperwork with the BATFE before you cross state lines! Might be fun for in-State airshows and live fire tarmac displays though! Depending on where you're based, I'll bet I could find a volunteer who would be happy to mount their own guns in the turret for a day if you wanted to document some live fire video, just for kicks.

[turret nate]

Rob, that would be awesome to make it 100% original! I own several NFA pieces so I am very familiar with the process. The funds are not there for original guns so it probably would never happen. Also Minnesota is a C&R only state so the price for the guns would be a little higher. Also not sure if you know but you don't need to file with ATF when taking NFA over state lines if you have a C&R license (assuming the state you are going into allows MGs).

One of our members also has a regular type FFL, he could get the SOT and become a NFA dealer or manufacturer to allow us to buy cheaper post samples. Or if we were a government museum we could do new NFA registrations right to the museum, that would make it affordable, but we would never want to break away from the CAF.

To be honest, as much as the things would get used I don't it would not justify the expense and paperwork.