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Spitfire fitted with the Ace
Maker Giro Gunsight.
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The Ace Maker
Giro Gunsight (pg3 Gun)
Seen under
fitted in a Spitfire
Click to enlarge
The Ace Maker Giro Gunsight (pg3 Gun)
A/M/8B2522
This is probably the rarest RAF WW11
Fighter Gunsight in the world I do not believe another of these gun sites is available for sale anywhere on the
internet except here. The FIRST ever giro gun site fitted to
Spitfires and other wartime Fighters. Called the Ace maker this sight worked out
the deflection for the pilot. Put the X on the target at any
angle and you hit the target. So named because of the rapid
increase of Aces after introduction of this site. An Ace was defined as a pilot who have 5
or more kills. This is a in excellent complete example
supplied in its wooden box. Complete with anti glare shield
which flips up and down as it should.
N/A
Giro Gunsight
Bracket
Click to enlarge
The Above Bracket mounts the
|Giro Gunsight to the Spitfire ,see picture left. If you
look carefully you can make out the bracket at the base of
the sight. This is just as rare a part as the gunsight
itself. It will be available for sale as soon as I can get
some repo's made. |
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Thought to be
one of only four still in existence
The AGLT
Village Inn FN 150 tail turret as fitted on a Lancaster
Village Inn.
Mk11 Giro Gunsight with Cathode Ray tube Attached mounted in
a Lancaster Rear Turret
Also included in the sale is this mint condition
AGLT control box, this is
unused and comes in its original packaging.
We also have
the correct Giro gunsight and mounting brackets to fit the
cathode ray tube and the Gunsight if required
This is the starter switch gear for
the ARI 5559 and the ARI 5560 which is part of the AGLT Mark I system
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Village Inn Cathode Ray tube, control box and starter unit (pg3 gun)
A
extremely rare cathode ray tube and control unit and starter
switch mounted in the rear turret
next to the Mk 11 Giro Gunsight see under. Only a very
limited number (less than 100) were ever fitted. I
believe this to be one of only four left in the world making
it this sites current rarest WW11 part.
Village Inn
was the codename for the British Airborne Gun in Turrets
(AGLT) radar-aimed gun turret fitted to some Lancaster
bombers in 1944
The AGLT system was devised to
allow a target to be tracked and
fired-on in total darkness, the target's range being
accurately computed as well as allowing for lead and bullet
drop.
The system was devised by a team led
by Dr P.I. Dee and designed under the aegis of Chief
Designer Dr Alan Hodgkin, after receiving a request from the
Air Ministry for such a system in early 1943. It worked on a
wavelength of 9.1 cm with a pulse frequency of 660 per
second.
The system consisted of a
transmitter/receiver unit mounted in the navigator's
compartment and included an automatic ranging facility which
relayed range information into the
Computer section of a Mark II C gyro gunsight.
The turret featured a small scanning aerial that followed
the movement of the guns, and a
Cathode ray tube (CRT) display screen positioned adjacent to
the gun sight, the image of which was projected on to
the gun sight reflector screen via a semi-transparent
mirror.
To use, the gunner manoeuvred his
turret until the target blip projected onto the sight
reflector screen coincided with the normal gyro sight aiming
graticule, at which the point the guns would be correctly
aimed, the inbuilt characteristics of the gyro sight
almost guaranteeing a hit
should the gunner subsequently open fire.
Initially, ranging information was
provided only at the transmitter situated in the navigator's
compartment and was read-off to the gunner over the intercom
the gunner using foot pedals to set the target range on the
sight, however, in production equipment the process was made
automatic, the range information being fed electronically
directly into the sight, with the navigator's "running
commentary" only being retained for the benefit of the rest
of the crew.
Village Inn was evaluated and tested
by the Telecommunications research establishment at RAF
Defford using the Lancaster Mark I ND712 and the
Lancaster Mark IIIs JB705 and LL737 and
subsequently put into production.
Also included in
the sale is this mint condition
AGLA control box, this is unused and comes in its
original packaging.
Village Inn Cathode Ray tube, control box and starter unit (pg3 gun)
£2200
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Bristol
Blenheim with ventral Turret fitted under the nose
click on pictures to enlarge
Lancaster with ventral Turret fitted behind the bomb
bay click on pictures to enlarge
Halifax
with a Boulton Paul type R ventral Turret fitted behind the
bomb bay click on pictures to enlarge
Boulton Paul type R ventral
Turret
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Ventral Turret Periscope Gunsight (pg3 Gun)
This is a periscope gunsight
for a Ventral turret. These turrets were used in a variety
of aircraft in very limited numbers including the Blenheim,
Wellington, Hampton, Stirling. Halifax and early Lancaster's. Its very light weight
and in superb condition the optics are of exceptional
quality and work well. The ventral position was soon deleted
on most RAF Lancaster's as it was thought unnecessary and
took the same position as the H2S radome. Where possible,
and unofficially, many crews installed a single 7.7 mm
(0.303 in) or 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Browning machine-gun on
aircraft lacking the ventral turret in order to deal with
the ever increasing 'behind and below' attacks of German
night fighters using Schräge Musik, which interesting, did
not use tracer ammunition. These were hastily installed
configurations usually consisting of the gunner sitting on a
bicycle type seat with the ammunition box being bolted to
the floor and the gun mounted in a hole cut into the floor.
The British would eventually re-introduce the F.N.64 turret
on aircraft equipped with G-H radar (an improved version of
Gee) since that type of radar did not have the large radome
as the H2S required. During 1943/1944 when the use of
Schräge Musik on German Nachtjagd (night fighters) became
widespread, the new twin-gun F.N.64 power-operated turrets
became the most important gun position on the bomber.
By its nature this is was a
rare piece when in use and therefore probably unique now. I
do not know of an aircraft any where in the world still in
existence that has this type of turret fitted. It comes in
its original box and this weighs allot, if you want it sent
without its box to save postage I am happy to do this. The
actual periscope is very light. The information was
provided by a member of the Stirling rebuild project group
and confirmed by an independent member of a Lancaster
restoration project.
£880
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Click on the
picture's to enlarge
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HIGH VOLTAGE Z TURRET CONTROL BOX(pg3 gun)
CONTROL BOX FOR
SENSITIVITY AND RANGE FOR "Z" IFF
TRANSMITTER FITTED TO REAR OF LANCASTER AIRCRAFT. THIS
CONTROLLED THE HIGH VOLTAGE Z TUBE
FITTED (listed above) IN
LATE 1944 FN120 AND FN82 GUN TURRETS. THE "Z" TUBE WOULD
DETECT THE TWO INFRA-RED PROJECTOR LIGHTS FITTED TO
BOMB-AIMERS BLISTER OF LANCASTER BOMBERS. WHEN DETECTED THIS
WOULD LOCK THE FIRING MECHANISM OF THE
TURRET, PREVENTING FIRING INTO FRIENDLY BOMBERS.
MARKED WITH MILITARY BROAD ARROW. THIS WAS REMOVED FROM AN
FN82 REAR GUN TURRET OF LANCASTER RT 686. GOOD CONDITION.
MEASURES 5" X 3.5" X 2.5"
£125
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