A bit like Star Wars Death Star, deadly anyway: Sperry "ball" turret of a B-24 Liberator
A quick and topical article this time!
Sometimes "the oats get you", as they say. This was the case for me recently when I was in the middle of building the large Hobby Boss B-24 Liberator in 1/32nd scale and was about to assemble the four turrets. Well, actually there were only three: I don't need the lower turret for the version of a Liberator Mk VI used by the British that I chose. However, given the quality of the parts and the peculiarly iconic shape and appearance of this gun turret, I didn't want to simply ignore the parts. After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to upgrade the quite usable parts a little more and then consider the result as a "model within a model". Perhaps I will place the ball turret next to the finished Liberator!
The upgrade is really only in the representation of the hydraulic and electrical wiring and - a significant improvement - the use of brass-made barrels.
Only those who have actually done this will know what it really felt like to be crammed into this frightening confinement of steel and bulletproof glass, only to spend the next 10 hours curled up in the same foetal position, squatting and fighting with a high risk of death - everyone else can only try to imagine it with empathy and imagination. I suspect that the result will always lag behind reality.
P.S.: in order to be able to save himself with the parachute, the gunner first had to turn the turret into the correct position with the hatch posing into the inside, release the lock and open the access in order to be able to climb into the fuselage. Only there did he reach the parachute, which he now had to put on before he could leave the doomed aircraft...
Scary.
Indeed!
Thank you George!
Beautifully build, Roland @rosachsenhofer
It must have been a terrifying experience to be the operator of this turret.
When seeing it in real it scaries you even more, which I did at Duxford in 2019
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Thanks for your comment and the picture - interesting to see a restored example.
The turret definitely inspired Luca's. With the two windows above the round observation window looking like storm trooper eyes for the helmets and as seen on the AT-ST walker's crew station windows. Great save or good use of the resource in educating the viewer on the kit details and in helping provide a teachable moment Roland.
I've seen photos of ball turrets taking direct hits which leaves nothing to the imagination. The people manning those turrets were very brave indeed.
Two thumbs up
Stephen, thank you very much! You are saying what I was already thinking. The Sperry ball turret has definitely become a topic of popular culture!
Great idea and a wonderful realization of it, Roland @rosachsenhofer! 👏 That ball was not a place for the claustrophobic!
I'll just add a couple pertinent links; are you familiar with this TV program from the '80s, Roland, and this particular episode? The series was called "Amazing Stories" and in this episode, a ball turret gunner is trapped in his turret with the landing gear gone. It's a really neat show, directed by Steven Spielberg, entitled "The Mission":
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0511124/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
And one more, brought to mind by that steel cage..."Master of Sparks": 😁
Gary, very interesting references! No, the cult series was unknown to me - thanks for that - ZZTop, on the other hand, accompanied my younger years for a long time 🙂
Nice work as usual, Roland.
Fortunately for the ball turret gunners, they didn't spend the whole mission in the turret. They were up in the rear fuselage until they went over the enemy coast (coming from England to Germany), at which point they climbed down into the turret - then they came back out when the formation was "in the clear" for returning home.. And yes, very few ball gunners managed to successfully bail out, given the comoplications you mentioned here.
Thank you Tom for your comment! As always insightful - I'm almost relieved to at least be able to imagine that the guy didn't have to spend hours in this nightmarish position...
Excellent idea to display the turret, Roland!
Awesome result!
Thank you indeed, Spiros!
Great idea and well done, Roland. Maybe it's been done but a larger scale kit of the ball turret would be a nice idea.
I do agree, it does look like it could be a Sci-fi or steam punk build as well.
I completely agree with that too! 🙂 Thanks, Gary
Gun turrets are an under-served opportunity in plastic modeling. Both in the scale model itself, and in the after market. We have scads of barrels, and even belts, but very little in the way of internal details. Recent kits I have seen, at least in smaller scales, are little better than the gunner with a circle for hands that the gun axle fit through.
This looks excellent Roland. And it represents a good use of parts that probably wouldn't be used anywhere else unless you were kit-bashing something like a space ship.
What you write about models of gun turrets sounds interesting - an inspiring idea. Well... who knows what we'll see when I think of the emerging scene of battleship turrets in recent times!
Nice Build Roland, and what a great display piece. You made it a real gem! I agree the turrets are often over simplified in kits, with little or no detail put inside. I am hoping the upcoming 1/48th B-24J from Hobby Boss will have some detail and improved turrets over the Monogram/Revell offering we will have to wait and see. Since I have mine on Pre-order I am hoping to see it within the next month or so.
Thank you Walt-
Indeed it is! Thank you for your motivating words!,
Really nice work on this ball turret. @rosachsenhofer
Thank you a lot, John!
Interesting idea done well.
Thank you Greg!
Nicely done!
Thank you
Imagine the noise inside that thing !, great little side project Roland.
Thank you for your words
What a great idea! It does look like a menacing Storm Trooper. Being a ball turret gunner doesn't sound like my idea of a good time.
As you say! 🙂 Thank you, Chas
Cool idea and well built.
Thanks for the encouragement!