Early, high wing Vickers Wellington & Wellington projects

Hood said:
On the issue of the Mk.V's rear turret the Vickers Putnam states;
"At an acceptance conference held on 15 November, 1940...Among details proposed were that the rear gun turret could not be expected to be work-able under all conditions by a rear gunner. So the rear turrets were fixed and operated by an electro-magnetic firing control from the pressure cabin, a periscope being installed to provide observation of the rear hemisphere."

The Mk.VI was to have had a pressurised Frazer-Nash 70 turret with four .303in MGs but it was not available in time so the same solution was carried out, locking the standard Fraser-Nash 20A turret and firing the guns electro-magnetically from the pressure cabin and aimed with a periscope.
It's also worth noting that the original 3-man crew and 4-man crews did not provide for a gunner.
Thanks a lot. Excellent contribution!! :D
 
Perhaps the Wellingtong should have a different designation. :)
 
The ultimate plan was for a remote control 4 gun tail turret aimed via periscope from the pressurised crew compartment.
 
From Profile magazine.
 

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The Isogrid construction of the fuselage is an interesting detail seen in this picture...
 

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Here's the Brooklands 'Loch Ness' Wellington partially uncovered, revealing all that juicy detail (I'm an engineer, this stuff appeals to me).

3006 Brooklands Display Hall

What is of eminent interest is that the 60 Series Merlin, the two-speed two-stage supercharged 'High Altitude Merlin' was intended on originally being fitted to the Wellington VI and it was Ernest Hives of Rolls-Royce who asked the rather pertinent question, "What would happen if we fit one to a Spitfire?" and thus the Spitfire IX expedient to counter the Fw 190 Butcher Bird in 1941 by fitting a Merlin 61 to a Spitfire V airframe, eventually came about.
 

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