Illustrations and performance details of the Erco 250TH Tear Drop Turrets mounted in the PB4Y-2 Privateer from Aircrewman’s Gunnery Manual, Aviation Training Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, U.S. Navy, 1944.
ERCO TEAR DROP TURRET
ERCO 250TH-1 AND 2The Erco 250TH Turrets have the approximate shape of a tear drop. They are installed in the waist positions on either side of the PB4Y-2 airplane—the Erco 250TH-1 on the starboard side and the Erco 250TH-2 on the port side. With their wide cone of fire they protect the plane from beam or belly attacks, besides offering a considerable area of protection from above. In operation they are somewhat similar to a ball type turret inasmuch as the gunner moves with his guns and sight in the direction he moves his control handles.
Facts and Figures
POWER: The Erco Tear Drop operates hydraulically on pressure built up by a hydraulic pump driven by a constant speed electric motor.
SIGHT: Its sight is a standard Navy Mk 9 reflector sight fully described in the introduction to this section.
ELEVATION: Both turrets can raise their guns 55° above horizontal in elevation and depress them 95° below horizontal.
AZIMUTH: In azimuth, the Erco Tear Drop turret allows the guns a movement of 135°, 55° towards the bow from the beam and 80° towards the tail of the airplane from the beam.
ARMOR: The armor plate in the turret protects the gunner from fire in any direction he turns his guns. It consists of three groups: (1) 1 1/2″ thick bullet-proof glass in front of his face, (2) 5/16″ armor plate in front of his body, and (3) 5/16″ armor plate under his feet.
STOWING: The stowing position is 0° elevation with guns pointed in the extreme aft position in azimuth (80° aft of the beam).
That was a interesting article; i always suspected they worked like that, but wasn’t sure.
[ Great articles & a nice site ]
I was a combat aircewman (radioman/gunner)flying privateers out of iwo jima during WW2. I manned the fwd top deck martin turret. We almost sawed a small freighter in half in sagami bay with the waist ercos converging below the plane as we made a bombing run at low altitude. both bombs straddled but we left it sinking due to the waist turrets. ref. vpb-116 action report 69
I shed a tear in meemory of the teardrop turret. 🙂
Seriously, thanks for posting. I love the shape of that gunners pod.