Jump to content

Beaufighter - rear cupola detail


deecee

Recommended Posts

The Airfix moulding shows some raised detail on the port side of the fuselage just beneath the cupola, but not quite defined enough to show what it actually is.

Now I'm guessing that it's a form of quick release for external access, but I could be wrong. It looks as though the two fasteners are linked by a cord or wire.

I have trawled my Beaufighter references, but can find no close-up detail of the configuration.

Here's what I have found so far:

p.50 Beaufighter Squadrons - canopy slightly ajar with 3 bits of raised detail which is indistinct: no cord/wire visible.

photobeau-52%20001_zps1iooioza.jpg

p.136 Beaufighter at War - canopy open: no external detail: you can however make out the fasteners hanging loose. What is interesting though is the gun barrel pointing up but not from where you would expect - being fixed to the rear of the opening as Airfix have it. It looks as if it is attached to the open cupola. Would this be correct?

photobeau-42%20001_zpszed54z4c.jpg

There are various photos of internal fittings in Modellers Datafile by Richard Franks, but it's the external view I need.

I would really appreciate some help with this, A drawing or photo would be great.

Incidentally, the drawings in Airfix Model World (May 2015) by Terry Higgins are suburb, accurate and with a wealth of information. They show the position of the fasteners and linkage (first drawings ever to do this ?) but is it raised or flush, cord or wire or what?

And one more thing ... what is the black dot on the stbd side of the cupola?

Cheers

deecee

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your reply, Chris.

Unfortunately this is the earlier standard cupola.

To quote from the article in Airfix MW for May, Terry Higgins states:

"Early aircraft delivered to Coastal Command with earlier standard cupola had it replaced with the Bristol B.20 rear-defence gun cupola - initially at user unit airfield and later at MUs. B.20 appears to have become a standard production item through the early summer of 1944".

As the Airfix kit represents a TF.X it's this cupola that I wanted to use, but am a bit puzzled about the detail.

Nice picture of the earlier cupola though!

Cheers

deecee

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good idea. Which would make them internal rather than external, and might account for the fact that upon close inspection each one appears to have a small hole in the middle. And they do look as if they are arranged in three hoops: front, middle and rear. Never seen or heard of them before though - something new every day.

Edited by Work In Progress
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not a lot of help on the fasteners but prove that the gun and mounting are attached to the canopy rather than the fuselage

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow !!!!

Chris, those 3 pictures are fantastic!

You can see that the gun is clearly mounted on the cupola and not the fuselage in this late series and in fact there is quite a bit of detail to pick up on in picture 3. That would make a great pose in a diorama.

It's interesting that Work in Progress spotted the circular pads inside the earlier cupola. I note these are still there on the later series. I would go along with your suggestion, Jason, as to their use.

In the last picture of the Beau getting a 'wash and brush up', the cupola is the late version, but no evidence of fasteners or connecting wire on the port side. I'm not so sure now that the raised detail on the kit should be there. The fasteners are definitely internal as shown in the drawings from Chris. Maybe an even later addition? Why else would the Airfix drawings show it?

Thanks guys, there's been some interesting stuff revealed.

It's late now so I'll sign off.

Good night

deecee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi guys,

Just had a reply to my PM from Terry with some further pictures.

He has said it's okay to post them, so here goes . . . . .

cid_2E9F2903-8D39-495B-8C5F-DFD6C112F246Hi guys

cid_4E0C7D24-30E9-4BAE-AAE8-7C1D861E7D09

cid_48CB3B85-8FDD-4A35-818E-B93315190BBE

cid_66FDC578-99F5-45F2-86ED-C02FC9620C48

cid_7B1F237C-116B-4068-BBA3-E35C68CC97D7

A lovely set of images I'm sure you'll agree.

Of course the one that I'm really pleased with is Fig.6 with the cupola closed and the quick-release mechanism clearly shown, as moulded in the Airfix kit. Brilliant!

Thanks again guys for all your help,

deecee (aka David Holland)

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those photos will be really useful for my build.

It looks like there is an armored bulkhead behind the observer in the picture below. I'd not noticed this on any of my references. Are they present on most marks of Beaufighter or just the TF.X?

Regards,

Mark

Hi guys,

Just had a reply to my PM from Terry with some further pictures.

He has said it's okay to post them, so here goes . . . . .

cid_4E0C7D24-30E9-4BAE-AAE8-7C1D861E7D09

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...