Jump to content

RAF Liberator 1:72 "Daring Diana"


palacefan

Recommended Posts

Glad I could help out Wayne.

Those photos from Matt are the clearest that I've seen of the dampers and are very similar in outline to that shown in the Streetly Liberator photo.

Cheers

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave,

Yes, the diagram in your book is pretty close in design to what we see in the 159 Squadron photos. Glad I could add my two cents (pence).

Wayne asked me about guns on Daring Diana and I sent him a summary of the Order of Battle for the 29 Feb op. 159 did not have the ball turret in their Libs at the time -- just a waste of added weight for their night-only ops at the time. And Daring Diana carried no ammo for the front turret, which was a new feature on the newly-arrived Mk VI Libs of 159. Because it is clear from the 159 Operations Record Book that there was no ammo for this turret, it is my guess that the actual twin 0.50 Browning guns were not installed in the nose for this operation, to save weight...unless the guns were for bluff should a night fighter catch sight of them in the illumination of searchlights or in moonlight.

(Daring Diana was, indeed, caught in the searchlights over Rangoon, but the fighter attacks were from the rear -- as was the common strategy.)

So I don't have a definitive answer on the installation of guns in the front turret. However, you will note in the photo that Wayne posted of Daring Diana's sister Lib, BZ980 G for Goofy (nose art was on the port fuselage), that there are, indeed, twin 0.50s installed in the nose. Unfortunately I can't precisely date the photo and cross-reference it to 159 Squadron Orders of Battle to see if ammo was then carried by BZ980.

The ammo carried by Daring Diana on 29 Feb:

Tail turret: 6,000 rounds of 0.303 inch caliber bullets for the Boulton-Paul British turret's four .303 Browning machine guns

Mid upper turret: 820 0.50 inch caliber bullets the twin 0.50 Brownings

Beam guns: 420 bullets for each of the two 0.50 Brownings.

That's it. No more bullets for Diana.

Cheers,

Matt

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I think I will take the nose guns out then, cheers.

I spent the day at the heli museum taday, and got a bit more done.

This this is how far i have got so far.

You can see one of the many metal bars i have added as wieght but i think that it will still need more.

PICT0001-21.jpg

PICT0002-21.jpg

PICT0003-15.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...