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PB4Y-1P camera windows


Egi vandor

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If you can find a copy of Naval Fighters Number 105, PB4Y-1/1P, you should be able to see photos, diagrams, and text on the camera installation. You could also go to the Tailhook Topics website to see if @Tailspin Turtle covered this in one of his blogs.

Mike

 

http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/

 

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16 hours ago, 72modeler said:

If you can find a copy of Naval Fighters Number 105, PB4Y-1/1P, you should be able to see photos, diagrams, and text on the camera installation. You could also go to the Tailhook Topics website to see if @Tailspin Turtle covered this in one of his blogs.

Mike

 

http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/

 

Sorry - nothing there. I have to draw the lines (neither too broad nor too narrow) somewhere on the aircraft I maintain files on and I have relatively little on patrol bombers other than the P2V-3C, that is.

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21 hours ago, Egi vandor said:

May anybody help with info about number and locations of camera windows on PB4Y-1P, that flew in fifties?

Here is a link to a thread that ran back in Nov last year about the camera installations in the various photo B-24 variants including the PB4Y-1.

 

The conclusion was that there were no camera windows in the PB4Y-1P as the bomb bay doors were opened to take the photos. Having had a look into Ginter's book at the photos of the aircraft in the postwar photo squadrons I can't detect any difference from the wartime appearance (other than the paint job). There are a number taken of aircraft in flight with the rear bomb bay doors open for example on p125. And one that I missed last year on p122 of an aircraft on the ground with the bomb bay doors open and what appears to me to be the end of at least 2, and possible 4, camera lenses in a row front to rear in the aft starboard bomb bay. The bomb bay doors are rolled up the side and clearly don't have any windows (and in fact couldn't have had and still operate).

 

The VP-Navy site has a lot of photos of these aircraft but they are very dark and it is difficult to make out detail. But you might be able to lighten them up on the computer to discern a bit more. Some of the photos from Gintner's book appear there.

https://www.vpnavy.com/index.html

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2 hours ago, EwenS said:

Here is a link to a thread that ran back in Nov last year about the camera installations in the various photo B-24 variants including the PB4Y-1.

 

The conclusion was that there were no camera windows in the PB4Y-1P as the bomb bay doors were opened to take the photos. Having had a look into Ginter's book at the photos of the aircraft in the postwar photo squadrons I can't detect any difference from the wartime appearance (other than the paint job). There are a number taken of aircraft in flight with the rear bomb bay doors open for example on p125. And one that I missed last year on p122 of an aircraft on the ground with the bomb bay doors open and what appears to me to be the end of at least 2, and possible 4, camera lenses in a row front to rear in the aft starboard bomb bay. The bomb bay doors are rolled up the side and clearly don't have any windows (and in fact couldn't have had and still operate).

 

The VP-Navy site has a lot of photos of these aircraft but they are very dark and it is difficult to make out detail. But you might be able to lighten them up on the computer to discern a bit more. Some of the photos from Gintner's book appear there.

https://www.vpnavy.com/index.html

 

Thank you, very interesting and useful thread. Strange, but i missed it then.

So, i believe, externally PB4Y-1P were identical to standart PB4Y-1, so if i want to built photo bird i don't need to cut any additional windows.

I'm going to build PP8 from VJ-61, that flew in French Indochina in support of french forces.

vj61pb4y1_03_11aug2003.jpg

It looks like this plane had full pack of guns - nose, upper and tail turrets and guns in side windows. But what about belly ball turret?

Sad, but serails of these planes are unknown.

 

Edited by Egi vandor
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Not 100% sure, but it appears PP8 has the ball turret retracted, which was commonly done until after take-off, and climb-out, at which time the gunner entered the turret. Much less drag that way.

Mike

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