Ventral Gunner
A ball turret is a spherical-shaped, altazimuth mount gun turret, fitted to some American-built aircraft during World War II. The name arose from the turret's spherical housing. It was a manned turret, as distinct from remote-controlled turrets also in use. The turret held the gunner, two heavy machine guns, ammunition, and sights. The Sperry Corporation designed ventral versions that became the most common version; thus, the term "ball turret" generally indicates these versions. Sperry ball turret Sperry and Emerson Electric each developed a ball turret, and the designs were similar in the nose turret version. Development of the spherical Emerson was halted. The Sperry nose turret was tested and preferred, but its use was limited due to poor availability of suitable aircraft designs. The Sperry-designed ventral system saw widespread use and production, including much sub-contracting. The design was mainly deployed on the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator, as well a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fetal Position
Fetal position (British English: also foetal) is the positioning of the body of a prenatal fetus as it develops. In this position, the back is curved, the head is bowed, and the limbs are bent and drawn up to the torso. A compact position is typical for fetuses. Many newborn mammals, especially rodents, remain in a fetal position well after birth. This type of compact position is used in the medical profession to minimize injury to the neck and chest. Some people assume a fetal position when sleeping, especially when the body becomes cold. In some cultures bodies have been buried in fetal position. Sometimes, when a person has suffered extreme physical or psychological trauma (including massive stress), they will assume a similar compact position in which the back is curved forward, the legs are brought up as tightly against the abdomen as possible, the head is bowed as close to the abdomen as possible, and the arms are wrapped around the head to prevent further trauma. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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PBM Mariner
The Martin PBM Mariner is a twin-engine American patrol bomber flying boat of World War II and the early Cold War era. It was designed to complement the Consolidated PBY Catalina and PB2Y Coronado in service. A total of 1,366 PBMs were built, with the first example flying on 18 February 1939, and the type entering service in September 1940, with the last of the type being retired in 1964. A Mariner, otherwise noted for its WW2 and post-War service, was the type that vanished searching for Flight 19. Flight 19 vanished in the Bermuda Triangle, it and the Mariner that searched for it were never found with its 14 crew, though it was thought to have suffered a mid-air explosion. Another noted crash was the 1946 Antarctica PBM Mariner crash in December 1946. Design and development In 1937 the Glenn L. Martin Company designed a new twin-engined flying boat, the Model 162, to succeed its earlier Martin P3M and complement the PBY Catalina and PB2Y Coronado. It received an order ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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PB4Y-2 Privateer
The Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer is an American World War II and Korean War era patrol bomber of the United States Navy derived from the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. The Navy had been using B-24s with only minor modifications as the PB4Y-1 Liberator, and along with maritime patrol Liberators used by RAF Coastal Command, this type of patrol plane was proven successful. A fully navalized design was desired, and Consolidated developed a dedicated long-range patrol bomber with tests begun in 1943, designated PB4Y-2 Privateer. The first version of the Privateer flew in September 1943 with production versions arriving in March 1944. In 1951, the type was redesignated P4Y-2 Privateer. A further designation change occurred in September 1962, when the remaining US Navy Privateers (all having previously been converted to drone configuration as P4Y-2K) were redesignated QP-4B. Design and development The Privateer was externally similar to the Liberator, but the fuselage was longer to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Erco Ball Turret 1
Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) was started by Henry Berliner in 1930. Berliner was the son of Emile Berliner, who had patented numerous inventions relating to sound and acoustics, and pioneer of helicopter development with the experimental Berliner Helicopter. The younger Berliner founded ERCO to produce tools for the manufacture of metal aircraft and propellers. He founded the company in a shed at 2014 5th Street NW Washington D.C. Berliner met Fred Weick, an aeronautical engineer, who worked with National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in cowlings and propellers on a 1926 while developing the propellers for the USS Akron. Weick also worked on an experimental aircraft that incorporated the up-to-date safety features. In 1935, the company moved to 6100 Sligo Blvd. In 1936, Weick left NACA to work for ERCO on his "safety airplane". In 1937, Berliner purchased 50 acres of land in Riverdale, Maryland near the College Park Airport and built the large ERCO factory ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Belly Landing
A belly landing or gear-up landing occurs when an aircraft lands without its landing gear fully extended and uses its underside, or belly, as its primary landing device. Normally the term ''gear-up landing'' refers to incidents in which the pilot forgets to extend the landing gear, while ''belly landing'' refers to incidents where a mechanical malfunction prevents the pilot from extending the landing gear. During a belly landing, there is normally extensive damage to the airplane. Belly landings carry the risk that the aircraft may flip over, disintegrate, or catch fire if it lands too fast or too hard. Extreme precision is needed to ensure that the plane lands as straight and level as possible while maintaining enough airspeed to maintain control. Strong crosswinds, low visibility, damage to the airplane, or unresponsive instruments or controls greatly increase the danger of performing a belly landing. Belly landings are one of the most common types of aircraft accidents nevert ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Conventional Landing Gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 133. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. From the Ground Up, 27th edition, page 11 The term taildragger is also used. The term "conventional" persists for historical reasons, but all modern jet aircraft and most modern propeller aircraft use tricycle gear. History In early aircraft, a tailskid made of metal or wood was used to support the tail on the ground. In most modern aircraft with conventional landing gear, a small articulated wheel assembly is attached to the rearmost part of the airframe in place of the skid. This wheel may be steered by the pilot through a connection to the rudder pedals, allowing the rudder and tailwheel to move together. Before aircraft ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Landing Flare
The landing flare, also referred to as the round out, is a maneuver or stage during the landing of an aircraft. The flare follows the final approach phase and precedes the touchdown and roll-out phases of landing. In the flare, the nose of the plane is raised, slowing the descent rate and therefore creating a softer touchdown, and the proper attitude is set for touchdown. In the case of tailwheel landing gear-equipped aircraft, the attitude is set for touchdown on the main (front) landing gear first. In the case of tricycle gear-equipped aircraft, the attitude is set for touchdown on the main (rear) landing gear. In the case of monowheel gear-equipped gliders, the flare consists only of leveling the aircraft. In parachuting, the flare is the part of the parachute landing fall preceding ground contact and is executed about above ground. During a helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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B-24J's Retracted Sperry Ball Turret, Bomber's Interior View , ('B minus L'), the difference between the baryon number (B) and the lepton number (L)
{{Disambiguation ...
B- may refer to: *B-, a blood type *B- (grade), an academic grade *B − L In particle physics, ''B'' − ''L'' (pronounced "bee minus ell") is a quantum number which is the difference between the baryon number () and the lepton number () of a quantum system. Details This quantum number is the charge of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reflector Sight
A reflector sight or reflex sight is an optical sight that allows the user to look through a partially reflecting glass element and see an aiming point or some image (helping to aim the device, to which the sight is attached, on the target) superimposed on the field of view. These sights work on the simple optical principle that anything (such as an illuminated reticle) at the focus of a lens or curved mirror will appear to be sitting in front of the viewer at infinity. Reflector sights employ some form of "reflector" to allow the viewer to see the infinity image and the field of view at the same time, either by bouncing the image created by lens off a slanted glass plate, or by using a mostly clear curved glass reflector that images the reticle while the viewer looks through the reflector. Since the reticle image is at infinity, it stays in alignment with the device to which the sight is attached regardless of the viewer's eye position to the sight, removing most of the parallax ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Browning M2
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge, the M2 uses Browning's larger and more powerful .50 BMG (12.7 mm) cartridge. The design has had many designations; the official U.S. military designation for the infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .50, M2, HB, Flexible. It has been used against infantry, light armored vehicles, watercraft, light fortifications, and low-flying aircraft. The gun has been used extensively as a vehicle weapon and for aircraft armament by the United States since the 1930s. It was heavily used during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Falklands War, the Soviet–Afghan War, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan. It is the primary heavy machine gun of NATO countries and has been used by man ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Consolidated B-32 Dominator
The Consolidated B-32 Dominator (Consolidated Model 34) was an American heavy strategic bomber built for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. A B-32 was involved in the last air combat engagement of the war, resulting in the war's last American air combat death. It was developed by Consolidated Aircraft in parallel with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress as a fallback design should the B-29 prove unsuccessful.Jones 1974, p. 106. The B-32 reached units in the Pacific only in mid-May 1945, and subsequently saw only limited combat operations against Japanese targets before the end of the war on 2 September 1945. Most of the extant orders of the B-32 were canceled shortly thereafter and only 118 B-32 airframes of all types were built. Design and development The engineering development of the B-29 had been underway since mid-1938 when, in June 1940, the United States Army Air Corps requested a similar design from the Consolidated Aircraft Company in case of developm ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |