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PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2018 12:32 pm 
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Anyone know where I could find a non-functioning .30cal wing gun for my T-6? From what I can tell, my aircraft (A-model) only had the single gun in the right wing, gun camera in the left and no cowl mounted gun.

I'd like to find a non-functioning gun/barrel to put in for airshows.

Related question: anyone know where I could find an appropriate gun camera?


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2018 1:30 pm 
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You can get the barrel and cooling jacket at http://www.bmgparts.com and there are several of the gun cameras on ebay right now.

James


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:33 pm 
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jamesintucson wrote:
You can get the barrel and cooling jacket at http://www.bmgparts.com and there are several of the gun cameras on ebay right now.

James

Perfect, thank you!


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:08 am 
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So, here's a follow on question. It was pointed out by the previous owner that since the airplane was originally delivered to the RAF as a Harvard Mk II, that it would have had a British gun rather than the Browning ANM2.

Anyone know what model of Brit gun would have been used in the Harvards? Are the aircraft mounts the same? It turns out all the internal mounting brackets for the gun are all still there in the wing and they sure look like they would fit a Browning.


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:39 am 
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I am guessing the British version would be .303 versus 30-06. 303 parts looks more plentiful. I can't say the mountings are dimensionally identical, but suspect they are. They look the same.


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:46 am 
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http://www.aviation-history.com/guns/303.htm

https://www.militaryfactory.com/smallar ... ms_id=1017

And one of my favorite Browning MG sites: http://browningmgs.com/


Last edited by bdk on Thu Feb 22, 2018 12:01 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:53 am 
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bdk wrote:
http://www.aviation-history.com/guns/303.htm

https://www.militaryfactory.com/smallar ... ms_id=1017

Ah, so it is based on the .30 Browning, but with some minor mods. While the barrel looks different, it does look like the ANM2 receiver would fit the same brackets in my wing.

Gun camera might be a different story since the Brit gun cameras look very different from the US ones I have seen.

Thanks!


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 8:38 pm 
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Do all T6s have provisions for the gun in the wing?I remember the model of one I built as a kid had one.


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:10 am 
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lucky52 wrote:
Do all T6s have provisions for the gun in the wing?I remember the model of one I built as a kid had one.

No, the gun wings have hatches on top for the ammunition. I have seen Harvard 4 wings that have had the gun doors removed and the affected skins & ribs replaced during overhaul.


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 3:59 pm 
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bdk wrote:
lucky52 wrote:
Do all T6s have provisions for the gun in the wing?I remember the model of one I built as a kid had one.

No, the gun wings have hatches on top for the ammunition.

Very small hatches at that. Like 10% of the size of a P-51 ammo box.

I remember reading a story about a guy many years ago who would fly his P-51 to go golfing. Put the clubs in the ammo trays in the wings. You can't do that with a T-6…..


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:25 am 
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Location: Dayton,OH in the USA
Not to ressurect a sleeping thread but in case you progress through your projects at the same speed that I do with mine, the British wing gun would have been officially called a Browning Machine Gun MKI, MKI*, MKII, or MKII*, depending on small changes made to the platform. The internals, although very similar in appearance to the bigger American versions had some variations that have a major impact on operational processes.

The Browning MKII* (sort of the definitively held version) was based obviously on the ANM2 American machine gun, also called (before air usage) the Colt MG40. Differences were, caliber, the British requirement for this wingmounted MG to be able to be fed from its left side or its right side (depending on how it is mounted inside the wing. This variation made it necesssary to...), move the firing mechanism to the side of the machine gun as opposed to the top or bottom (actuated by a remotely triggered solenoid), and the requirement that it be even lighter in weight than its American cousins.

It also operated/fired from an open bolt configuration, which in conjunction with its ammo type and lighter weight of most parts, caused an exceptionally high rate of fire when compared to other Browning patent MG’s used in the war.

The build contract was issued to Vickers (then called Vickers Armstrong) but as Vickers Armstrong was already dutifully busy producing warbirds and other vehicles, actual production was done by BSA. The search for this gun is greatly confused by the fact that Vickers had an earlier land-based production MG in use, through WWII even, typically referred to as “the Vickers”, which was based on the Maxim water-cooled machine gun. Not to be easily found then by going by the street name of “Browning Machine Gun MKII*”, this aircraft used British machine gun is sometimes also called “Vickers”, sometimes “Vickers Armstrong”, sometimes “ANM2”, sometimes “MKII”, and sometimes “Browning MKII”, and in almost all cases with the addendum “.303 British” tagged on at the end. Further, later in the war, Canada also began producing this model under Inglis, but a search for “Inglis Browning” will 99.999% of the time get for you an Inglis Browning Hi-Power pistol.

According to my research, a total of more than 550,000 units were produced worldwide. That sounds like a very high number to me, but I wasn’t around back then. I’ll have to take their word for it.

The Browning Machine Gun MKII* .303 British, is still about the coolest looking light MG to ever hit the skies, in my opinion.

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Stephen Morgan
Personal Firearms Advisor and Procurement Specialist
Avid Collector and Student of WWII
http://www.themiamiarmory.com
stephenmorgan2020@gmail.com


Last edited by Samorgan on Mon Oct 29, 2018 8:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:28 am 
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Oh, and if you are looking for a demilled one, I can point you in the right direction though you’d better hurry as it may be unsallable at January 1st, 2019.

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Stephen



Stephen Morgan
Personal Firearms Advisor and Procurement Specialist
Avid Collector and Student of WWII
http://www.themiamiarmory.com
stephenmorgan2020@gmail.com


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2018 11:48 am 
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Fearless Tower wrote:
I remember reading a story about a guy many years ago who would fly his P-51 to go golfing. Put the clubs in the ammo trays in the wings. You can't do that with a T-6…..

Dick Pack, Wednesdays, VNY to PSP...

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The few who possess real knowledge and can set it into motion of their own hands are the rarest of all.


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2018 12:40 pm 
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Samorgan wrote:
The Browning Machine Gun MKII* .303 British, is still about the coolest looking light MG to ever hit the skies, in my opinion.

I agree, with the longer cooling flutes and the flash suppressor it would stand out on Fearless Tower's bird alongside the others with the standard US ANM2 barrel.

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