Avro Lancaster – FN.20 Rear Gun Turret

Here, we shall look at the Avro Lancaster Bomber’s Frazer Nash FN.20 Rear Gun Turret. We shall cover its construction, the hydraulic system and duties carried out by the Air Gunner, known as ‘Tail End Charlie’. We shall refer to extracts from the wartime Air Ministry manuals, to give you a glimpse of what was involved in defending the Lancaster Bomber.

So sit back as we take you on a tour of the Lancaster’s Rear Gun Turret, as we embark on a journey aimed at promoting UK Aviation Heritage.


Textual extracts from Air Ministry Air Publications are Crown Copyright and transcribed with the kind permission of the National Archives, London. All colour diagrams are based on original Air Ministry Air Publications mono illustrations and transcribed into colour by Bryan Atkinson with the permission of the National Archives, London.

Thanks must also be given to the following superb organisations for their kind support when Bryan Atkinson originally developed The Lancaster Explored PC CD-ROM back in 2004, all are listed below and are included once again in this series of videos.

Lancaster B.Mk.I, PA474. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Lancaster B.Mk.I, R5868. Royal Air Force Museum, London.
Lancaster B. Mk.III, DV372. Imperial War Museum.
Lancaster B.Mk.X, KB889. Imperial War Museum, Duxford.
Lancaster B.Mk.VII, NX611. Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre.
The Norman Groom & Jeremy Hall Lancaster Nose Sections.

The Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust.
The National Archives, London.


The material contained in this video is intended for historical, reference and entertainment value only, and is not to be construed as usable for aircraft or component restoration, maintenance, or use.


Consort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Rear Turret Photographs –

Royal Air Force official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Royal Air Force official photographer, Forward (F/O), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Table of Contents:

00:00 - Introduction
00:34 - FN20 Fuselage Location
00:41 - Support Ring Structure
01:26 - The Ammunition Box System
02:01 - The Ammunition Ducts
02:14 - The DoorStep
02:28 - FN20 Gun Turret Overview
03:03 - Ammunition Round Count
04:06 - The Gun Cradle
04:12 - Air Gunners Guard
04:20 - Empty Cartridge and Link Ejector Chutes
04:29 - Armour Plate Panels
04:46 - The Hydraulic System
05:30 - The Rotation Service Joint
05:43 - The Recuperator
06:28 - Rear Turret Mounting
06:53 - The Accommodation Ring
07:03 - The Turret Drum
07:13 - The Air Gunner's Seat
07:26 - The FN20 Turret Frame
08:10 - The Valve Box
08:25 - The Rotation Stop
08:44 - Hand Rotation Gear
08:57 - The Rotation Lock
09:08 - The Drift Scale
09:27 - The Cupola
10:28 - Turret Access Doors
11:13 - The Gun Cradle
11:41 - Gun Elevation Rams
11:47 - Gun Elevation and Sight Drive
12:26 - The Armour Plate Sections
12:38 - The Sight Radius Arm
12:58 - The Gun Sight
13:08 - Movement of the Gun Cradles
13:19 - Sight Radius Arm Movement
13:30 - Empty Cartridge Cases and Links
13:40 - Palmer Hydraulic Control
13:59 - Electrical Supply to the FN20 Turret
14:05 - Air Gunner's Instrument Panels
14:17 - The External Rotation Valve
14:41 - Turret Oxygen Supply
14:55 - Turret Operational Steps
15:01 - Entering the Turret
15:25 - Power Operation of the Turret
16:29 - Hand Lever Control Instructions
17:18 - Rear Turret Firing Arc

#lancasterbomber #avrolancaster #ukaircraftexplored