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The AGLT
Village Inn FN 150 tail turret as fitted on a Lancaster
Village Inn.
Mk11 Giro Gunsight with Cathode Ray tube Attached mounted in
a Lancaster Rear Turret
Also included in the sale is this mint condition
AGLT control box, this is
unused and comes in its original packaging.
We also have
the correct Giro gunsight and mounting brackets to fit the
cathode ray tube and the Gunsight if required
This is the starter switch gear for
the ARI 5559 and the ARI 5560 which is part of the AGLT Mark I system
Village Inn control
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Village Inn AGLT components(pg3 gun)
An
extremely rare Village Inn collection including a rare cathode ray tube ,control unit, starter
switch and other parts shown/ Mounted in the rear turret
next to the Mk 11 Giro Gunsight see under. Only a very
limited number
(less than 100)
were ever fitted. I believe this to be one of only
eight left in the world making it this sites current rarest
WW11 part.
AGLT
stands for automatic gun laying Turret.
None of
the major museums throughout the world including Duxford IWM
have these parts in their collections. The four cathode ray
tubes shown for sale here double the number known to exist
world wide. The parts shown in this add represent the most
complete collection of AGLT known.
Village Inn
was the codename for the British Airborne Gun in Turrets
(AGLT) radar-aimed gun turret fitted to some Lancaster
bombers in 1944
The AGLT system was devised to
allow a target to be tracked and
fired-on in total darkness, the target's range being
accurately computed as well as allowing for lead and bullet
drop.
The system was devised by a team led
by Dr P.I. Dee and designed under the aegis of Chief
Designer Dr Alan Hodgkin, after receiving a request from the
Air Ministry for such a system in early 1943. It worked on a
wavelength of 9.1 cm with a pulse frequency of 660 per
second.
The system consisted of a
transmitter/receiver unit mounted in the navigator's
compartment and included an automatic ranging facility which
relayed range information into the
Computer section of a Mark II C gyro gunsight.
The turret featured a small scanning aerial that followed
the movement of the guns, and a
Cathode ray tube (CRT) display screen positioned adjacent to
the gun sight, the image of which was projected on to
the gun sight reflector screen via a semi-transparent
mirror.
To use, the gunner manoeuvred his
turret until the target blip projected onto the sight
reflector screen coincided with the normal gyro sight aiming
graticule, at which the point the guns would be correctly
aimed, the inbuilt characteristics of the gyro sight
almost guaranteeing a hit
should the gunner subsequently open fire.
Initially, ranging information was
provided only at the transmitter situated in the navigator's
compartment and was read-off to the gunner over the intercom
the gunner using foot pedals to set the target range on the
sight, however, in production equipment the process was made
automatic, the range information being fed electronically
directly into the sight, with the navigator's "running
commentary" only being retained for the benefit of the rest
of the crew.
Village Inn was evaluated and tested
by the Telecommunications research establishment at RAF
Defford using the Lancaster Mark I ND712 and the
Lancaster Mark IIIs JB705 and LL737 and
subsequently put into production.
Also included in
the sale is this mint condition
AGLA control box, this is unused and comes in its
original packaging.
Village Inn control
Seen bottom left another piece of the Village Inn system
included in the sale with the other equipment shown.
Village Inn Cathode Ray tube, control box and starter unit
and control (pg3 gun)
£2500
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