ID Help ...Blisters???

[echo1]

Hi Fellas,

I've had these "blisters" over 40 years and never knew what they were actually or what aircraft they fit. They're not quite a half, a little more, stenciled mid point "300" - "320" and "ejection pull here". But there's vents so they're not from something pressurized. My guess was they're from a PBY and appear to be the same side (vent location). Once upon a decade they had little pull-string pouches with the hardware to mount to ???? Thanks, PAX

 

[Capt. Vick]

Interesting. Can we get some dimensions?

Seaplane dorsal turret?

 

[special ed]

Many PBYs were modified for Brazil, Denmark and others which removed the blisters and ironically installed sliding panels.

 

[echo1]

Interesting. Can we get some dimensions?

Seaplane dorsal turret?

At the opening, flat on the ground at the aluminum rib they're 42" wide and 18 " high. I don't think they're part of a turret because they're not symmetrically half and entirely plexiglass. Decades of "occasional" internet sleuthing has the PBY as the most likely suspect. PAX

 

[Snautzer01]

4 pieces per dome, correct?

 

[echo1]

4 pieces per dome, correct?

Two pieces but I think they are the same side. If I turn them facing the same way the vent port is in the same location, unless it didn't matter if the vent was up on one side and down on the other. They are symmetrical to each other. PAX

 

[N7268C]

Hi Fellas,

I've had these "blisters" over 40 years and never knew what they were actually or what aircraft they fit. They're not quite a half, a little more, stenciled mid point "300" - "320" and "ejection pull here". But there's vents so they're not from something pressurized. My guess was they're from a PBY and appear to be the same side (vent location). Once upon a decade they had little pull-string pouches with the hardware to mount to ???? Thanks, PAX
View attachment 755781

Those dome halves are for the 1950s Emerson Electric Aero 9 series turret for the Lockheed P2-V series "Neptune" as used by USN.

 

[echo1]

Thanks, looks possible. They must both be for the starboard side as the photo doesn't show the circular vent portal (or reinforcing ribs). PAX

 

[N7268C]

Thanks, looks possible. They must both be for the starboard side as the photo doesn't show the circular vent portal. PAX

It's sort of a crummy shot that I managed to grab on the fly to accompany the posting. I think if you Google Emerson A-9 there's a better on on Flickr that shows a little more of the plastic contour and more importantly the stainless stiffener in the Plexiglas. We had a bunch of these that came from CA several decades ago and some of them different slightly for use in the nose and tail turret positions in that some were marked with elevation data depending on the use with the 20 mm canon and the .50 cal M3 system. They are beautiful pieces of plastic work. Ours had some parts tags on them identifying them as having come from the St. Louis MO plant that built the turrets. Ours had come from a huge parts seller up in NorCal - California Airframe. Old Ted had dozens upon dozens of Neptune turrets in his yard at one time. They're all gone now.

 

[echo1]

I'm in Nor-Kal. These came from the Tracy area. The same fella had nose gear from a Neptune, huge, and an F86 ejection seat (?) that I tried to weasel out of him. When he past 10 years ago all the treasure went to the scrap heap in the sky . He also had 2 barns full of Honda Trail 50's, 90's, BSA and Triumph bikes, a Cord and some sort of Packard. Rumor had it that there was a Jenny hidden somewhere. Besides the plexiglass, I got a Subaru 360, Volvo Amazon and VW stuff from him over the course of 25 years. PAX

 

[Sabrejet]

Isn't the scrap heap in the sky just a scrap heap?