ORIGINAL: Lecivius
Dixie,
In another post I posted it was explained to me that B 17's carried a very limited amount of ammo for their .50's. About a 3 second burst for each weapon. This actually makes sense to me upon consideration. I was shown limited ammo storage bays as proof. Does this information dove tail with your experience on Lancasters? I'm not doubting my sources at all, but you are The Voice Of Experience. An inquiring mind would like to know [8D]
Sorry about the delay getting back to you, I can see there's a lively discussion going on after your post [:D]
I'm not sure of the exact numbers etc, but a Lancaster would usually have enough ammo for a lot more than a 3 second burst. The Grand Slam modified Lancasters were massively stripped out, the nose and mid-upper turrets were removed as were a pair of brownings from the tail. The ammunition for the tail turret was reduced to approx 2 seconds of firing which was apparently a big reduction in the burst. I've also read accounts of Lancasters being used in ground support during the Normandy break out and the Falaise Gap in France where a few crews went strafing German columns which they wouldn't have done with 3 seconds worth of ammo.
ORIGINAL: JeffK
I was really sceptical of these numbers, having memories of the RAF Heavies fitted with channels to hold their ammo.
But checking Joe Baugher's data see that the guns had 5-600 rpg.
I expected 1-2000!
PS The B29 had 1000rpg.
I'm not sure of the numbers, but the ammunition rack for the rear turret on the Lancaster extends forward past the mid-upper turret. Allegedly it makes about 9 yards worth of rounds hence the origin of "the whole nine yards", I suspect that the USAAF have a similar origin. I'll try to get a pic in the next few days.
