(William Donzelli) wrote in message . com...
"Emmanuel Gustin" wrote in message ...

It was technically quite difficult to provide a smooth control
that had a more or less natural 'feel' for the gunner, was capable of
high speeds of rotation but also of accurate slow tracking, and had
no dead spots anywhere where movement wasn't linked correctly
to control input -- for example when passing the 0 degree line from
left to right, where the forces working on the turret reversed.

This I do not understand. The radar antennas of the era often used
synchro feedback systems - synchros do not have dead spots, they
provide a rotational signal from 0 to 360 with no interruptions when
making the 359 to 0 transition. What was the problem with the
control systems in the turrets?


I am no expert, but I would guess he means the 0 degrees is the
bearing of the gun off the airplane's heading, in which case, the key
factor is the slipstream. All of a sudden all the stresses from the
slipstream switch from the left side of the turret to the right, or
vice versa. If the turret was supplying force to counter act the
slipstream's effects, it would need to change direction of that
force.

George