Rose turret

The Rose turret was a rear gun turret fitted to some British Avro Lancaster heavy bombers in 1944 and 1945, developed from 1943 to improve the defenses of the Lancaster and entering production in late 1944 after the RAF ordered 600 units, of which about 400 were built by the end of the war in Europe. It mounted two American .50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns in a roomy, hydraulically operated layout that left the front of the gunner position unusually open and unshielded, a design drawn from operational experience. Gunners valued its heavier firepower even though it proved less mechanically reliable than earlier turrets, and Lancasters fitted with it, mainly in RAF No. 1 Group, were attacked by enemy fighters noticeably less often than other bombers.