.50 cal Booster??

[Spydr955]

G'day all. Would anyone be able to identify what this is and from what era? It was included in a selection of car memoribillia that I won at an auction. The markings on it are as follows:
Harvill
.50cal. Booster
24 volts - 10.5 amps
Keystone Research
Corp
Los Angeles, Cal
Assem. NO. 0 Part No.
Serial No. 9363
[Down Arrow] AB Direction of Rotation [Up Arrow]
Terminal A Ground
Do not change rotation
Without Reversing Clutch
Intermittent Duty
1min. on - 5min.off
Thanks.Attachment 86212Attachment 86213Attachment 86214Attachment 86215

Information

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[CINDERS]

Looks to me like a unit to pull the linked up 50 cal in a wing mount just an educated guess......others in the know will be along I am sure.

[Gil Boyd]

Purely from a Sigs perspective, I would say it is a radio signal booster, as the 24 V FFR Land Rovers in the UK are rigged to take such voltages, compared to the usual 12 volt L/R alternatives. Would say it is 60's-70's era.
Don't think it is anything to do with the .50 Cal M/G just the physical drum size of the piece IMHO anyway.

[browningautorifle]

Well, if you look at the sprocket on it, the one end has wider spaces like the belt in the .50 cal. The wide notches would fit the bullets and the narrow teeth will fit the base.

These things always appear here without measurements. Put a .50 beside it...

[fjruple]

Looks like a part for a Q-36 Space monulator or a part to an Interocitor.

--fjruple

[Gil Boyd]

..............could be medical. or on what you suggested Jim, were Boeing aircraft .50 Cals electrified in anyway on the remote guns???

[browningautorifle]

As you know Gil, a belt is heavy. .50 is...35 lbs I think? Without checking? Imagine a belt tray for a .50 in a bomber, would you want an assist for the belt? That's why there's a man to feed the gun on ground mount...A wing gun doesn't have as much ammo but still, heavy. Specially during maneuvers... I'd like to manipulate this. See if the center turns or is it solid. I'd have searched this myself in detail before tossing it on the screen...have a scale for size...what else is on it unseen? Drawing numbers...

By the way, B 24s are 24 volts...

[Vincent]

CINDERS and Jim got it. It’s part an ammo chute booster. It pulls the ammo through the chute to the gun. Browning ANM2 – M3 .50 cal would be my guess. Most commonly used in aircraft where the ammo has to travel a fairly long distance to reach the gun.

[Brit plumber]

Used on B24, B25 and probably B17 turrets to drive the ammo to the gun from behind the firer.

[CINDERS]

Not quite sure though Jim & Vincent that the 1 minute on 3 off rule would have been adhered to in a combat situation - anyway most fighter aircraft would not carry much more than a minutes worth of ammo especially if you have 6-8 50 cal MG's on board thats allot of weight in ammo just alone and 1 minute continuous fire would have you in the deck if on a diving strafing run.

Postscript ~ I did a quick calc if we take the Spitfire with the 8 x 303 gun wing with the Browning MG's and the cyclic rate of say 600RPM per gun it was envisaged by fighter command that a target would be able to be held in the gunsight by the average pilot for @2 seconds so each gun is firing 10 per second which equates to in a 2 second burst 2,360 rounds launched at the target.
Unofficially allot of pilots had their guns harmonized at roughly 200 yds +- depending on the pilot as this was deemed a sure way to down the plane.
As the Luftwaffe pilots said of the 8 gun Spitfires even though they were rifle caliber rounds the Spitfire was like a flying shotgun things improved when they went to 50's & 20mm wings or a mix of both larger calibers requiring fewer hits to knock the enemy out of the sky.