Merlin engine exhaust stubs - Breaking news !

[Steve T]

Hi guys

I have my daighter to thank for this ! Her eagle eye spotted something on the exhaust stubs i found on the old WW2 airfield. I also noticed something......

Firstly, what i noticed. They are from different sides of the engine, not just one side, as the 4 bolt mounting when lined up the same way shows the stubs pointing in different directions !




And now for what my daughter noticed..... MARKINGS !!

They are only present on 2 of the six stubs i have, (but the other 4 are more corroded so may just be hidden beneath oxidised metal). Any help in identifying what these markings refer to would be MASSIVELY appreciated !





The markings are the same on both stubs and read AMS 5645. If someone tells me they identify the aircraft they were from I think i am going to dance for a week !

Looking forward to your replies.

relichunter

[Steve T]

OH DAMMIT !!

I just found out what the markings refer to

AMS 5645 321 Steel, Corrosion Resistant, Bars, Wire, Forgings, Tubing, and Rings 18Cr, 10Ni, 0.40Ti, Solution Heat Treated

It refers to the steel composition !

BUGGER AND DAMN



relichunter

[Adrian Stevenson]

Still interesting to know though.

Cheers, Ade

[whittiejp]

Interesting find you have there! Excellent condition as well! They look like Mustang exhaust stubs or possibly spitfire.

[Steve T]

whittie

General concensus of opinion is that they are definitely merlin stubs, and 85% more likely to be Mustang rather than spitfire.



relichunter

[whittiejp]

Relichunter,
after a google for P51 I would say that they are definately Merlin exhaust stubs from P51 fighters.

[Steve T]

whittiejp

Yeah....unfortunately it's not as straightforward as you may think. Below is a pic of a very early version of a Merlin engine.....one that would have been used at the start of WW2 and therefore in Spitfires. You can see the stubs are identical to the ones i have........it isn't cut and dried that they are from a Mustang.

thanks

relichunter