RRPG Big Dig weekend - Day 1 - RAF airbase dump

**Steve T** · 04-23-2013, 09:34 AM

More stuff cleaned, (and more will be cleaned later today

).

Need some help on a few of these bits. One is, at the minute, very confusing !!

RRPG Big Dig weekend - Day 1 - RAF airbase dump

First up is this thing. Both myself and PB think it may be part of a gun sight mount but I am having trouble tracking one down that matches.

Then there is this little bracket/clip.

It does have a marking on it but I can't find anything to match it as yet.

Top portion of a No. 860 nose fuze.

Bottom portion of a No. 860 nose fuze.

Another shot of the No. 860 bits.

This is a big piece, about 2 foot square with a smaller raised square section in the middle.

The back did have small triangular bakelite type pieces in each corner but these got lost somewhere

It has a great mark on it, but this is where confusion reigns !!! F8 is normally associated with Fairey, and the EE with English Electric, (they made Hampden's and Halifax's in WW2). This isn't helping as I can't find a match for the part numbers. As far as we are aware, only Lancaster and Mosquito aircraft were stationed at the base where we were.

Lastly this little beauty. Merlin engine carburetor mesh screen

And here is a picture of a Merlin carburetor..........an exact match

Well pleased.

Help if you can !

Steve T

**LUCKYSTRIKE** · 04-23-2013, 03:00 PM

Here are my finds, just want a say a big thank you to Steve for taking the time to organise the weekends dig.

First up, a panel mounting plate from a light bomb carrier, compliments of Steve

.

A mixed selection, in the centre is a poor condition top from a US mess tin, there's a tool for opening the caps from oil drums, pieces of glimp lamp, the cover from a fuse vane, nice little padlock Im hoping its marked

. A communications jack plug socket, a switch, the tail ends of signal flare cartridges, a merlin gasket and its washers etc etc.

Mixed bag of electrical fittings etc.

Bomb transit plugs, aircrew safety belt clips, No 42/848 fuse bases and a No 28 pencil with Y shaped safety clips etc.

Aero alloy bits and bobs, in the centre is part of an aircraft bomb cradle?

Amazing survivors two clumps of foil coated paper, also known as window. This was thrown from aircraft during flight to blind the Axis radar.

Three bits that I have cleaned

.

I love this small battery made from an early form of plastic, any idea's what it was used with? Thanks to Steve for this,.

Found as a rusty brass coloured item, an overnight soak in vinegar revealed the original chrome finish, shame the pocket watch case is unmarked.

Finally a nicely decorated face compact tin, Im assuming this belonged to a female from the WAAF or a Wife or perhaps both. This was also left in vinegar overnight, the brass has cleaned up very well with no pink copper colouring.

That's it for now, got to get cleaning

but will be posting pictures of day two's finds soon.
Thanks for looking
All the Best.
LUCKYSTRIKE

**Steve T** · 04-23-2013, 03:15 PM

Some excellent finds Ade

Love the pocket watch and compact. Two minor corrects for you.............The No. 28 is called a pistol not a pencil, and the arming forks are from a No. 27 nose pistol.

**Steve T** · 04-23-2013, 04:16 PM

More cleaned stuff......

First up, a little tap and cap combo, tracked down quite quickly thanks......

...........to the marking on the cap. 'Tecalemit'. Grease gun

Here is what it should look like.

I was excited about this as I thought it could be a bomb release or something similar. However, the wire attached to it turns out to be co-axial, and both nuts carry the '10H' prefix, putting it firmly into the radio equipment zone. Bugger !

glim lamp disc

No. 27 nose pistol arming fork and No. 28/30 tail pistol arming fork.

303s in abundance again.

Close up of the headstamps

Now for the No. 848/42 nose fuze bases, and one cap that held the arming vane assembly and fuze chain.

These five I kept to one side as all are marked. Two are marked July 1944 and October 1944, but the markings are feint.

However, this one is as clear as the day it was made

Also found I had two more embossed ones. This one is a No. 42 Mark II

And this one is the best of the lot. No. 848 Mark 1A by the looks of it. Awesome !!

More bits yet to come !

**corblimy** · 04-23-2013, 05:39 PM

by Steve T

It has a great mark on it, but this is where confusion reigns !!! F8 is normally associated with Fairey, and the EE with English Electric, (they made Hampden's and Halifax's in WW2). This isn't helping as I can't find a match for the part numbers. As far as we are aware, only Lancaster and Mosquito aircraft were stationed at the base where we were.

Steve T

Never assume that only aircraft of a certain type were there. Many squadrons operated 'hacks' of many types as communications aircraft. I know of a Mosquito squadron that operated an Airspeed Oxford. It must be assumed that these airframes needed parts as much as the regular squadron aircraft, hence finding things on airfields that do not quite fit with normality

**Steve T** · 04-23-2013, 06:12 PM

by corblimy

Never assume that only aircraft of a certain type were there.

Indeed

The point I was making was that the part carried two markings that I could attribute to two different manufacturers, neither of which were Avro or De Havilland. I was providing a little bit of info that may help with the part ID but, as you pointed out, there could be any number of aircraft types stationed at the base ! Perhaps they had a Fairey Battle lying around......