WW2 RAF Lancaster base - Dump discovered - Finds keep coming

[LUCKYSTRIKE]

Very interesting stories Unforgottenwar and Birddog I enjoyed reading both of them thanks for the post.

Hi Steve,
I'm awestruck, thats amazing luck to get the stirrup pump working again, fantastic stuff. I wonder what the internal diaphram is made of, if rubber it probably would have perished if leather it could have dried out?.
LUCKYSTRIKE

[Whitehunter]

great to see steve find in action on the video. It made me laugh when the person said stay clam when your house is on fire

[Steve T]

Thanks Bird dog. Very interesting and an exact match for my stirrup pump

Steve T

[Unforgottenwar]

Thanks for the info Birddog, nemps!

Oddly, that the one and only one I've come across in my searches.

[381st digger]

Steve,
Do you know what "lung tonic" was for? Iv found some lung tonic bottles and have often wondered what it was for. It dont sound very nice does it.

[Steve T]

Hey all

Last batch of cleaned finds, and a bucket full of rusty stuff, some that I can't ID and can't clean because they will fall apart

Also amongst these is possibly the best find from the trip and one that is a first for me !!

Rusty stuff first.

Far left is the handle from a socket wrench, and the coat hook is obvious. Don't know what the other bits are.



More rusty stuff. The two similar pieces have the remains of chains hanging off them.



Sten gun mags and an unknown object



Close up of the sten gun mags



This one was in pieces.



Anti gas ointment, LE clip and a nice belt buckle. 303 bullet as well.



Transport cap and a large piece of plexiglass



Two Merlin engine mounting pads and some strange mesh rings. Very fine mesh as well.



Remains of a phone mouthpiece and a strip of leather with 3 press studs. What's it off ?



Electrical components. 5c is a basic connector and 10H is a radio connector, both AM marked and used in aircraft.



Close up of the markings.



These bits looked like tuning forks and I only found out what they were by accident when I was looking for something else !

They turn out to be the safety fork from a No 27 nose pistol !!!!



Here is a diagram showing them in place



This next item has what looks like the remains of vanes on the top. I thought it might be part of a bomb pistol/fuse so had a good look through my manual. I found it. It's the top portion of a No 848 nose fuse. This also lead to me realising that the items I thought were No. 42 pistols, were actually these 848s. They are very similar.



Picture showing the top portion in place in the fuse. It only contains the firing pin so is perfectly safe.



Now for the exciting find and best of the trip. I was very VERY wary of this object as it had what looked like the remains of a firing pin in the brass section, and the bottom section could easily contain explosive. It had been sat at the end of the garden since the weekend

Anyway, I was looking at it today and suddenly realised I was holding it upside down !!!! If you look at the diagram above, what I had was the covering cap and top portion of an 848 fuse, the part with just the firing pin !!!

A quick 'tap with a hammer and the cap fell away to reveal......



....that the vane was still intact !!! Rusty as hell but intact !!! I am so pleased This is a little beauty of a find and rare because the vanes just normally rot away !



Anyway. That's the lot from my trip at the weekend.

If you help ID anything please post.

Steve T

[Steve T]

381st - I'll look it up next time I am in a pharmacy but it is a 'catch all' term to described a general medicine. It will probably have been made up of numerous herbs and will have said to have done lots of things to the lungs. Improve circulation, reduce inflammation, reduce wheezing, prevent coughs......all SORTs of therapeutic effects that just wouldn't be claimed today as we know it's bunkum

Cheers

Steve T

[jimpy]

Hi Steve,

In the top pic, the two bits that you cant identify look to me to be battery brackets, or rather the remains of.

In the 8th pic down, the small fine mesh rings are, I would say, fine grade filters, possibly off some sort of fuel/oil/water hosing. Next time you take off the water fill pipe off your washing machine, have a look and you may see the sort of thing that I mean.

Regards etc
Ian D

AKA: Jimpy

[LUCKYSTRIKE]

Steve,

Great finds I love the vane it's amazing it survived and both whitehunter and me are pleased you id the Y shaped safety fork because we've both found them as well .

I found a couple of the gauze discs too, they are oxygen gauze for the RAF type G mask. I think they worked by mixing the pure oxygen passing through them with the other air compounds. (see picture below)



Oh and Andy the 'Lung Tonic' wasn't as bad as it sounds it was just a cough mixture.

LUCKYSTRIKE

[381st digger]

Great finds love the fuse!!
Thanks for the info on the lung tonic.
Andy