LS the items that you think are pedals, i think these are securing stantions for spars which might account fot the STBD PORT markings
LS the items that you think are pedals, i think these are securing stantions for spars which might account fot the STBD PORT markings
LuckyStrike,
As a particular fan of aircraft related ordnance items I think I can say with a degree of certainty that I covet your arming vanes! I was planning on being virtuous next weekend and getting stuck in to some DIY ... but I suspect that I might have to launch myself at my local USAAF dump site in a do or die attempt to recover some arming vanes for myself!! They would display quite well next to my chunks of B-17 bomb rack ....
Look forward to your next post,
Gremlin
Some great finds. The parts in photos 51-53 have got Blackburn stamps on them (B!A). These photos have been very helpful to me because we've got a couple of parts from RAF Jurby's dump which are marked with the L!A stamp. Seeing as the L!A stamp appears as part of the assembly which is also marked B!A this suggests that L!A must be a subcontractor to Blackburns. The bakelite object in photo 42 says aerial to me but I haven't come across anything like it before.
The Parts which are marked with Gloster stamps don't necessarily indicate Gloster aircraft - Glosters built a lot of Hawker aircraft - Henleys and Hurricanes. We've got a lot of Gloster-stamped bits from Jurby where 5 Air Observer School had Henleys. In addition to their own aircraft, Blackburns also built Swordfish and Sunderlands.
From the parts marked in Knots, references to torpedos and the Blackburn stamps I'm guessing that your airfield had a Fleet Air Arm presence.
Photos 51 - 53 looks like a section of cockpit or turret glazing framing - as Ian says - The circular stamp definitely looks to be Blackburn Aircraft ( I excavated a Blackburn Skua crash site many years ago - very rare beast )- The prop and size in relation to the stamp and arrangement of letters / numbers all look right - could the "L" be a mis-struck "B"? Though IIRC, some of my bits could be marked "LA" too? The third picture down (53) shows a much clearer and definitely Blackburn stamp - Not found my Skua bits yet to compare - My workshop is over-run with EP-9 Prospector (Vintage civvie - sorry!) panels at the moment !
One thought though - the more I look at the piece, it does remind me of turret - Blackburn Roc?
I agree that the bits look like canopy framing but I think the turret framing would have Boulton-Paul stamps rather than Blackburn. The L!A stamp on our bits definitely includes an L, not a mis-struck B.
There was an excellent 'mushroom model publications' book on the Skua/Roc. Loads of detailed interior shots. Never bought it, why would I ever need that? There is this though... Blackburn Skua Aircraft Maintenance Manual Royal Navy on eBay (end time 03-Apr-11 11:03:54 BST)
As for Henley cockpit shots, there's a challenge.
IRamsden, you are a lucky man being out of the jurisdiction of the protection of Military remains act. Must reduce the number of letters you need to write considerably!
Hi Dave, Thanks for your ID on my mistaken thought of pedal's, your securing stantions for spars makes much more sense especially when I found so many together. They are in unused condition and feel to me as stong as the day they were originally manufactured, in fact I sure they could still be used for flight today.
Hey Gremlin, I'm pleased you're inspired for another relic hunt, especially if there's the chance of good finds. Its more preferable to DIY any day, it can always wait, but the skill is convincing your wife it can wait. Good luck with that and your finds and please post if you get something. I'll be posting more finds soon.
Hi Iramsden and welcome to the forum, Im very impressed with your knowledge thank you for the help with these finds, Im pleased they've been able to help you identify the L!A stamp as a Blackburn sub contractor. Thank you also for the info on Gloster as manufacturing parts for other aero companies. Because checking the records I couldn't find any Gloster aircraft that flew from this field but Hurricaines did. Picture 42 an ariel? I'd not thought of that one but it is quite long so perhaps too long for a Pitot tube? The FAA did have a brief tenure on this site and checking aircraft records showed that amongst many other the Roc and Skua were both used.
Hi Nick the cockpit or turret glazing frame as an idea looks right to me, Ive even held it to my side and the angle of the curve passing over my head seemed perfect. Heath Robinson method I know but the scale seems correct. Its funny you mentioned this because when found next to it was a rolled up metal tube of glazing compound (sealer). I'll get a picture taken if you're interested.
All the Best.
LUCKYSTRIKE
Aye, lucky indeed. And the Isle of Man Government's various departments are generally very helpful towards our museum. Also the only time I've written to the RAF regarding ownership of stuff left on the Isle of Man was met with a very puzzled reply along the lines of "if we'd wanted it we'd have taken it away ourselves."
Here's the next selection of my recent finds.
This is some sort of lever, made of a lightweight alloy with much of the original paint still intact.
Now this is an odd relic, I have no idea what this is. It's a very heavy solid steel tube with the end protected by red padding, the hole appears to be for thick cable and it is marked 4 1/2. What do you think it was used for? (keep it clean please )
Another metal torpedo gauge this time for 27 knot torpedo's.
A small unmarked electronic coil? it appears to have had a winder to let the cable out?
A bracket with two electronic sockets, I guess to enable cables to be joined.
A small brake shoe, normally I wouldn't keep these but most I usually find are all steel and this has alloy rivets.
Two perfect unused alloy brake shoes, still coated in the original formica type material, they will be varnished for extra safety.
The underside of the shoes with close up of the markings.
I like this little electrical socket with a nicely marked spring loaded alloy cap.
Quite a large aero hatch?, It seems to be unmarked. The top is painted a nice darked green with lighter green below (sadly photo has not captured the colour). The underside is white and a close up picture of the underside of one of the securing clips.
Thank you for any help with id's on any of these.
more pictures to follow including a Merlin plate
LUCKYSTRIKE
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