Piece of an aircraft or rusting chunk of rubbish ?

[Steve T]

Hi all

As the title says.......what do you guys think this may be ? I found it next to a revetment at an old WW2 airfield. It was at the same depth as other relics i know are WW2 era.

Could it be a piece off an aircraft engine ? Spitfires, Lightnings and Mustangs were all worked on in the revetment.

Or is it just a piece of old tat that needs binning ?

See what you think ! (the close up shot shows one of the nuts and the fact it appears to have a 'lug' on it). The pipe was in place when it was in the ground but soon came away so it may be a red herring !









Thanks for looking

relichunter

[packin9]

I have no idea, but it is a weird looking sucker. Did you look to see if there were possibly any other related parts nearby?

[Steve T]

Yes packin9......had a good hunt round the area and found nothing.

I have been looking at pictures of Merlin engines and have convinced myself i can see what looks like this piece on the bottom left side (as you look from the front) !!!

....but that's probably just wishful thinking

relichunter

[packin9]

I guess it would be a little hard to find. Perhaps getting rid of some of that rust might reveal something.

[packin9]

I thought the front where the prop shaft went my be it. As I look again at yours, uh uh. This is a Merlin 12 cylinder. On the lower back right looks like a maybe. Looks like it goes into the fly wheel. Part of the starter?

[Steve T]

Could be...could be !

I've already cleaned ALOT of mud and stuff off. Little scared to clean deeper as it is very fragile.

But i'll give it a go !

[packin9]

Keep us posted. I'd like to see what it ends up looking like.

[bentley240]

Hi, to me it looks just like a fitting for a tank of some sort, like a fuel tank, catch can, cooling system etc, the pipe may well have been a take off or supply connection for something on an aircraft possibly.....who knows
interesting all the same.
Andy

[gremlin]

Andy is right ... this is a component from an American 108 gallon drop tank ... I should know as I found a complete tank on Raydon airfield in the 1970s ...
Gremlin

[Jim C]

I found a similar object on my favourite airfield years ago ...and I always wondered what is was! Here's a pic of what I now know is part of a drop tank.