Instrument Panel ID – Help appreciated!

Just to follow this up since you’ve all been great in contributing to the hunt.. The DH-106 would definitely be a strong possibility, the history of the unit is that it’s one of my late grandfather’s keepsakes along the years and there are some pieces we never had a chance to talk on! He did work on the DH-106 but I can’t recall or find any history or intersections of work where a VC-10 would have been in frame but it’s still very possible he was hands on with one at some point.. The Vickers Vanguard VC-9 is possible but I notice that’s reportedly half the fuel load of these gauges and unsure on number of tanks?

As Oracal says it’s possible it’s not a VC-10 and that Smiths just used similar design language and/or parts for these refuelling panels, not unlikely given that something like this must have been some of the first of their kind to be produced and it wasn’t yet any kind of a mass or mature type of a unit?

I will reach out to some DeHavilland experts in the meantime and see if maybe it can be confirmed!

Pogno, the Standard series VC 10 did indeed have a centre tank. My thinking is that in early aircraft it may not have had its own gauge – at least not on the external refuel panel, and the amount was included by the wing inner gauging. I’ve no proof that is correct, but I’ve encountered older aircraft where ‘sump’ or feed tanks had only a ‘low level’ tank gauge in the cockpit.

Off course, this may not be a VC 10 refuel panel…

I thought all VC10’s had a centre wing tank, although described as a transfer tank it could hold over 4000 galls, with the civilian Super VC10 getting the additional fin tank. The RAF C Mk 1’s had the fin tank too. 

The panel’s resemblance to the VC 10 panel information supplied by Terry is convincing. But what about the OP’s panel lacking of ‘centre tank’ gauge? I suspect the panel is from one of the civil Standard series VC 10 aircraft as they didn’t have a fin tank.

Very good work TP. It would be interesting to hear the fuel contents of the K2 main plane tanks, but it does look like the VC 10 panel diagram except I note that the OP’s panel lacks the centre tank gauge as shown on the diagram.
 

Apparently the main difference in RAF VC10s was that the K2 did not have a Fin fuel tank whilst the others did.

I would agree that it looks very similar to the VC 10 part. The only elephant in the room is the gauge capacity of the OP’s item  which is (I think) less than that of the VC 10. 

I wonder if it is indeed VC10, after all there were three marks of RAF VC10 and, I expect, a few civilian versions too!

That VC-10 unit certainly does look like something extremely similar or of a later/earlier family iteration of what I have. The mechanism on the lockout bar in particular looks almost identical to the configuration shown too. Unfortunately mine has suffered a couple of breakages at some point!

This may be it; or may not, however it is similar-

Thank you for the extra information! I haven’t had a chance to start running down the possibilities yet but something in the BOAC / BEA fleet would definitely check out as a valid possibility with the history of how I got the piece. Thanks again, I will try and see if I can get any concrete clarification on that usage.

You are looking for a turboprop or jet aircraft (pressure refuelling = jet fuel), probably with ‘bag’ tanks, and perhaps late 50s or 1960s.

edit: The DH 106 Comet may fit the bill.

Ah ok, thank you for the extra information! It will probably be hard to track down exactly which hardware configuration it was used on then but I might be able to hone in a little closer on things with some possibilities on the fuel tanks! Thank you

Not a cockpit panel.

It’s a fuelling panel used during refuel or defueling the aircraft. Normally found mounted close to the position of the pressure refuel hose attachment point. Type? Something with 3 port and 3 starboard fuel tanks with a capacity of no more than 92,000 lb.