I’ve been going through may shed and have found these items. They’ve been in there for some time but I haven’t got a clue what they are or what they do.
Anyone got any ideas or leads as to what engines or aircraft they would have been fitted to. One has ROTOL details on it so I assume its something to do with propellers ??
The first 4 pics are of the ROTOL marked item.
The rest are of the 2nd item which has several hand marked inscriptions such as ASSY/ 602152007 or TYPE 6 0214 004? SERIAL No 62573
Any ideas ??
By: flyingblind - 19th May 2017 at 18:40
I assume the same would apply to this thingy which according to the label is a Dowty fuel pump?
By: flyingblind - 19th May 2017 at 18:04
What kind of engines would they have fitted?
Any particular make ?
By: Bruce - 19th May 2017 at 14:41
No Spitfire gearboxes there sadly.
I’ve probably got 100 or so of various types.
By: flyingblind - 18th May 2017 at 21:20
More engine parts to be cleared out
Another item from the shed to be cleared out. Hercules carb ?
Can anyone confirm?
If so I think they were used Beaufighters and Stirlings
By: Arabella-Cox - 18th May 2017 at 19:33
They are auxiliary gearboxes. Rotol made props, gearboxes and undercarriages (alongside Dowty). Usually mounted behind the (piston) engine or alongside the (jet) engine they are driven from. The four hole flange is the input drive and the shaft usually has a u/j on either end, the gearbox end u/j bolting directly to the flange.
They seemed to be different for each aircraft type and whilst some are just interesting, it goes without saying that Spitfire ones can be worth a lot of money.
They usually carried the generator and several pumps, the remote location allowing the accessories to be wired direct into the aircraft’s systems rather than engine mounted with all the access issues and plugs, etc, this required. It also pushed the CofG back a bit on the piston fighters and kept the engine slimmer for tight cowling purposes. There were various advantages to remote-mounted accessories which added up to a useful arrangement.
Just look at the early wartime piston engines for instance such as a Merlin in a Lancaster. It had one or two, or even three, hydraulic pumps attached to it, usually a big heavy generator and vacuum pump for instruments. Later, when the Lanc was redesigned as the Lincoln with longer engines there were hardly any accessories left on the engine, the supercharger driving a power take-off which went through to the firewall where there was an accessory gearbox mounted.
The same for the Spits and many other larger types.
With the advent of the jet age, the accessory gearboxes were usually mounted in the wing or fuselage alongside, with its own access arrangements so the engine wasn’t affected. Someone will know what the ones you have are off. They are fairly common and most are only curiosities but keep your fingers crossed you have one of the few which are still sought after. The one in the first pic could be Griffon Spitfire (£££) but it’ll need an expert or someone with access to the Dowty catalogue to i/d it for sure.
Good Luck.
Anon.
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May 18, 2017 at 6:59 pm