Lancaster ED751 “S” of 103 Squadron was badly damaged by flak during a raid on Mannheim on the night of 5-6 September 1943. All the crew baled out and the aircraft crashed in woods near Saint Mihiel, 50km SW of Metz.
All the crew survived and one, Denys Teare, wrote a book “Evader” about his experiences with the Resistance after the event. He remained in France until late 1944. Denys was in regular contact with many of his Resistance comrades throughout his life and on one return visit to France he was given a fragment of his aircraft. Sadly Denys has recently died and we have been given the fragment which will be incorporated into an exhibition of his RAF career and subsequent activities in France.
There is one part number which may not be complete it ends …F4751 and we should be very grateful if one of the forum’s Lancaster experts could identify whereabouts on the Lancaster it fits. The scale is in inches.
Evader is a very good read. We’ve got a supply for sale at the museum but we can’t beat the price of 1p for which it’s available on Amazon!
By: Peter - 10th April 2016 at 15:18
Narrowed it down to a piece of structure in the fuselage possibly one of the formers.. Wondering if this is a quide for flight control?
By: Peter - 10th April 2016 at 15:07
Will double check my manuals.. I seem to recall that tuffnoll piece
By: BobKat - 10th April 2016 at 12:55
Yes, the ‘F’ references are used for wing components, but there is also an ‘F’ reference for a part in the tail fin (see post #2).
Over to Peter for any further thoughts.
By: Derbyhaven - 10th April 2016 at 12:04
Many thanks for your help with this, Peter and BobKat. BobKat’s right about it being Tufnol rather than Bakelite. I think Tufnol is the name for mouldings which consist of fabric impregnated with a Bakelite type resin.
Going by the list of Lancaster part number prefixes in this thread: http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?137969-Aircraft-part-number-list-v8 the part is a wing component rather than tail. Can anyone else narrow it down any further?
By: BobKat - 10th April 2016 at 09:45
Derbyhaven,
The link below takes you to an image in the ED908 photogallery. The piece you describe as Bakelite is shown in the parts list as Tufnol which is, I think, a similar type of material. Your piece looks a little like the one which is highlighted in the enlarged circle in the diagram, but the part numbers are different. As you will see this is part of the tailplane assembly. You can look at the whole photo gallery by going to the ED908 thread and clicking the links in my post #1006.
http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?120747-Wreckage-Of-Lancaster-ED908-(60-Z)/page34
Peter may have some further thoughts.
By: Derbyhaven - 10th April 2016 at 09:14
The brown attachment is Bakelite. Its position and shape do indeed suggest that it is to support or protect something.
Alternatively could it be to accommodate a panel fastener? The oval hole supports the idea of it being for a push & turn fastener and on the side of it that’s visible in the first picture there are marks on the Bakelite which look like wear marks where a fastener might have rubbed. But why use Bakelite for a housing for a fastener?
By: BobKat - 10th April 2016 at 09:07
Could well be, Peter. I can’t see anything looking like it in the diagrams I have of the outer wing.
I wonder what the attachment with the central hole is? Perhaps, a conduit for electric cable or for a moving part? And what material is is made of?
By: Peter - 9th April 2016 at 17:07
Checked my parts list with no luck either.. wondering if it might be Fin related??
By: BobKat - 9th April 2016 at 09:31
Derbyhaven, I think this is wing related. The thickness of the metal would suggest this and the âFâ numbers were used for wing components.
My Parts List does not have the exact number, but these varied over time. For example: 1/F4756 was the Fairing for stabiliser of fin LH, and 5/F4752 was the Control rod and lever assembly.
Maybe somebody with a different version of the Parts List might spot your number?
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April 8, 2016 at 1:07 pm