I came across an interesting discussion on Spitfire walkway lines on another forum.
One modeller was asking why some had asymmetric walkway lines on the wings, and not others. Another posted that:
On early Marks, with one radiator (and including the XII,) groundcrew were not supposed (in fact there were strict instructions on the subject) to walk on the starboard wing, since it could cause “dishing” of the unsupported metal, and this meant a replacement wing. When the second radiator came into use, the upper surface was made of thicker material, and braced, so that either side could be used. From late December, 1940, a non-slip pad was introduced, on the I & II, on the wingroot, but, since this was painted over, the rougher texture is generally not visible.
I have NEVER heard of this. I have seen many, many photos and film clips of crews working around Spitfires on BOTH wings.
Also, the comments about the radiators don’t seem to add up.
Anyone else??
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By: Edgar Brooks - 6th September 2015 at 15:20
As it is work in progress it has not had the satin or matt varnish applied yet,
Wartime aircraft did not have a coat of varnish; that was post-war. Squadrons had Aircraft Finishers, who were advised to do any necessary retouching, then sand smooth with wet-and-dry paper, followed by a wash over the whole airframe with clean water. The glossy patches under that aircraft have all the appearance of pools of water, which one could expect if it had been subject to a “bull” session before the VIPs arrived.
Any pilot who had his aircraft wax polished went totally against the advice of I.C.I. (who trained the Aircraft Finishers,) since the wax soaked into the paint making a retouch impossible, so that the whole paint had to be stripped off, and done again.
Early Mk.IXs, which were converted from Vc airframes, often retained the old-style walkway lines of the Vc; later aircraft had the usual “backward L” on the port wing, but also had a mirror “L” on the starboard wing.
As for getting at the fuel tank, that had always been possible from the port walkway, and groundcrew tended to lie down (thereby spreading the load) when they needed access to the wingroot fairing.
And the previous poster mentioned that this area of the wing was altered AFTER the second radiator was fitted.
Which was on the PORT side.
So they took the opportunity to make the top surface of thicker material on both sides.
On early marks it was 24 s.w.g; on the IX, and other later Marks it was 20 s.w.g.
By: paul178 - 5th September 2015 at 23:14
As it is work in progress it has not had the satin or matt varnish applied yet,
By: Lazy8 - 5th September 2015 at 18:52
In late 1942 or early 43 my father, who was then in the Air Cadets, visited a Spitfire squadron and helped polish a waxed Spitfire to a high gloss. It added speed.
By: Duggy - 5th September 2015 at 18:40
My information, was these are very special photo’s as these are the first Mk-IX’s.
By: Tango Charlie - 5th September 2015 at 18:28
Seconded.
And interesting to see what seems to be quite a high gloss level on the paint, or was it after rain??
By: DazDaMan - 5th September 2015 at 18:22
Seconded.
By: Arabella-Cox - 5th September 2015 at 18:03
Whatever the discussion about walk ways, those pictures are very nice indeed.
Anon.
By: Duggy - 5th September 2015 at 17:23
These photo’s from “flight” might help.
These were taken at dispersal Biggin Hill 18th December 1942.
By: Bruce - 5th September 2015 at 17:20
Sounds apocryphal to me.
By: DazDaMan - 5th September 2015 at 17:00
That’s what I thought.
And the previous poster mentioned that this area of the wing was altered AFTER the second radiator was fitted.
Which was on the PORT side.
:confused:
By: stuart gowans - 5th September 2015 at 15:01
You can see the logic, as that is relatively fragile area of the wing, but if you can’t walk on the wing how do you get to the fuel tank and the wing fairing screws on the STBD side?
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September 4, 2015 at 8:22 pm