Stirling Instrument Face ID???

Hi, wow, some very good input, thanks for the comments so far – it seems to me reading these posts that niether the cowl gills or turret account for the 53 degrees, an odd one but maybe the different cowl gill arrangements on different Mk’s may explain it?

Mk 1 Stirlings had oil coolers in the leading edge of the wings. Mk III’s had oil coolers below the chin of the engine cowling. Would probably make it something that the Flight Engineer dealt with. In addition to the multi panel, posted earlier, he dealt with fuel transfers, carburettor adjustments, and the plethora of valve wheels for the heating ducts around the main spar carry-through.

One of my colleagues has suggested that it might not be for a gauge but instead is a plate showing the angular displacement of a mechanical component. He mentioned that he’d seen something similar on Constant Speed Units.

It is pretty certain to be the face off an electrical meter though. It you follow the markings they meet at a point above the pivot point for the needle which is further to the centre than the ‘C’ slot. The needle is cranked from its pivot inside so that the crank elbow moves in the C slot. The pivot point is where it is because the construction of a moving coil meter is necessarily quite ‘fat’. The needle pivot could of course have come straight out resulting in an offset circular dial. For some reason the designers wanted to make the dial broader.

If it were a dial driven by mechanical gears and cogs chances are they could have put the pivot anywhere they wanted, for example the triple pressure gauge for the brakes.

Oh yes – I didn’t read the gun angle thing properly before so to make up for it some gun angles.

James

One of my colleagues has suggested that it might not be for a gauge but instead is a plate showing the angular displacement of a mechanical component. He mentioned that he’d seen something similar on Constant Speed Units.

Oh hang on – perhaps not Gill – this is a section from the Hercules CP and it looks like 50 odd degrees is twice as much as it needs to be!

James

Hi

My vote is for an early Gill indicator. The turrets turn much more than 50 odd degrees and the guns have elevation as well as depression. The angle seems appropriate to the Gills.

The semicircular slot is typical of the electrical indicator used as the flap indicator on virtually all Stirlings and on early ones as Gill flap indicators on the engineers panel.

This panel is a little odd in that it seems to an early production prototype – the Gill indicator dials look hand painted!

Usually they seem to have ‘closed’ and ‘open’ on them though?

James

Maximum depression of the guns on all three marks of FN64 was the same, i.e. 67.5 deg.

It’s unusual not to have the face engraved with the subject of the gauge, e.g. FLAPS.

Cowling gills, perhaps?

I note that the dial shows only depression and not elevation which suggests a ventral turret. Somewhere in my files, I have got a general arrangement drawing of the F.N.64 and if I can find it, I will see if the angle of depression of the guns is 53 degrees.

The flap gauge is mounted on the windscreen centreline and doesn’t show degrees just IN – 1/3 – OUT, there’s a good pic of it in the Haynes Manual courtesy of fellow forumite Hindenburg. Not aware of any gauges that relate specifically to the turrets but stand to be corrected.

There’s a tribute to the crew of BF479 here: http://wingsmuseum.co.uk/stirlling_bf479_investigation_kasterlee_belgium.htm

John

DG475, many thanks, that was my gut feeling but I can be and am often wrong!!

Definitely not flap.: the maximum extension was 26 degrees. I will check turrets.

It’s about the size of a boost gauge not seen a Stirling flap gauge so can’t comment. It’s not gun elevation??

seems very small as it looks like a .303 case behind, must be for setting something rather than inflight use

It’s not like any Stirling flap gauge I’ve seen

Flap position indicator at a guess

BF479

do you know which tail number?