VACB
July 29, 2011 at 2:55 pm

Seafire Mod Plate

I recently purchased a Seafire mod plate and whilst I have no reason to doubt that that is what it is, I wondered whether anyone can assist me with finding out a little more detail from the stampings. They are as follows: –

TYPE
Serial No
W.B. Ltd/CBAF/ 20550
Mod 150
319B
Mod 697
M 569
862

I don’t have W.B. Ltd listed in my Spitfire/Seafire references and I can’t find any of the mods in those I have listed for earlier marks.

Any chance that the aircraft can be identified from the Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory number 20550?

Many thanks

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By: Al - 4th August 2011 at 10:40

Not the first time StH has got things wrong (319 was for ailerons,) and Spitfire mods had a different series of numbers from Seafires. Seafire 697 was “To introduce a slotted type cap for oil filter door.”
Edgar

That’s a disappointment – it’s a huge volume of information, which apparently now can’t be trusted. Oh well…
Having the same numbers for different mods on essentially the same aircraft must have been confusing for the erks!

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By: Edgar Brooks - 4th August 2011 at 08:50

Not the first time StH has got things wrong (319 was for ailerons,) and Spitfire mods had a different series of numbers from Seafires. Seafire 697 was “To introduce a slotted type cap for oil filter door.”
Edgar

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By: Al - 3rd August 2011 at 23:07

You mean ailerons?

According to ‘Spitfire – the history’ by Morgan and Shacklady, mod 319 was for Spit I elevators on 20.11.40…

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By: VACB - 3rd August 2011 at 21:06

Thanks Edgar, much appreciated.

I checked again and it’s definitely Mod 150. Is it possible that the part originated from an early Mark and it was reused and upgraded on a Seafire 46 or 47?

Thanks also to Al and Steve.

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By: Mark V - 3rd August 2011 at 21:02

You mean ailerons?

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By: Al - 3rd August 2011 at 20:55

Mod 319 was the introduction of metal covered elevators in Spitfire Is, and mod 697 was the introduction on Spitfire Vs of an improved paint scheme using DTD 517 type S…

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By: Edgar Brooks - 3rd August 2011 at 15:39

For sure, it’s a late Mark, though mod 150 is a bit odd, since it dates from October, 1943, and was aimed at the IIb IIc & III; mod 697, though, was only for the 46 & 47. The rest of the stampings are beyond me, though, sorry.
Edgar

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By: VACB - 2nd August 2011 at 23:09

Please excuse the bump on this one but if no one on this forum knows the answer I am at a loss as to where to turn to next. Thanks