Panel ID?

Looks like it had the callsign -13 which was later changed to 13.
(If it was 913 then it might point to Culdrose and that might even narrow the identity down a bit!)

Dragonfly!

The altimeter is not right is is probably worth more than the panel.

Spot on! Many thanks.

Dragonfly!

The altimeter is not right is is probably worth more than the panel.

Could the fuse box cover not be original to the fuse box body?

The Stores Ref. she mentions is 5C/883, which confirms that it’s a standard Type F fuse box, quite a common item in late war/post war aeroplanes. The crown might be the “female” version, indicating it dates from the reign of Liz II, so it might be worth double checking as a further date reference, but the lid might have been swapped in service anyway, so it wouldn’t be much of a clue.

Fancy a Museum the size of Cosford not having a handy list of Stores Refs of the wartime era to refer to….they really need a set of my Illustrated Guides….ooops, no advertising allowed on this site, is there? :diablo:

Could the fuse box cover not be original to the fuse box body?

I did check the panel itself for markings, but I will check again.

Myself and 3 colleagues studied the photos of your panel, and compared them to actual panels we have fitted in our Lincoln and Shackleton turrets, and could not prove an exact match.

Oh well, it was worth a try and it’s good of them to have helped out anyway.

But when she talks about a Shackleton turret, I wonder if she is referring to a B.17 mid-upper? I’ve seen one on display at Hendon, and perhaps it’s moved down to Cosford.

I was thinking along the lines of the twin cannon installation in the nose of the Shackleton – and I don’t think they have one at Cosford to make a comparison with, (or do they, anyone?).

I wonder whether another email to DORIS at RAF Museum might allow for Shackleton A.P.s to be consulted – they usually have useful interior photos or line drawings.

Failing that, are there any stamps or part numbers on the alloy panel itself? Part numbers on fuseboxes etc aren’t much help as they are all standard stuff.

We’ll get it in the end!

I received the following from RAFM Cosford today;

Dear Mike

Myself and 3 colleagues studied the photos of your panel, and compared them to actual panels we have fitted in our Lincoln and Shackleton turrets, and could not prove an exact match. On the fuse box cover is an RAF section reference number, which we think reads 5c/883 or 5c/893. We have a publication which lists what these section/ref numbers refer to, but alas it does not go back far enough for these numbers. They would also only relate to the fuses and not to the panel as a whole, so it wouldn’t prove too much anyway.

There were elements from your panel which were also present on our Boulton Paul later mark Lancaster/Lincoln turret, which would date it to wartime. Supporting this are the gun switches which are square edged and which were round edged on later panels, but it is strange there are only 3 of them, as all the RAF heavy bombers had guns in pairs. The photos were too indistinct to be sure, but going back to the fuse box cover is what appears to be a Queen Elizabeth crown (two humps!) and would date that component to post 1952.

So in summary, we cannot positively state what aircraft the panel was from. Elements are similar to panels in our Lincoln turrets (floodlight and switch, warning panel, heater buttons and fuse box cover) but the layout differs. An intriguing mystery!

Regards,

Clare Carr
Assistant Curator
RAF Museum Cosford

The panel did come from a UK seller. Could there be a possibility that the center switch only be the gun safe?

Thanks for the help.

Mike, It is not shackleton or Boulton turret. Interesting to see what it is from…

Again 682al beats me to it 🙂 – logically front turret- as it has a ‘floodlight’ switch…

Dont doubt RAF/commonwealth origin but the three gun switches confuses me – didnt some B29s/Washingtons have three-gun electrical turrets fitted?

Will have a look in me ‘Gunner’ book this evening….

TT

Gun turret, electrically driven, and by the look of the circuit breaker on the panel, I’d guess early post war.

It shouts Avro Lincoln (or maybe Shackleton) front turret at me.

If it is from a Lincoln, then I’m guessing this panel would be found in the bomb-aimer’s compartment, rather than in the turret itself. An email to RAFM Cosford might bring results?

I would say gun turret Mike possibly Boulton?

hmmm, nothing specific, but I assume you’ve already narrowed it down to being a “commonwealth” product – judging by the number of ‘King’s Crowns’ present. Rather interesting… 3 gun safeties.

JJ