I’m trying to help the owner of this tailwheel to ID the aircraft type & actual aircraft that it came from.
It’s said to be from a Spitfire that crash-landed, after aerial combat, on a farm near Hoath, Canterbury, Kent on 7th September 1940.(First day on German attack on London). The pilot was Polish and was uninjured apart from a few cuts etc. & was ‘looked after’ by the farmer’s wife until the Army came to get him. The plane was eventually taken away by the RAF. The tail wheel was given to the ten year old Farmer’s son by an RAF Warrant Officer when they came to take the aircraft away.
I have ‘The Blitz then & now, Battle of Britain then & now, Fighter Command losses, & Poles in defence of Britain, but any information/ideas from other books will be welcome.
I have found a Me109 with came down at Tile Lodge Farm, Hoath, near Westbere, Canterbury, at 5.40pm on the 2nd September 1940. The Werk Nr of the ‘109 was ‘1261’ coded 12+, from 1/JG52. The pilot Fw H Verlings was captured unhurt. I thought that this could be the ‘Spitfire’ that the farmer’s son remembers, he could well have mistaken a German pilot for a Polish one if he heard him speak. However, the markings on the wheel are British which would rule out the ‘109.
The markings on the wheel are ‘LF 16744/2, AH207, ISSUE 12, & on the other side of the wheel it has ‘16744/ 52 (with the 5 struck out), AA2112, so200‘
Geoff.
By: crystal lakes - 6th December 2004 at 23:33
Our Seafire has AH2184 but it looks very much alike.
Mike
By: Canada TD - 6th December 2004 at 11:41
The ‘AERO’ on the tyre is due to it being made by Palmer Aero (hence a PA inspection stamp).
AH2184’s vary by having /1 & /2 versions. In my collection (how sad is this, I have about 6 Spit tailwheels):
AH2184/1 are aluminum and the earliest
AH2184/2 are mag alloy with an aluminum inner plate (presumably as it is stronger/more scratch resistant than mag alloy, or maybe to raise the electro conductivity* to the same level as a aluminum)
Later /2’s have a small rim on the outerpart of each wheel (about 1/8th inch).
*Wheels and particularly tail wheels are intrinsic parts of lightning conductivity.
By: von Perthes - 6th December 2004 at 10:24
Cheers for clearing that up Bruce.
Geoff.
By: Bruce - 6th December 2004 at 09:34
OK, lets put it this way, it would fit a Spitfire. Obviously, I cant say for definite if it came off a Spitfire; as David mentions above, the particular number throws up Rapide/Dominie.
Thats not to say that if there wasnt a shortage of Spit tailwheels at the time, they didnt use these, which are virtually the same.
Bruce
By: von Perthes - 6th December 2004 at 08:27
Many thanks for the replies.
Bruce – So you’re saying that the wheel in the photos & with the markings ‘LF 16744/2, AH207, ISSUE 12, & on the other side – ‘16744/ 52 (with the 5 struck out), AA2112, so200’ is from a Spitfire for certain – yes? BTW is ‘AERO’ the name of the maker?
Now does anyone know of a Spitfire that came down near Hoath, Kent, in 1940 or otherwise?
Geoff.
By: Bruce - 6th December 2004 at 07:42
Yes, its a Spitfire tail wheel, and yes, they are similar, if not identical to the Rapide/Dominie.
According to the Swedish parts manual for the PRXIX, there are three types of Spitfire tail wheel. They list AH2184, AHO18551, and also another AH2184, but of a different style (!)
Hope this helps!
Bruce
By: Canada TD - 6th December 2004 at 01:56
The number for a Spitt tail wheel is AH2184. I was surprised that the Dominie and Rapide were fitted with a wheel that was identical to a Spitty (including tyre size) bar the part number. As Dave’s reference material is the same as mine (and ‘pucker’) then I have learnt something!!
By: von Perthes - 6th December 2004 at 01:09
A few more photos. Do they help?
If it is a Dominie/Rapide wheel, could it have been fitted to a Spitfire? Perhaps due to a shortage of proper Spitfire tailwheels?
I suppose the RAF officer could have just given ‘a’ wheel to the farmer’s son, one that he just happened to have on their low-loader etc. from a Dominie/Rapide. Maybe he even told the lad it was from the Spitfire?
Geoff.
By: David Burke - 5th December 2004 at 23:21
I am sure Bruce will be able to add more from the Spitfire perspective!
By: von Perthes - 5th December 2004 at 23:13
David,
Many thanks for that quick response. Doesn’t tie-in with the story though. Mind you the person I’m helping has bought the wheel off someone who got it from the farmer’s son. Mmmmm!!!
Could it have been used on any other aircraft?
Geoff
By: David Burke - 5th December 2004 at 23:07
The Dunlop AH207 wheel was made for the Rapide and Dominie and is fitted with a 3×4 tyre.
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December 5, 2004 at 10:51 pm