RAF WW2 target banners?

Down under From here – http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a22.htm

Thanks – will do…

Regards

Simon

on target

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Afternoon, I recently came into possession of an RCAF Messenger Target. I sent an email to your [email]info@wwrgallery.co.uk[/email] w/ a multi page PDF of the piece. Please contact me to discuss. Thank.[ATTACH=CONFIG]231080[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]231080[/ATTACH]

Many thanks for all the replies so far.

I have managed to unearth some interesting diagrams and photos here:

http://www.milfield.org.uk/fighter_leader_school_milfield.htm

Anyone know from which publication the target drawings, Martinet photos and Martinet cutaway diagram originate? I’ve e-mailed the site’s owner, but just in case I get no reply, thought I’d ask here too. Perhaps a bit of a a long shot, but you never know!

Regards

Simon

Many thanks for that fascinating link

Many thanks for all the replies so far.

I have managed to unearth some interesting diagrams and photos here:

http://www.milfield.org.uk/fighter_leader_school_milfield.htm

Anyone know from which publication the target drawings, Martinet photos and Martinet cutaway diagram originate? I’ve e-mailed the site’s owner, but just in case I get no reply, thought I’d ask here too. Perhaps a bit of a a long shot, but you never know!

Regards

Simon

It looks like it might have been used twice. Some of the bullet holes have been circled & others not.

We also have a “messenger” target. It’s marked RCAF with the broad arrow and also made my Ross-Smith. It’s made of white nylon fabric and looks like a small windsock, about 3ft. in length.

Many thanks for the photos Mike.

It looks a very well-made bit of kit, for something that presumably only got used once or twice.

Simon

Here are the photos as promised.

It’s a nice piece, but it’s actually a ground target & not a towable air/air target. It’s approximately 12ft. square & full of holes. It’s marked RCAF with the broad arrow symbol, so it might even be post war issue.

We have a large orange RCAF target banner. It came from a local ex-Lizzie driver.

I’ll snap a few pictures when I can.

😎 Nice one! Many thanks indeed.

We have a large orange RCAF target banner. It came from a local ex-Lizzie driver.

I’ll snap a few pictures when I can.

Thanks for the info Tim. I had a look on Navigator, and there are some really interesting and useful shots there.

If you have any further info, I’d be most grateful if you could dig it out when you get a spare moment.:)

Cheers

Simon

I have some information on this but currently at work, however three main types of fabric target; these being:

Banner / Flag

Sleeve – open ended at both ends

Drogue – enclosed at one end

With regards to colours they are do indeed come in white and red (see attached photo from the RAFM collection; use the Navigator search tool) and post war I have seen them in bright orange.

Kind regards,

Tim

Wartime ones I would hazard a guess at white. High viz and low cost. I don’t have any info to back that up though.

Thanks for the replies Peter and LL – much appreciated.

Anyone got any idea what colour the sleeve targets were?

Cheers

Simon

taken from the unpublished memoirs of LAC (aircrew) Pete Humphries:

…The target is thirty feet long, which included the stabilising ten feet of net at the end. It was 5 feet wide with a five foot pole at its leading edge which contained a five pound weight at the base which helps to stabilise the target itself…

1000 ft of cable used during the tow.

This was the description of targets used on Battles at Hawarden 57OTU. From1943, they switched to sleeve targets and Martinets at Eshott.

Don’t quote me but I think all targets in WW11 were sleeves about 20 ft long and 4 ft dia.
In the ’50’s the “banner” target was introduced, from memory about 20 ft long by 6 ft deep.
I have a picture stolen from a Vampire sqdn site, of such a thing being towed by a Meteor for a Vampire to attack. I trust the author, if he sees this, will forgive me for publishing it here.