Spitfire photo query

ENGINE FINAL (inspection)? :confused:

Spitfire photo query

Baz, Looks like : ‘Filter Clean’
‘Plugs Check’
‘Engine
FINA-E’
‘Level OK’
it is possibly the grade of oil : FINA is (was?) an oil company, ‘E’ might be the grade.

See this :http://www.tropicoil.com/fuel-fina/ and have a trawl through the pages , look for ‘Aviation.’

Regards,Brian

You’re very welcome Baz (one good turn deserves another!) Maybe the age thing may not be a deterrent and she’ll turn up the info for you from their archives. Will I have to wait for my copy of the book to see how you got on? 😉 Brian

Thanks CD/Brian

I have emailed Fina and await reply.

That will confuse their 22 year old secretary!

cheers
Baz

Thanks CD/Brian

I have emailed Fina and await reply.

That will confuse their 22 year old secretary!

cheers
Baz

you’ll be the first to know!:)

Would the groundcrew really make a note of the engine oil grade used?

While I can see the temptation to connect ‘FINA E’ with the well-known oil company, wouldn’t the groundcrew write ‘OIL FINA E’ as their shorthand? It looks to me more like a quick pre-flight check, filter clean, plugs checked, engine fina(?), level(s) OK.

On the other hand, would different grades of oils be used, for cold weather for example?

Was there such a thing as an ‘ENGINE FINAL’ check before flight?

I’m no expert here…..just my two cents. 🙂

Cheers Baz : to keep the pot boiling : herewith a little photo of an item currently on eBay. I can remember these cans ( but then I have a few years more on my clock than the 22 year old secretary you mentioned!) ‘E’ probably stood for engine oil, I don’t think they were as sophisticated back then, not having access the range of oils we can see nowadays on H*lfords shelves, like the synthetic stuff for the turbo-powered lawnmowers (with re-heat) ;)Brian

I would imagine the chalk scrawl would be for ground crew reference only : detailed info would be duly logged and signed for in the appropriate service log book belonging to the aircraft. The aircrew would generally expect (in wartime and ‘scramble’ conditions) to have an aircraft pre-flighted thoroughly for them, probably with engine running, all locks and covers removed before getting into the cockpit, they would have a check of controls for full and free movement, check engine temps pressure gauges etc before and during take-off. ‘Engine final’ check seems unlikely. In private flying (it was in my day but probably still holds good) the pilot, and particularly for the aircraft’s first flight of the day, would check the oil level and fuel for moisture drops whilst carrying out his pre-flight walkaround.( I remember an impatient instructor (not a good attribute) once admonishing me ‘You’re inspecting it, not building the bl**dy thing!) Happy days! :rolleyes: PS Where’s Mark 12 and the rest of the Spitfire buffs when you need ’em?

Was there such a thing as an ‘ENGINE FINAL’ check before flight?

I’m no expert here…..just my two cents. 🙂

Thanks Baz, looks like ‘Filter Clear’ not ‘clean’ as I thought initially.
(I have a few photos of a Barracuda II with similar wording on the bottom right of the photos so would suggest they were officially produced at the time) and have seen a similar photograph taken from the port side( note the Sky band round the rear fuselage). Page 318 ‘Spitfire The History (Morgan and Shacklady) caption reads ‘PT465 HFIX Merlin 70, after installation of its new engine and wing fillets. It was sent to North Africa, August 1944’.
The location, including the line of trees on the horizon, plus the bare metal panelling , unpainted cannon and (easier to tell from the alternative photo,) unpainted windscreen framing confirms the aircraft identity beyond doubt as far as I’m concerned. Hope this helps the ID of the A/C…we still await the info on the oil! Cheers, Brian 🙂

Just a bit more, this was a H.F. IX and the engine panels were unpainted so maybe a prototype(?) Do high flyers have a different grade of engine oil to combat the rigors of extreme altitude?

I had another go at the highest resolution (without crashing the computer:rolleyes:)

and I put on the original picture.

Here’s the other photo Baz, credit to ‘Spitfire The History.’ Brian

Do high flyers have a different grade of engine oil to combat the rigors of extreme altitude?

I would say that was a distinct possibility.

Looking at the higher resolution I just can’t make it say ‘FINAL’ (no matter how hard I try) and the fact that this is a high-altitude version, and possibly a prototype, would now make me think that what is written on the blade is less than routine. I’ll be interested to hear what FINA come back with.

Just to confuse things even more.. after Plugs Check is what looks like an equals sign (=), to me the ‘E’ after Fina looks like the same thing and has what looks like a small ‘L’ before it, so the whole thing would become:

Filter Clear
Plugs Check =
Engine Final =
Level OK

The only real problem I can see with this analysis is that it doesn’t say ‘OIL FINA – E’ and all the other notes are typical servicing type phrases, such as ‘PLUGS’ not spark plugs, so why bother to write out ‘ENGINE’ when you could just write ‘OIL’?

Also it looks to me like something has brushed some of the chalk off on the right, so could it be ‘PLUGS CHECKED’, which would make more sense, and possibly ‘LEVELS OK’?

Spitfire photo query

I’ve had a play around with the photo to see if a negative image improves clarity : here’s what I came up with (I think the underlining is relevant in the chalk marks) ————–
Filter Clear
————–
Plugs Check =
————–
Engine
Fina- E
————–
Level
OK
————–
(Initial ?) But agreed, Fina may hold the definitive answer.