Can any members help to ID this tail wheel oleo
The wheel is AH2184 indicating Spitfire or Seafire. The Oleo has a brass plate which contains various details whilst the Oleo body has several stamps and marks
The item looks as though it originally had a yellow coloured undercoat with a green finish which appears to have been painted over with a light blue naval colour?
Is this a Seafire Oleo or something completely different
By: WV-903. - 24th June 2019 at 20:35
Hi fella’s,
Rest easy guys, this Spitfire Tail wheeled rear oleo strut is from a Miles Messenger or Gemini Aircraft. Miles used a Spitfire tailwheel in both, the rear struts of these aircraft. The struts were hyd/pneumatic shock absorbers specifically for these Aircraft. I’m involved (loosely) with the Hooton Park T.A.C. lodger unit aircraft re-builds and we have the remains of 3 Messengers and bits of a Gemini that were gathered yrs. ago and have sat in a container till around 2 years ago when a very enterprising chap Ian Maddock took on the job of re-constructing one for static display from the bits.
My involvement was with re-furbishing the mainwheels ( Auster type ) and tail wheel and rear strut, thats how I recognized your pics. Here’s the TAC Website with info about the Messenger re-build, (Ian is doing a great job ).
http://www.theaeroplanecollection.org/ and here’s some pics. of TAC’s Tailwheel (Messenger strut assy. ) Hope they load up as I havn’t posted in here for a year and it’s all changed.
I’ve learnt a lot about the Miles Company this past year and what an enterprising company they were, folded in 1947.
Hope this clears it up.
Bill T.
By: Graham Boak - 23rd June 2019 at 21:51
Looks like a fixed, self-centreing type to me. No sign of a pivot or jack attachment.
Looks like it is bolted to a bulkhead or similar structure.
I agree, but definitely not the kind fitted to the Spitfire which has a trailing arm. It is closer in appearance to that of a Mk.II Hurricane, but I do not care to be any more definite than that.
By: flyingblind - 23rd June 2019 at 20:41
Some what surprised that even with several part numbers on display that no one has managed to I.D. this yet.
Some members are stating Spitfire whilst others are not
By: Trolly Aux - 22nd June 2019 at 16:27
AH2184 is definitely a Spitfire tail wheel
By: Arabella-Cox - 21st June 2019 at 21:35
Looks like a fixed, self-centreing type to me. No sign of a pivot or jack attachment.
Looks like it is bolted to a bulkhead or similar structure.
By: R4118 - 21st June 2019 at 20:52
Could it be for a PR.XIX? Or PRXI?
By: Spiteful - 21st June 2019 at 18:54
Can’t be from a XVI, as they had a fixed tail wheel, that looks to be a retractable type.
By: Trolly Aux - 21st June 2019 at 17:04
I think you will find its from a Spitfire Mk XVI , 380 number
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June 21, 2019 at 3:34 pm