The Historic ‘Not-Aviation’ (Aviation) Quiz!

I didnt know that Balloon Wood was anything to do with RR, it’s just a short trip from where I live, is this the Balloon Wood nr Bilborough (with the awful crossroads) ? In a strange twist, the famous ‘Roundhouse’ loco works in Derby are being worked on for RR. Derby station is being rebuilt at the moment, a complete mess.

Pete, i’m pretty sure that Derby Loco Works switched to overhaul of aircraft wings, particularly Hurricane, I recall that parts of Pete Vacher’s R4118 were ‘done’ there.

I stand to be corrected. Incidently, the wartime RR Merlin works on Nightingale Road, Derby, are closing on Monday.

Dean

Sad, at least the old Merlin testing plant at Balloon Woods, Nottingham is alive and intact and in use as an industrial unit.

Did you know that Pete Waterman wanted to buy the old loco works at Derby and use it as a centre of excellence and restoration facility for preserved locomotives, ie a use it was designed for.
Typical local authority said no!!!!!!, and are currently gutting what was left of the place to use it for student accomodation, including the Grade 2 listed roundhouse, what a good idea, how are these council nobheads allowed to get away with it, do they have any brains at all.

I hadn’t actually made the connection with the Italian / Latin for oil, and you could well be right about the nationality of the designer. OLEO certainly is a company name though, and I’m fairly sure it was the company name in the 1930’s when they started designing aircraft undercarriage dampers. Surprisingly they are still going, in Coventry, but don’t do aircraft work now.
http://www.oleo.co.uk/

The fire risk of petrol in tank engines is debateable; British, American and (contrary to popular myth) German tanks almost all used petrol engines (of various octane ratings) while Russian, Italian and Japanese often used diesel. While you’re correct about the flash point issue current thinking is that the easy ‘brewing-up’ in the Sherman at least, was caused by ignition of the ammunition. Just to confuse the issue there were Sherman tanks fitted with diesel engines.

I’ve heard that Sherman tanks were referred to as ‘Ronsons’ by their crews because according to the advertising for that well known brand of cigarette lighter – ‘they light first time, every time’ – gallows humour par excellence!

I did not know there was a company called oleo,but I dont know if they were first with oil/air dampers.The earliest I am aware of is dampers on a french field gun circa 1897,but we never stop learning and this a good site to learn on!! just from memory i thought the major undercarriage companies licensed the use of oleos from the original designers,but i cannot remember who that was… i am sure some forum members will know!!

Yes agreed there are a lot of variables,including our lack of armour..I just like one liners:D
The highly decorated Stuka pilot (rudel ?) reckoned the easiest way of lighting up a russian tanks was to hit the spare fuel drums carried on the back

cheers baz

Pete, i’m pretty sure that Derby Loco Works switched to overhaul of aircraft wings, particularly Hurricane, I recall that parts of Pete Vacher’s R4118 were ‘done’ there.

I stand to be corrected. Incidently, the wartime RR Merlin works on Nightingale Road, Derby, are closing on Monday.

Dean

Not a train, it is in fact a Class 25 diesel locomotive…

Thanks, I knew somebody would know. 🙂 You are spot-on with the location, and yes, it is a lovely route.

As I alluded to in my previous post,the unit is FILLED with oleo,from memory..the chap who designed the oleo/pneumatic shock absorber was italian.Oleo is italian/latinish for OIL .Not I think the company name.

I hadn’t actually made the connection with the Italian / Latin for oil, and you could well be right about the nationality of the designer. OLEO certainly is a company name though, and I’m fairly sure it was the company name in the 1930’s when they started designing aircraft undercarriage dampers. Surprisingly they are still going, in Coventry, but don’t do aircraft work now.

http://www.oleo.co.uk/

Anyway you score good points for the original aviation connection. 🙂

My comment about ‘Tommy Cookers’… I think the German tank crews may have used this nickname for our tanks because they used high octane petrol and ‘brewed up’ spectacularly.Good tanks would use diesel (GAZOLEO in latinish) which of course has a much higher flash point.

The fire risk of petrol in tank engines is debateable; British, American and (contrary to popular myth) German tanks almost all used petrol engines (of various octane ratings) while Russian, Italian and Japanese often used diesel. While you’re correct about the flash point issue current thinking is that the easy ‘brewing-up’ in the Sherman at least, was caused by ignition of the ammunition. Just to confuse the issue there were Sherman tanks fitted with diesel engines.

I’ve heard that Sherman tanks were referred to as ‘Ronsons’ by their crews because according to the advertising for that well known brand of cigarette lighter – ‘they light first time, every time’ – gallows humour par excellence!

Well spotted! 🙂 (and I even rotated the photo to make it look more ‘aircrafty’.) Funny how the company name OLEO came to be used as the name for that part of an undercarriage (even when not designed or manufactured by OLEO).

The buffer was on this…..and if anybody wants to know what it is…..it’s a train! :confused:

Not a train, it is in fact a Class 25 diesel locomotive, I think this one might have been built at Derby Circa 1963, and now based on the South Devon Railway that runs between Buckfastleigh and Totnes, nice scenic route isn’t it.
If you want another spurious aviation link that you may not of thought of, the Sulzer diesel engines fitted to this class of loco, though not this particular type, admittedly, were originally built by Armstrong Whitworth pre war, prior to them switching to aircraft production.
I also suspect that Derby Loco works were probably used for the production of Merlin engines during the war, if I’m wrong, well it least the town is related due to the existance of the Rolls Royce factory.

While trying to research this, it would appear that Sulzer marine engines were manufactured by a company called Duxfords!!!

Well spotted! 🙂 (and I even rotated the photo to make it look more ‘aircrafty’.) Funny how the company name OLEO came to be used as the name for that part of an undercarriage (even when not designed or manufactured by OLEO).

Hi Guys
As I alluded to in my previous post,the unit is FILLED with oleo,from memory..the chap who designed the oleo/pneumatic shock absorber was italian.Oleo is italian/latinish for OIL .Not I think the company name.
My comment about ‘Tommy Cookers’… I think the German tank crews may have used this nickname for our tanks because they used high octane petrol and ‘brewed up’ spectacularly.Good tanks would use diesel (GAZOLEO in latinish) which of course has a much higher flash point.

cheers baz

…my guess would be that the turbine is something nautical – a patrol boat or something similar. A marine gas turbine (similar engine type to an aircraft?):confused:

If only I was that organised! 😀

Here’s a shot of the outside of #3:

Pic #1 is an OLEO buffer from a railway vehicle.

Well spotted! 🙂 (and I even rotated the photo to make it look more ‘aircrafty’.) Funny how the company name OLEO came to be used as the name for that part of an undercarriage (even when not designed or manufactured by OLEO).

From an SR ‘Battle of Britain’ Class Pacific perhaps…?

The buffer was on this…..and if anybody wants to know what it is…..it’s a train! :confused:

so we have had aviation connections with rails and tracks – my guess would be that the turbine is something nautical – a patrol boat or something similar. A marine gas turbine (similar engine type to an aircraft?):confused:

Pic #1 is an OLEO buffer from a railway vehicle.

From an SR ‘Battle of Britain’ Class Pacific perhaps…?

#3 looks like the nozzle guide vanes on a gas turbine engine.

Pic #1 is an OLEO buffer from a railway vehicle.

Eeek!

What’s the tank restoration museum on the Isle of Wight and is it worth a visit? I have seen a few of those programs where it features on UKTV History.

They did a cut and shut on a Sherman. The strip, clean and rebuild on the -975 engine looked very impressive.

Is the Sherman a DD version recovered from the sea off Slapton Sands…

Yes, excellent! You’ve earned extra points for that. 🙂

Well the Sherman is powered by a radial Wright/Conti aero-engine.

Correct. Unfortunately this is what an R-975 9-cylinder radial engine looks like after forty years under the sea. 🙁

Hi all,
In my day (a few decades ago!) the Ultimate Engine was one that would run on anything from Brylcreem (that’l age you if you know what that was!!) to peanut butter – with everything in between! I understand that my local buses are now running on the modern equivalent of refined “fish/chip frying fat”. There was a LOT of that about immediately post-WW2!!!
HTH
Resmoroh

Is the Sherman a DD version recovered from the sea off Slapton Sands… the site of the practice invasion…. IIRC Operation Tiger?

TT

Pic 1 (hydraulic ram) is at least partly filled with OLEO just like an a/c u/c leg!!

Good tanks would of course be run on GAZOLEO and would not have been ‘Tommy Cookers’.

Well the Sherman is powered by a radial Wright/Conti aero-engine. Pass on the others!