Valiant / Victor / Vulcan – Periscopes

Maybe we’re not talking about the same thing here.

I’ve got two aircraft periscopes and was told that these were from ‘v-bombers’. One of them has a serial number crudely painted on it and when I looked it up it was the serial of a Valiant.

From the posts so far it doesn’t sound like either is from a Vulcan.

You might have a periscope from either XH536 or 537 as they tested Skybolt and had periscopes fitted where the sextant mounts were on a Vulcan.

I’m not sure but those periscopes look familiar to me, could they (or one of them) be the same type as fitted to a VC10?

I guess that more than one type used periscopes in those days and Vickers would probably use the same type on a VC10 as on a Valiant (if that one had a periscope) to save cost.

The VC10 one was made by Smiths industries, could it be that they were the only aircraft periscope builder around by then?

Thanks for the link.

An interesting site…lost myself for a bit in the Brooklands VC10 undercarriage failure!

Yes, the VC10 periscope seems to share a very similar design but neither of mine are made by ‘Smiths’ and neither of them is as long as ‘two-and-a-half-feet’.

The maker of mine is ‘Kelvin and Hughes’ or ‘Barr and Stroud’ – can’t remember which.

The VC10 site does solve one mystery that has been troubling me. How do you get a periscope/sextant through the fuselage of a pressurised aircraft!

The Pembroke C(PR)1 had a Kohlesmann (unsure of the spelling) periscope mounted on the forward port side behind the forward bulkhead which gave a 360 degree field of view for target acquisition.

The Victor’s underside periscope is at the Nav Radar’s seat, next to the H2S set, coming out directly below his seat (just in front of and to the right of the nose leg). I’m not sure where it’s controls are, I’ve never seen Lindy’s working.

On the pedestal of the periscope.

I’m not sure but those periscopes look familiar to me, could they (or one of them) be the same type as fitted to a VC10? Have a look at the two links below to get an idea:
http://www.vc10.net/Technical/oddities.html
http://www.vc10.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=119

I guess that more than one type used periscopes in those days and Vickers would probably use the same type on a VC10 as on a Valiant (if that one had a periscope) to save cost. The VC10 one was made by Smiths industries, could it be that they were the only aircraft periscope builder around by then?

The Victor’s underside periscope is at the Nav Radar’s seat, next to the H2S set, coming out directly below his seat (just in front of and to the right of the nose leg). I’m not sure where it’s controls are, I’ve never seen Lindy’s working.

Maybe we’re not talking about the same thing here.

I’ve got two aircraft periscopes and was told that these were from ‘v-bombers’. One of them has a serial number crudely painted on it and when I looked it up it was the serial of a Valiant.

From the posts so far it doesn’t sound like either is from a Vulcan.

As Exmpa states,

The periscope for the Vulcan is located at the AEO station, and is integral to the aircraft. It cannot be mounted anywhere else. It is possible to view both the upper and lower surfaces, by raising or lowering the operating handle. When raised, you can view the upper surfaces, when lowered, you can view the lower surface.

Flipflopman

Shackleton Periscopes

There was more than one place to use the periscope on the Shack.

Mostly used to observe the bomb bay, one point is in the floor between the Flt Eng and the WOP. There is another at the rear of the bomb bay in the galley floor. The periscope itself is stored opposite the entrance door.

Victor upper periscope mount is above the crew chiefs seat in the centre of the cockpit almost at the apex of the fuselage.
Can’t remember where the lower mount was… its been a long time since i WAS IN a Victor.

Vulcan – well documented in echo to the post a few above – 3 mounts:
AEO table, views lower fuse, u/c, bomb bay door. and upper surface (switchable)
Upper mounts x2: either side of cockpit canopy fairing .

Valiant ????

Shackletons had periscopes – they basically just drop through a hole in the floor in the aft fuselage and I gather were used for inspecting the underside of the aircraft during long flights. No idea if this is the same sort of thing as the V-bomber ones though

Would take their anti submarine role to the extreme if flying at ultra low level – I gather one did lose his ASW21 scanner in the oggin by hitting the sea…!!:diablo:

IIRC the Phantom FGR2 was fitted with a scope for the WSO, there was so much in the back that there was no forward vision for him, The remedy was to fit a scope on the port side in the framing between the two canopys.

Regards,

John.

Vulcan Periscope

The periscope was at the AEO’s position and was stowed in his table. The control handle was under the table on the rhs. The periscope was normally used to watch the correct separation of stores from the bomb bay and could be used to provide a visual lookout (of sorts) as it was able to be traversed. It would also allow a visual inspection of the underside of the aircraft. I cannot recall now if it was possible to look at the upper side. (It’s an age thing!)

The periscopic sextant mountings were completely separate from the AEO’s periscope. These were located roughly in line with the forward edge of the entrance door on either side of the fuselage upper surface. As a guide they were about midway along the canopy, on either side. It was the canopy that made two mounts necessary as it precluded a single centreline position.

exmpa

Shackletons had periscopes – they basically just drop through a hole in the floor in the aft fuselage and I gather were used for inspecting the underside of the aircraft during long flights. No idea if this is the same sort of thing as the V-bomber ones though