No 4 Training Sqdn flew quite a variety of types in WW.1 including the Avro 504 A’s, J’s and K’s. Brush made lots of 504s. The hub which has obviously had the face laminated on is of the 8 stud type typical of a Monosoupape engine. Brush also made Maurice Farmans.

John

It’s quite clear that on the original photo virtually nothing of the fine piano wire rigging is visible. It must be there because that structure would not hold together without it! In fact the guy at the back is trying to have the tailplane away. The top ailerons are drawn down from their extremities hence the control horns are only on the lower aileron to give the required leverage with cables to the leading edge of the lower plane.

John

Nup, Westland Walrus was already there in 1925… maybe Walrus was code for something big, fat and ugly, with apologies to all Walri and Walrus lovers out there.

Ooh. that’s from the AP, You don’t happen to have the same for the Wallace do you? Or anyone?

John

I wish you luck in your search. I don’t wish to speculate but perhaps this will help you understand a little the problems of a successful escape from early jet aircraft.

Rather than bailed out he would have ejected as the Meteor Mk.8 was fitted with a Martin Baker type 2E ejection seat. The operating parameters of these early seats weren’t as good as later types and it could be that he ejected too late or too low for the seat parachute to properly deploy. The following is largely from Eject Eject! by the late Bryan Philpott. “It is notable that during 1952/53, 30% of the 32 ejections of RAF airmen proved fatal.” These early seats were not the easiest thing to use. The seat was a relatively simple device and did nothing more than get the occupant out of the aircraft and then he was left to his own devices. The airman had then to separate himself from the seat and deploy the parachute despite the shock and dis-orientation of the ejection and there was only 5 seconds before the seat and occupant hit the ground from around a 1000 feet.

I hope this helps

John

I seem to recall that the engine was either an early Benz or an Argus (I didn’t have the time to make a reasonable examination at the time). It thought it could be linked to a German two seater crew brought down in early 1916 who are buried in a cemetery near the old Naval 8 field of St Eloi. I think they were brought down by a Gunbus of No 11 Sqdn. I have more detail stored somewhere.

John