thierry laurent Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 Hi, Does anyone have a picture showing how looked like such outlets opened in each lower wing close to the tip? I'm wondering as I just have pictures of the covers. Moreover, there was also some reason justifying why one cover was noticeably larger than the other...? TIA Thierry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 Had a quick look in my "Edgar Archive" and found this. They're not scoops; they're the exits for the hot air, which was taken from the two tubes passing through the exhausts, then fed through the wing, round the cannon/Brownings, and out of the "scoops." If you look at the fuselage, just behind the exhausts, there are two raised strips; these are supposed to be the hot air feeds, which ran inside the cowling, then down into the wings. They were, in fact, tubes with an elbow bend in them. The two "lumps," sticking out of the front of the exhausts, should be hollow tubes. Edgar The hot air exhausts were deleted, as mod 710, from 26-1-43. They were an early fitting; it's possible to see them on K5054, the prototype, on the cover of a recent book "Schneider Trophy to Spitfire," about R.J.Mitchell. I suspect (can't be absolutely certain, of course) that the different size, in the extractor fairing, had something to due with the radiator and oil cooler dissimilarity in size, and heat generated. It's also possible that the extra size of the cannon bay needed extra heating, so that's why the exhausts were eliminated. Edgar Cheers Dennis MikeC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Thanks Dennis, I also copied Edgar notes but alas it looks all the notes and discussions were linked to the presence or absence of the heating system on this or that mark and at this or that period. I have not seen anywhere a discussion or picture about how the holes/slots look like. Moreover, when you look at wartime pictures, you can see that the larger cover shape is showing some variations. So, I guess that some planes were retrofitted and this would explain why some workshops produced slightly different parts. Similarly, it is not mentioned anywhere! And last, I've never seen the system end areas described in any TM. This does not help either! As I wrote, without putting the nose under one of those covers on a preserved plane, I do not think there is a way to know. Thierry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastterry Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 Hi again Thierry, If you google 'Spitfire Mk1A gunbay detail' Britmodeller there is a number of posts there that will answer your question. The best answer for the different sizes of the 'vents' seems to be because of the different lengths of the ducting coming from the back of the radiator. The shorter length of ducting has the small vent on the underside of the starboard wing and vice versa. One of the vents shows up on one of the links with women fitting brownings to the underside of the black painted port wing (the larger vent). You can just make out the vent which has been bashed about a bit, source of damage unknown. HTH TRF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Thanks but this is precisely what I did yesterday. Alas, I did not find anything related to the outlet shape (oblong or round?) and where they were located under the covers (right in the middle of the length or closer to the end?)...! In small scale you do not care. In large scale this is becoming to be visible. So, I would like getting that right if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 Not had a good look around yet but found this photo which seems to show the outlet under the wing, if this is the one that you are talking about. Cheers Dennis Cheers Dennis MikeC and MikeMaben 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Yes Dennis, you can see close to the upper right corner of your picture part of the cover located over the port wing outlet. As you can see, that was not a small feature and accordingly you can see inside from the rear opening. T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 Yes they are quite prominent when you go looking for them Cheers Dennis thierry laurent and MikeC 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Indeed! This picture shows both of them in the roundels: https://crane-brothers.com/dispatch/2015/4/spitfire-p9374 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 1 hour ago, thierry laurent said: Indeed! This picture shows both of them in the roundels: https://crane-brothers.com/dispatch/2015/4/spitfire-p9374 Strangely enough I was just looking at that restoration in case it showed more details. Cheers Dennis thierry laurent 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 To clarify what I meant, I'm interested in the shape and location of the holes in the wing surface. I'm not refering to the cover end shape or location on the wing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Yes that was what I was looking for, I thought that there might have been some shots in the restoration of the wings showing what was underneath the "extractor cones" as I have seen them described, either a tube or just a hole. Frustratingly the diagrams show the heating tubes in detail but no detail of the hot air outlet on the outermost gun. Cheers Dennis thierry laurent 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted July 8, 2020 Author Share Posted July 8, 2020 Indeed, I have always been surprised the TM view only shows half of the system! And in spite of all my efforts, I could not find anywhere a single picture showing such a detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonH Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 I hope these drawings will help. Looks like a round port to me, but not sure. If this breaches copyright, I will remove the images. BEWARE!!! The first two images are for MkIX wings. The last one is a MkI. thierry laurent, dennismcc and Alain Gadbois 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 Thanks Don! Indeed, even if the Mk. I TM view is a little bit blurry, it seems indicating the most logical option is the right one: just a round outlet and very close to the edge of the cover. Thierry DonH and dennismcc 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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