Hawker Typhoon

[LSP_K2]

9 hours ago, Oldbaldguy said:

Great photo but I know absolutely nothing about these things.  What is that round gizmo on the top of the wing that looks like a generator or electric motor?  Something to do with the guns or a loading device?  And are the muzzles plugged or capped somehow?

 

Yep, I believe it's a drive mechanism to feed ammo to the cannon.

[Oldbaldguy]

And it looks like the engine turns the “wrong” way?

[LSP_K2]

25 minutes ago, Oldbaldguy said:

And it looks like the engine turns the “wrong” way?

 

Clockwise, looking from the nose to the tail.

[LSP_Ron]

Yes opposite to the Merlin.  I think the whole Hawker family past the Hurricane have engine rotation in that direction. 

[Juggernut]

Many, if not most British reciprocating engines rotate anti-clockwise(as viewed by the pilot).  The Merlin is one of the ones that does not.

[PhilB]

11 hours ago, Juggernut said:

Many, if not most British reciprocating engines rotate anti-clockwise(as viewed by the pilot).  The Merlin is one of the ones that does not.

When the Griffon engined spits were released to squadrons there were some very "exciting" first take-offs apparently.

The Griffon, in addition to having a lot more power also spun the prop the opposite way to the Merlin .

Putting on the wrong rudder application could produce some interesting "f**k me !" moments.

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by PhilB

[GrahamF]

That is a great picture, it's like its recent, very sharp, just think nothing in that picture now exists.

I wonder what other shots were taken with that camera on the same roll of film?

Graham 

Edited February 2, 2021 by GrahamF
Typo

[LSP_K2]

2 hours ago, GrahamF said:

That is a great picture, it's like its recent, very sharp, just think nothing in that picture now exists.

I wonder what other shots were taken with that camera on the same role of film?

Graham 

 

Hard to say. I know that I've seen some incredibly sharp imagery from WWII, usually B&W, but some color as well.

[Oldbaldguy]

Newer is not always gooder.  Not that long ago, the official Air Force photographer at the Pentagon used a large, old but beautifully made wooden box camera when taking official photos and senior leader portraits.  Ancient technology but the results were eye wateringly good.  It probably was from the same era or maybe older than the camera used to make this photo.

[GrahamF]

6 hours ago, Oldbaldguy said:

Newer is not always gooder.  Not that long ago, the official Air Force photographer at the Pentagon used a large, old but beautifully made wooden box camera when taking official photos and senior leader portraits.  Ancient technology but the results were eye wateringly good.  It probably was from the same era or maybe older than the camera used to make this photo.

Agreed, the very best cameras are the old Victorian plate cameras the photographs have good depth of field and pick up all the detail, the downside is that they were large and not very portable so the photos of say Railway locomotives are usually 'staged' from a distance and static, so casual shots close up or of less importance were almost never taken. Every shot was like a painting.

Graham 

[thierry laurent]

Try to find the Royal Air Force of World War Two in colour by Roger A. Freeman. You will find in that book many similar pictures.

[dennismcc]

12 hours ago, thierry laurent said:

Try to find the Royal Air Force of World War Two in colour by Roger A. Freeman. You will find in that book many similar pictures.

Gosh, forgot about that book, it's sitting on my shelf as we speak, must get it down and have a good look through it.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis