Hi all,

Just been handed this by a work collegue who wondered if i would want it for my ulster rep.

Ex RAF unused in the box dated 1944. Just checked it under the hot tap, still works fine!

Rob

I have often searched ebay under aircraft parts , and there is often some very interesting stuff like you have got, which can often be pretty cheap. Switches and stuff like that, which is top quality gear being from an aeroplane. No good for an original car perhaps, but great for a special builder .

Steve

Hi Rob

Very nice find. I'm sure you'll know this already, nonetheless it's probably worth repeating. All Second World War Aircraft had luminous dials, clocks etc - I notice the label on the box says fluorescent. Apparently the only way to make a luminous coating at the time was by including mildly radio-active compounds within the white paint mix! Whilst the instruments are apparently perfectly safe to handle, I believe the advice among Vintage Aircraft restorers is never to scrape the luminous coating off the pointer and numerals, as breathing in the resulting dust could be potentially hazardous. Ask among your colleagues if any of them has a Geiger Counter handy just to check! Oh one final bit of advice, don't carry it with you if you're planning to visit a certain Sushi Bar in London!
In my possession is a Smiths 8 day clock from a 1941 aircraft, brought back as a memento from the war by my father, who was in the RAF. Despite it being 65 years old, the pointers / numerals still glow an eerie green in the dark - spooky eh!

Jeff

Jeff,

Thanks for the warning, i did know it was probably going to be something nasty if it was glow in the dark. I have now deposited it at my parents and didnt think to look at it in the dark first, will have to check next time i go home.

Regards

Rob

After the war ,my late Dad was dealer in aircraft war surplus. My first A7 special I built with him was made with the aluminium and ply wood used th make The Mosquito aircraft. He built himself a Super Accessories A7 Special. It was fitted with very luminus Altimeter, Boost gauge,Compass and Airspeed indicator!

Rob

Is that checking the 'glow' or your parents?

Sandy