Crimea_River
Marshal
This question will take a bit of explaining so thanks in advance for your patience as I know it's a bit of a protracted narrative.
I am seeking info regarding the installation of the .303 Browning on the Hurricane, particularly on the 12 gun Mks. The Flash Eliminators were presumably omitted from the muzzle end when these were within the blast tubes of the typical 8 gun arrangement. On the Mark IIb Hurricane, and Canadian Mk XIIs, the additional 4 outboard .303s were mounted further forward and the muzzles protruded from the wing leading edge. See sample pic below:
As can be seen in this pic, as well as every other I've seen of wartime MK XII's in Canadian service, there are no flash arrestors mounted on the outer guns, despite these being clear of the wing surfaces. I know of at least one museum example that has them and there are diagrams suggesting that these could be installed.
What I need to determine for our MkXII Hurricane restoration project is the correct detail at the muzzle end for these installations. We have procured to date 3 original .303 Brownings, all of which were received with the flash arrestor. Here's a pic of the muzzle of one of the actual guns we have.
The flash arrestor mounted on this gun is a MkII type, the middle one as seen on the right in this drawing:
Here's the question: The guy who sold us the last specimen says that removal of the arrestor for our installation would be correctly represented by sawing off the conical portion of the arrestor between the cooling fins and the flanged nut, rather than unscrewing the entire unit. I found the following good pictures of this detail on another forum:
Looking at a closer detail of the drawing above shows a part called a "Muzzle Choke" which, despite my copy of the drawing being chopped off a bit, indeed looks like the above pics.
Can anyone confirm what the actual detail is supposed to be for the outer guns? I can not find any pics that are of sufficient clarity to confirm what the muzzle ends look like but will accept a narrative description confirming what was done.
I know that Air Publication 1641c "Browning .303 In. Mark II Gun : Descriptive Handbook, 1940" might have the answer but I do not have access to a copy.
I am seeking info regarding the installation of the .303 Browning on the Hurricane, particularly on the 12 gun Mks. The Flash Eliminators were presumably omitted from the muzzle end when these were within the blast tubes of the typical 8 gun arrangement. On the Mark IIb Hurricane, and Canadian Mk XIIs, the additional 4 outboard .303s were mounted further forward and the muzzles protruded from the wing leading edge. See sample pic below:
As can be seen in this pic, as well as every other I've seen of wartime MK XII's in Canadian service, there are no flash arrestors mounted on the outer guns, despite these being clear of the wing surfaces. I know of at least one museum example that has them and there are diagrams suggesting that these could be installed.
What I need to determine for our MkXII Hurricane restoration project is the correct detail at the muzzle end for these installations. We have procured to date 3 original .303 Brownings, all of which were received with the flash arrestor. Here's a pic of the muzzle of one of the actual guns we have.
The flash arrestor mounted on this gun is a MkII type, the middle one as seen on the right in this drawing:
Here's the question: The guy who sold us the last specimen says that removal of the arrestor for our installation would be correctly represented by sawing off the conical portion of the arrestor between the cooling fins and the flanged nut, rather than unscrewing the entire unit. I found the following good pictures of this detail on another forum:
Looking at a closer detail of the drawing above shows a part called a "Muzzle Choke" which, despite my copy of the drawing being chopped off a bit, indeed looks like the above pics.
Can anyone confirm what the actual detail is supposed to be for the outer guns? I can not find any pics that are of sufficient clarity to confirm what the muzzle ends look like but will accept a narrative description confirming what was done.
I know that Air Publication 1641c "Browning .303 In. Mark II Gun : Descriptive Handbook, 1940" might have the answer but I do not have access to a copy.
