Engineman's WW2 Aircraft Parts Quiz!

[Engineman]

Interesting that the main body is steel, that would lead me to believe it is a late war part 1943-45, possibly to conserve aluminum. So that would indicate a Bf 109g of possibly k model. But if I had to bet I would say Bf 109g.

Actually the difference in weight is probably less than a Kilo between steel and aluminum in that application. It would be interesting to see if it has a steel or aluminum Piston inside it. But I don't expect anyone to try and disassemble that old and rare part. I suspect the dissimilar metals would have corroded together in the last 70 years. It is a good indication that the cylinder can still be extended by hand though!

Hi cammerjeff, another "gong" for you!
Yes, it is certainly a very late part, with the use of steel, as you say, for materials shortage reasons. The difficulty we have as research about late items goes, is that there are not always the original documentations to review. It is possible that documents exist, but I have not seen them. So, although the late Bf 109 versions were built as complete designs, the available documents are not complete. This is the situation with late Bf 109 versions, the Bf 109 G-10, G-14 and K-4. Additionally, many of the components in those types were interchangeable.
So, I have not got the paperwork proof but, this is certainly a late part, probably autumn 1944 to spring 1945 production, IMO probably K-4.
Also noteworthy, these cylinders were fitted up above the curved wheelwell structure, so are not usually seen. This has some paint overspray and It was fitted to an aircraft. There is a small indentation on the cylinder that could be a bullet strike.
Overall, another genuine item.
Cheers

Eng

 

[ian_]

Nice item, interesting quiz! Very similar, but a lot shorter, than a Spitfire unit (hence thinking it was flap). The Spitfire uc jack had a steel body from the start.

 

[Engineman]

Good Morning all!
Here is a little WW2 Aircraft-Engine part for your consideration!

Eng

 

[ian_]

Hand starting mechanism? Looks to have a socket at the end for putting a starting handle into.

 

[Engineman]

Very good Ian,
That deserves a gong. What is it off?

Eng

 

[ian_]

Cheers! Not Merlin. British radial of some sort? Cheetah?

 

[Engineman]

Cooling a little, how about this?

Eng

 

[ian_]

B-17? From the rack at the back of the bomb bay.

 

[Engineman]

Like your thinking! However, this starter is a Licenz-Eclipse!

Eng

 

[ian_]

Must be German then, but I'd just be guessing what.

 

[Engineman]

Must be German then, but I'd just be guessing what.

Good. Yes, they were almost always used or a back-up on German aircraft. This one only had the hand-starter though. Anyone know or will Storm the Cat have to show you?

Eng

 

[Engineman]

Storm says he can't wait!

Eng

 

[Engineman]

So, there it is! Bf 109 F/G1-4 starter handle and Bf 109 F/G (except large bulge AS/D) starter driveshaft extension. The driveshaft extension is the welded type, earlier Bf 109 E ones had cross-pinned rivets for the tube assembly. This shaft came from a German aircraft dump site, it would clean-up and refurb as serviceable. The starting handle is a very nice Bf 109 F/G Messerschmitt part with the Messerschmitt part number, others have Bosch numbers. I got this from Swiss disposal. It is the usual magnesium crank, with a steel pin and dogs. The handle-grips are hard ribbed bakelite. This handle has not been badly treated, the later G-6 ones, that have a longer pin and dogs shaft to move the crank further out to miss the MG131 Bulge, that I got have much more wear and tear, all with replaced handle grips that got damaged from being thrown about by groundcrew. But this one has not been used much because it did not fit the Swiss G-6's, they must have just had it in the workshop, or used it on a teststand with no guns or cowlings. However it came about, it is a good part, I did use it on Bf 109 G-2 Black-Six a couple of times. So that takes us to the Manual-only inertia-starter on all the the Bf 109 E-K. This was fitted for light weight. Also, the electric-energised version is a lot longer, and can only fit where the cowling gun ammunition boxes are. It is a pity that all the flying rebuilt 109's apart from Black-Six have been built with non-standard electric versions, the manual start works OK and is the only authentic way to start a real WW2 Bf 109.

Cheers

Eng

 

[Engineman]

So, Now for something completely different.
This is not an aircraft part as such, but it is specifically for use with an aircraft.

Eng

 

[Engineman]

OK, it's a wrench, with pedigree!

Eng

 

[Snautzer01]

Ok 9-601....

 

[ian_]

So DB601, not big enough for the prop, but short of other ideas!

 

[Engineman]

Good, two fine bids! Not quite all there, but on the right track!
This is a DB Special tool for the prop retaining nut of the VDM Propeller. Strangely, VDM did make the prop nuts and the special wrenches for some of their propellers but, by about 1941 the prop nuts and wrench became very much the responsibility of the engine company. I think that the specific features of the nut, that often included features like a blast tube extension, made it easier for the engine company to design, albeit with compliance with the propeller fitting requirements. So, you see the early nuts and spanners in the VDM manual and the later ones in the engine manuals.
This spanner is a DB 9-601.951.023 that fits about 110mm greatest dia over the eight square drive dogs. That is the correct size for the DB 601 E prop nut that continued in use on the DB 605 and that is why it has the DB 601 part number in the DB 605 manual.
Installation/removal details are partly in the VDM tech manuals, and partly in the Aircraft manuals! As said, VDM tech on specific proceedures for aircraft types is very sparse after 1941 types. They all seem to say, "refer to VDM" or "refer to aircraft/engine manual" !
Also, prop details are sometimes found in the Luftwaffe Tech School documentation!
So, here we start with the earliest Daimler-Benz DB 605 tech manual, with some elements from 1940. These pages show the 1:1 prop-nut, and you can see the spanner fits the size, which cross-checks with the dimensions given.

Eng

 

[Engineman]

And now, to the use of the spanner. There are not many specifics but, the VDM manual is probably best. It shows the spanner being used to loosen or tighten the prop nut with a blade held on a rigid stand with fabric packing to protect it. The illustration below is from the Bf 109 G maintenance manual. You can see that the spanner has a simple tube extension that is about a metre long. To tighten the nut, the same proceedure is used, but torque loadings are not given! However, there are illustrations in the VDM manuals that show a man hanging on the extension bar, so that is about 150lb x 4ft = 600lb/ft.
BTW, the VDM prop is seated on Bronze 45degree cones and there is a large snap ring that engages a groove in the front hub aperture to give self-extraction off the cones.
Hope this is interesting!

Eng

 

[Snautzer01]

I often have wondered why there are so few vdm documents.