Was shown this image and have no idea what this instrument, circled in red, is. Traced the photo to an image in the Imperial War Musuem collection but found nothing other than a note saying that the caption on the back of the original says it's of a P47D-5-RE cockpit. It appears to be a large dial with numbers from 1-29 (or 30) going clockwise starting at the 12 o'clock position. There's also large selector in the middle. I know the 5-RE along with the 4-RA before it were among the first with water injection added, which was manually controlled. Is it possibly related to that or the new superchargers that installed at that time? Thanks in advance for any help.
Mystery instrument (P47D-5-RE)
- Thread starter ApocV
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Not really sure, and this is just a wild guess, but I seem to recall that the ADI system was very hard on an engine when selected, and there was a limit on the amount of time that it could be used; at which time the engine had to be inspected for damage. Perhaps this is a 30-second timer used to keep track of how long the ADI had been used. This looks like a test setup to me, as I would think the instrument would have been smaller and less obtrusive on a combat P-47. The big exposed wiring conduit from the instrument looks like a temporary installation to me. I'm sure one of the P-47 experts can be more helpful.
Mike
In short, a Test Instrument in a Test Aircraft.
Republic P-47D-2-RE Thunderbolt 42-8009, http://joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html
8009 (MSN 157) National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA); Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory, Lewis Field, Cleveland, OH; Engine & Test Branch, Wright Field, Dayton, OH; Destroyed 5Mar45 at Wright Field, OH. Lockheed C-60A Lodestar 42-55962 was taking off from Wright Field on a test flight when the pilot lost control of the airplane. It crashed into a hangar, killing five workers. A fire erupted, destroying seven planes inside, including P-47D 42-8009
- Thread starter
- #4
That's fantastic. Thanks!
salutewwii
Airman
Yes, these were simply switches mainly used for switching between thermocouples and other sensors on the aircraft for testing.
Most were made by the Lewis Engineering Company and they came in several different types...ie...4 position, 8 position....so forth and so on.
Hope this helps
Most were made by the Lewis Engineering Company and they came in several different types...ie...4 position, 8 position....so forth and so on.
Hope this helps
- Thread starter
- #6
That's some great info thank you! Using that I was able to track one down to an ebay listing! Lewis Engineering Company Type 27S28B4 0-28 Selector Switch Tested Working Eng. | eBay
After making the photo a bit brighter, I had been able to make out that it had 28 positions plus an "off" position and that the label appeared to refer to Cylinder Temps. I figured the 28 was related to cylinder numbers (even though the P-47 had 18 cylinders it made sense that a test lab would use instruments capable for the larger engines).
Thanks again for adding the last piece of the puzzle!
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salutewwii
Airman
Glad to help. Let me know if you have any other instrument needs or questions...I have a fairly large collection of WWII aircraft instruments.
Was happy to finally contribute something to this forum!! If you stick around you'll find out the members here are highly intelligent and really
know their stuff, many different areas of expertise.
Was happy to finally contribute something to this forum!! If you stick around you'll find out the members here are highly intelligent and really
know their stuff, many different areas of expertise.
GregP
Major
Yanks Air Museum in Chino, CA has two P-47s. One is a P-47D and the other is a P-47M.
The D model has dive flaps. They are on the bottom of the wing, ahead of the center of pressure. They pivot at the front and, when deployed, impart a nose-up pitching moment to the aircraft. I'd think it would obvious when they are deployed! But, hey, maybe you could trim it with nose-down trim ... I don't know.
The D model has dive flaps. They are on the bottom of the wing, ahead of the center of pressure. They pivot at the front and, when deployed, impart a nose-up pitching moment to the aircraft. I'd think it would obvious when they are deployed! But, hey, maybe you could trim it with nose-down trim ... I don't know.
P-47 Thunderbolt with dive recovery flaps
Description: Caption: "The dive recovery flaps on this P-47 Thunderbolt are barely visible underneath the wings. Photograph and caption published in Winds of Change, 75th Anniversary NASA publication (pages 52-53 and 130), by James Schultz.
nasaimages.lunaimaging.com
