Need help ID-ing my bit of spit

[James P]

Hi all!

Quite new to this forum so forgive me if I do anything outrageously wrong.

I've just got my hands on a bit of what I think is a spitfire, as it has a VACB stamp. I'm struggling to confirm this and figure out exactly which bit it is though... It's got some letters on it reading 'CBDS', is this useful at all?

Thanks in advance!

 

[fubar57]

Your first stamp - VACB = Vickers Armstrong Castle Bromwich

 

[gumbyk]

A photo would make identification easier....

 

[James P]

A photo would make identification easier....

Sorry for the delay, but here's the most visible bits. The VACB stamp is on the back, and the long series of letters & numbers is on the front

 

[stona]

Your first stamp - VACB = Vickers Armstrong Castle Bromwich

Really? I would expect CBAF (Castle Bromwwich Aircraft Factory). The Air Ministry code for the Spitfire was 6S, so look for something with that in it.
Cheers
Steve

 

[fubar57]

I got that from this site...RAFCommands

Just thought I'd add it to help people like myself who don't know the abbreviations and save them some time on the Googler

 

[nuuumannn]

Just thought I'd add it to help people like myself who don't know the abbreviations and save them some time on the Googler

Good stuff Geo, useful info, although in this list Alclad isn't just aluminium; it's a brand name for an aluminium alloy where copper is the greatest percentage of alloying material and on top of the base alloy is a layer of pure aluminium, sacrificial for corrosion purposes, on both sides, which constitutes a total of 10 percent of the total thickness of the metal.

 

[gumbyk]

Sorry for the delay, but here's the most visible bits. The VACB stamp is on the back, and the long series of letters & numbers is on the front

View attachment 377262 View attachment 377263

Have you got an overall pic of the whole item?

 

[MiTasol]

Really? I would expect CBAF (Castle Bromwwich Aircraft Factory). The Air Ministry code for the Spitfire was 6S, so look for something with that in it.
Cheers
Steve

Spitfire part numbers are typically 5 digits starting 3 but many are compounded like 30018 497 (and 498) for the Bottom Skins of the Tail Plane.

VACB is Castle Bromich

 

[stona]

VACB is Castle Bromich

Yes, it is exactly what the original explanation said it was. A lot of aircraft parts were stamped or stencilled 'CBAF' to indicate the aircraft factory in the same way SAL indicates Supermarine Aviation Limited.
6S was the Air Ministry code for the Spitfire and anything with that on in a stamp or stencil is certainly from a Spitfire. This is a stencil on the IWM Mk I

Cheers

Steve

 

[James P]

Have you got an overall pic of the whole item?

Yeah sure, here's the bit in its entirety. I'm hoping to buy myself a parts manual soon which might help, and the bloke I got it off suspects it's a mk9, but we aren't sure

 

[Crimea_River]

If it's from a Mk IX then it MIGHT be this hatch on the underside:

 

[James P]

If it's from a Mk IX then it MIGHT be this hatch on the underside:

View attachment 377497

oohh that does look likely! I'll do some more research to see if I can confirm it, cheers!