Resin Lights and Mosquito

[pointedeflèche]

Hello,

Can anyone explain me the difference between resin lights and navigation lights? Was the Mosquito FB Mark VI equiped with resin light(s)? Where precisely on the Mosquito FB Mark VI were resin light(s) fixed (fuselage, wings, tail)?

Best regards,
Dirk

 

[Micdrow]

The drawing that I have shows the Resin lights for a Mk II mosquito that has them labeled on either side of the port and starbord stabilizer. Exact location is hard to tell because of angle. From the line drawings Ive seen with the Mk VI they look like they are in the same postion.

This Saturday I am going to the EAA museum down the road from me which has a Dehavalnd Mosquito. I will see if I can get a answer for you on Saturday if no one posts an answer for you.

Micdrow

 

[pointedeflèche]

Hi Micdrow,

Pretty handy to have a museum down the road, your help is much appreciated!
Does your drawing also show a green and yellow light underneath the Mosquito's fuselage? Any idea what these lamps were named? Resin Lights? Recognition Lights, Identification Lights?

Thanks again,
Dirk

 

[Micdrow]

Just got home from the museum. Some answers to your questions but for me brought up more questions. Here is what I have found out.

The book I have which I have attached the drawing has the lights labeled Resin Lights. They are numbered 143 and 81 which are on the out side edge of the port and starboard aileron. Remember this drawing is labeled for a Mk II mosquito. I have seen line drawings for the resin light in them though for Mk IV.

144 and 83 are labeled port and starboard navigation lights.

I found no lights on the bottom of the fuselage on the mosquito at the EAA. Doesnt mean one did not exist. I dont see any in the drawing provided either.

The museum mosquito did have a white light about 3 to 4 inches in diameter mounted on both the port and starboard wing in between the engine and fuselage on both sides pointing straight down. What they are for I have no idea. They look like they would be pretty bright if turned on.

The resin lights look to be around about 1/2 inch in diameter tube with a glass or plastic lense running about a quarter of and inch wide down the centor. Have no clue what they would be used for. From the look of them they would be no good unless you where right behind the aircraft and it was very dark because they are so small. Because they end is cut straight down you probably would not see them on at all from the side. Maybe signal lights for lead aircraft to other aircraft if they wanted to maintain radio silence???

Two lights on very end of tail. Top one is tail navigation light. Bottom one is tail formation light. The museums tail only had the navigation light which was white. Book does not say what color tail formation light would be.


The serial number of the aircraft at the museum is RS 712 if that helps. There was no info on manufacture series of aircraft that it was.

F-EG is the identification marking on fuselage.

One interesting fact about this plane is that it is still fully flyable. Even has oil still dripping from the engine's

Hope this helps

Micdrow

 

[k9kiwi]

They are formation lights for following aircraft, a lot of British night flying planes had them. The same as bombers used coloured or white lights in various positions pointing downward for IFF purposes.

They were turned on when over England, and designed so that they are only visible when almost directly behind the leading aircraft, to prevent things going bump in the night.

Here is a pici of the Lancasters arrangement of 3 on either wing tip.

 

[k9kiwi]

Just found some more picis from Taronto Airospace Museum. You can see the resin formation light at the wing tip. And the landing light in the second pic.

Can't remember if they were air or hydraulically operated, but after engine shutdown they would have retracted back into the wing due to having a spring attached.

 

[pointedeflèche]

Micdrow and k9kiwi,

Many thanks for the pictures!!
Micdrow - thanks for the trip to the museum and the detailed description you gave of the Mosquito resin light located on the out side edge of the port and starboard aileron. I assume these lights - numbers 143 and 81 in the scan.jpg - were also fitted to the Mosquito FB Mk.VI.

The Mosquito B. Mk. XVI had 3 lamps (white, amber and green) underneath its fuselage. These lamps were called Identification Lights. I wonder whether the Mosquito FB Mk.VI was equipped with such identification lights underneath its fuselage?

Thanks again,
Dirk

 

[timread]

Maybe I'm too late for you, but I'm modelling a BIV and have these pics below of lights on a Mk B35 from our museum here in London:

The BIV has three lights on each wing tip and none underneath.
I know the forward light is red or green for navigation, but I dont know the colour of the other two, the resin lamp or the formation light. If you know now, do let me know too!

 

[Frank124]

Does your drawing also show a green and yellow light underneath the Mosquito's fuselage? Any idea what these lamps were named?

These are "Downward Identification Lights" and they were controlled by a switch unit in the cockpit that allowed the colour to be selected and flashed using a morse key on the control unit. The pilot could then signal using the colour of the day, flashing the letters of the day in morse code. Usually there were three lamps - red, green and yellow.

Resin Lights - I've seen on another site that this is derived from REStricted INtensity, which sounds about right. When I worked on the Lancaster they were referred to (by we electricians anyway) as "Formation Lights" and as far as we knew they were mainly used for tasks such as towing gliders, to enable the glider pilot to remain in the correct position, directly behind and a little below the tug; or else for taxying in black-out conditions. The Mosquito would never have been used for glider towing though and Bombers never flew in formal formations at night, they kept their distance from each other. The glow from the exhaust stubs would have been more useful for maintaining tight formation anyway.