Storage in ww2 fighters?

[vikingBerserker]

I believe relief tubes were pretty common on most us military aircraft pre ww2.

IIRC Eric Hartmann smuggled somebody in his Bf-109

 

[MIflyer]

Here are some shots showing how they tucked away spare parts and tools into the nooks and crannies of a P-39. Not a lot of room in that airplane.

I note that while originally the radios were supposed to be located behind the engine but photos of P-39's in the Pacific clearly show some kind of radio gear under the Plexiglas area of the canopy above the engine and behind the pilot.

 

[fastmongrel]

Long term, the short range resulting from the lack of tea pot was a big drawback on the Spitfire. PR versions had a "Goblin teas maid" installed. BTW Spitfires had a cup and saucer while Hurricanes had an enamel mug.

No point wasting the Royal Doulton on some pleb who never even went to Oxbridge.

 

[herman1rg]

Then there was the Ball-bearing Run the nickname of the war-time Stockholmsruten flight between Stockholm and Leuchers, Scotland between 1939 and 1945 where passengers were sometimes carried in the bomb bay of Mosquitos

 

[MIflyer]

Yes, and those BOAC Mossie passengers did not even have a chair. Just an oxygen mask and a small light. And I understand the flight attendents were unattentive and the movie selection horrid.

 

[Browning303]

Thank you everybody for your informative replies and pictures. This has been my first thread since joining the forum and I'm really impressed with the response to my question!

 

[fubar57]

Sorta got side-tracked with bodily functions but that's what we do best

 

[MIflyer]

What did the BOAC Mossie passengers do about bodily functions?

 

[Hardrada55]

Thank you for the quick replies guys! Very interesting! Had no idea a rifle could be carried. Was a Kar98 routinely put on board during combat sorties?

Supposedly only in North Africa Bf-109 with Rifle

 

[KiwiBiggles]

What did the BOAC Mossie passengers do about bodily functions?

I dunno. How well did a Mosquito's bomb bay doors close?

 

[Hansie Bloeckmann]

The Kar98K and survival kit in the Bf109s flown in desert conditions, i.e. North Africa, were intended for use in the case of a forced landing. Of course, if the pilot had to bail out, then he couldn't take these with him, as they were stored in the rear fuselage, some 6.5 feet aft of the cockpit !
Luftwaffe bomber and other large aircraft aircrew, normally carried the Luger P08, sometimes, later in the war, the Walther P38, whereas the standard sidearm for fighter pilots was the Walther PPK.

Thanks Airframes-- I believe the Walther Polizi Pistole Kurz was/is in 7.65mm, whereas the Luger Pistole 08 and the Walther P38 were both in 9mm Parabellum. All fine weapons, I have a Luger 08 made by Kreighoff 1939- with the Luftwaffe Eagle Waffenamt markings, holster, spare magazine and stripping tool. It is the only Luger in my modest collection. But in all honesty, a friend's Walther P38 is more accurate on the range we frequently use, and a way less complex design to field strip and service.

 

[Airframes]

You're welcome, and yes, the PPK was , and is, 7.65mm. For such a short weapon, it's pretty accurate too. I used to have one, and a P.38, both WW2 vintage, but they had to go some years ago, due to the UK firearms laws.

 

[Hansie Bloeckmann]

You're welcome, and yes, the PPK was , and is, 7.65mm. For such a short weapon, it's pretty accurate too. I used to have one, and a P.38, both WW2 vintage, but they had to go some years ago, due to the UK firearms laws.

From your kind response, I surmise you live in the UK-- Home to Ian Fleming and his character "James Bond"?? I believe that gentleman also carried a Walther PPK-- I never have owned a PPK, but a friend has one, and I am sure he will let me shoot it at the range. FWIW, the State where I live is also very restrictive on ownership and carrying of handguns, exceptions being the LE community. So I can sympathize with the restrictions the UK seems to have on handguns. Such is the world we must live in now-a-days. Hansie

 

[MIflyer]

Here's a story I read a while back.

A USAF pilot was doing a cross country in an F-80 in the early 1950's. His wife told him that the base he was going to was right near her aunt's home and to take a large fishbowl to her; she would come out to the base and pick it up. There was no place to put the fishbowl in the F-80 so he stuck it behind the pilot's seat, under the bubble canopy.

Enroute, his radio failed and with darkness approaching and the weather deteriorating he diverted to a SAC base. He landed and was greeted by heavily armed Security Police who leveled guns at him and demanded to know who he was and what he was doing there (ever been chased down by SP's on a SAC base? I have.). In view of the fact that he was flying a properly marked USAF airplane he thought their reaction a bit absurd, he removed his helmet, reached back, got the fishbowl, put it over his head and said, "I'm from Mars and there are more of us coming."

His commander had to come get him out of jail.

 

[pbehn]

From your kind response, I surmise you live in the UK-- Home to Ian Fleming and his character "James Bond"?? I believe that gentleman also carried a Walther PPK-- I never have owned a PPK, but a friend has one, and I am sure he will let me shoot it at the range. FWIW, the State where I live is also very restrictive on ownership and carrying of handguns, exceptions being the LE community. So I can sympathize with the restrictions the UK seems to have on handguns. Such is the world we must live in now-a-days. Hansie

Things got really nasty in the Battle of Britain when it was found out that Germans sometimes had guns.

 

[Airframes]

Yes, very unsporting of them, what !
And crash-landing in fields, without first asking permission - it's just not cricket old boy !!

 

[Hansie Bloeckmann]

Yes, very unsporting of them, what !
And crash-landing in fields, without first asking permission - it's just not cricket old boy !!

Does make me wonder if Rudolph Hess was armed when he parachuted out of the cloud cover and landed in a farmer's field in Scotland. The story I read had him captured by a farmer wielding a pitchfork. If he planned to surrender to the Allied Forces then, would he then leave his sidearm back in Germany. Can anyone elaborate on this? Was he flying a ME-109 ? If he bailed out, where did the aircraft land?

 

[Airframes]

He was flying a Bf110, with drop tanks,the aircraft crashing not far from where Hess himself landed. The remains of his aircraft (rear fuselage) are on display at the IWM, Duxford, UK, He was not armed, and neither was the (new) Bf110.
I have a fairly long chapter on his flight and arrival, in the book 'Failed to Return', and another book solely on his incarceration and interrogation - quite interesting.

 

[Hansie Bloeckmann]

He was flying a Bf110, with drop tanks,the aircraft crashing not far from where Hess himself landed. The remains of his aircraft (rear fuselage) are on display at the IWM, Duxford, UK, He was not armed, and neither was the (new) Bf110.
I have a fairly long chapter on his flight and arrival, in the book 'Failed to Return', and another book solely on his incarceration and interrogation - quite interesting.

I shall try to get a copy of your book(s) as I believe Rudolph Hess and his "escape from the Third Reich" was the first of many challenges faced by Hitler and Goebbels, to cover up to the German people all the "Rats leaving the sinking ship"--later followed by disasters in Russia, Italy and Normandy. I wonder if Hitler tried to "abduct" Hess and bring him back to Berlin- most likely to his death?

 

[Crimea_River]

Going a little OT here....