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Spitfire boffins - what is this??


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What is this on the right side aft on this Mk.Vb? It appears to be a hole in the fuselage with a square fabric patch on it. Jonathan is saying that *all* Spits have it once you start looking.

Whatzit??

Fuselage_Patch.jpg

Edited by Jennings
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Could be a jack point (pole through the fuselage), I can't see it on all Spitfires but I see it on some. I see it on this one without a patch. But I have a picture of a bare metal Vb and it isn't there.

Supermarine-Spitfire-Vb-W3505

Edited by Scooby
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However, there was no antenna located anywhere near the patch/hole I'm talking about.

There sort of was one, the IFF antenna was through the roundel.

I just looked at a picture of a field full of Spitfire fuselages, a lot of them have that hole.

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It looks pretty close to where some Spits had an upward firing very-style flare discharger located. That could be what it is and it may explain what looks like a fabric type covering (such as what went over the gun ports).

Cheers!

Don.

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Neat! We had a 1937 Fairchild 24 that had a four tube flair launcher for night landings too. With lighted air fields and good landing lights we forget there were other solutions that have gone by the wayside.

I've also read in some books on Spits that it was a very hard plane to fly at night.

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Not sure if the upward firing very-discharger was a multi-barrel affair as pictured. I am not at home now so I can't check what I have there but I don't think that it was as large as what is pictured.

Cheers!

Don

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