Arrestor Gear Handle - Sea Mosquito Sea Hurricane or Spitfire

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11 years 8 months

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This is a 'John Bull' branded handle with part numbers starting AS 2xxx which is suspected to be used on Sea Mosquito or other carrier based aircraft of WW2 to deploy the arrestor hook. Can anybody confirm this or does anybody have cockpit pictures of the Sea Mosquito or AP diagrams that can confirm this please.

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20 years 3 months

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Hi,
That's the pilots seat height adjustable handle from a non-ejection seat. If this in Australia, it's it's likely to have come from one of the following types, as they all share the same basic AS. Seat Type:
Sea Fury
Firefly
Vampire

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11 years 8 months

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TempestV, thank you, looks like a good ID. May be Fairey Firefly. Can you tell me what AS stands for?
In trying to identify the Arrestor Hook release on aeroplanes of the era like the Fairey Barracuda, Sea Hornet, it seems to be a tiny, inconsequential lever just behind the throttle. Very difficult to pick out in cockpit arrangements. Does any body have any close up of Arrestor Hook release on Sea Mosquito, Sea Hornet, Fairey Barracuda, Seafire, Sea Hurricane?

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20 years 3 months

Posts: 1,494

TempestV, thank you, looks like a good ID. May be Fairey Firefly. Can you tell me what AS stands for?
In trying to identify the Arrestor Hook release on aeroplanes of the era like the Fairey Barracuda, Sea Hornet, it seems to be a tiny, inconsequential lever just behind the throttle. Very difficult to pick out in cockpit arrangements. Does any body have any close up of Arrestor Hook release on Sea Mosquito, Sea Hornet, Fairey Barracuda, Seafire, Sea Hurricane?

Hi,
I've been looking for a reference number for the Sea Hornet arrestor hook lever for some years. It looks common to the Sea Fury too.
I can describe it as a standard teleflex control box, but with a curved bakelite handle.

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The Seafire release is about as basic as it can get, a wooden toggle (as worn by Paddington Bear). this attached to a steel cable that runs back down the fuselage to the release lock. Mounted on the starboard side of Frame 11, running through a tubular fair lead. This standard for A-frame type hooks, not sure about the later stinger type.

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Thanks TempestV and Chumpy - I have to laugh at the Paddington Bear reference - instantly recognisable in the pink coloured parts of the world map, utterly obscure to the rest ! I am starting to form the impression that Hook release levers were an afterthought in WW2..or certainly kids got around in unbuttoned coats due to Seafire procurement needs.

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The Moorabbin Air Museum in Victoria, Australia, has a Sea Venom and Firefly you can hop into - so I went looking for Hook release levers. For the Firefly, guess what - a green coat hook !

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Confirming Tempest V's diagnosis, the first post shows a Firefly seat adjustment handle and mechanism.

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The Firefly has the same arrestor hook as a Sea Mosquito, so this looks like a 'standard design' for the era - these hooks are cable actuated, so the Sea Mosquito, perhaps the Sea Hornet too, must have a simple 'pull', something between a Sea Fire and a Firefly release.

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The Sea Venom has a very evolved, quirky, arrestor hook shaped handle. I doubt there was time for this for the WW2 era aircraft.

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20 years 3 months

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I'll upload a photo showing the Sea Hornet arrestor hook lever this weekend.

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11 years 8 months

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Great photo TempestV. I think this is a simple cable based release lever, not teleflex. The unit on the Sea Venom is a simple cable lever, bearing on a proximity switch which tells you that you have released the cable via a telltale light. I figure that it couldn't be more complicated than that on a Hornet, and you can see a press to test telltale light on the Hornet. I would suspect that a simple type of lever was used like this in the Sea Mosquito, but would love to see a photo !