Spitfire tail wheel but Oleo ?????

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Member for

12 years 5 months

Posts: 388

Can any members help to ID this tail wheel oleo
The wheel is AH2184 indicating Spitfire or Seafire. The Oleo has a brass plate which contains various details whilst the Oleo body has several stamps and marks
The item looks as though it originally had a yellow coloured undercoat with a green finish which appears to have been painted over with a light blue naval colour?
Is this a Seafire Oleo or something completely different

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Member for

17 years 10 months

Posts: 3,778

I think you will find its from a Spitfire Mk XVI , 380 number

Member for

18 years 6 months

Posts: 223

Can't be from a XVI, as they had a fixed tail wheel, that looks to be a retractable type.

Member for

8 years 7 months

Posts: 427

Could it be for a PR.XIX? Or PRXI?

Looks like a fixed, self-centreing type to me. No sign of a pivot or jack attachment.
Looks like it is bolted to a bulkhead or similar structure.

Member for

17 years 10 months

Posts: 3,778

AH2184 is definitely a Spitfire tail wheel

Member for

12 years 5 months

Posts: 388

Some what surprised that even with several part numbers on display that no one has managed to I.D. this yet.
Some members are stating Spitfire whilst others are not

Member for

15 years 4 months

Posts: 957

Looks like a fixed, self-centreing type to me. No sign of a pivot or jack attachment.
Looks like it is bolted to a bulkhead or similar structure.

I agree, but definitely not the kind fitted to the Spitfire which has a trailing arm. It is closer in appearance to that of a Mk.II Hurricane, but I do not care to be any more definite than that.

Member for

16 years 5 months

Posts: 564

Hi fella's,
Rest easy guys, this Spitfire Tail wheeled rear oleo strut is from a Miles Messenger or Gemini Aircraft. Miles used a Spitfire tailwheel in both, the rear struts of these aircraft. The struts were hyd/pneumatic shock absorbers specifically for these Aircraft. I'm involved (loosely) with the Hooton Park T.A.C. lodger unit aircraft re-builds and we have the remains of 3 Messengers and bits of a Gemini that were gathered yrs. ago and have sat in a container till around 2 years ago when a very enterprising chap Ian Maddock took on the job of re-constructing one for static display from the bits.

My involvement was with re-furbishing the mainwheels ( Auster type ) and tail wheel and rear strut, thats how I recognized your pics. Here's the TAC Website with info about the Messenger re-build, (Ian is doing a great job ).

http://www.theaeroplanecollection.org/ and here's some pics. of TAC's Tailwheel (Messenger strut assy. ) Hope they load up as I havn't posted in here for a year and it's all changed.

I've learnt a lot about the Miles Company this past year and what an enterprising company they were, folded in 1947.

Hope this clears it up.

Bill T.

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