Can anyone ID this stores No

By: Slipstream - 19th February 2010 at 10:32 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

Could be from a simulator or automatic pilot.

From AP1086 index

6H - Aircraft automatic pilot, Mks 4 and 8, major components, servicing spares and tools

By: Air Ministry - 19th February 2010 at 10:51 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

It was part of the Mk VII autopilot (i.e. wartime) and I suspect it would have been part of the earlier Mk. IV installation, too, as many components seem to have been similar in both versions.

By: Air Ministry - 19th February 2010 at 12:01 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

Doe's this make sense?

It doesn't make much immediate sense to me. Without going into hours of research, I would have expected a B17, whether flown by USAAF or RAF, to have had a U.S. built Sperry Autopilot, i.e. not requiring a Servomotor of the type previously mentioned.

I suppose possible scenarios might be:-

- A RAF Fortress equipped for some reason with a Mk IV or MK VII autopilot, rather than a Sperry. Perhaps a B17 specialist could confirm that they were modified in this way?

- The servomotor may have been adapted for use in some other piece of equipment, not connected with an autopilot system.

- The aeroplane at the crash site being investigated has been wrongly identified?

Could you provide a link to the original thread; perhaps there are more clues that might help build a jigsaw?

By: austernj673 - 19th February 2010 at 19:25 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

Do you know which type of aircraft employed the Mk IV auto pilot? Lancaster??