fv1609

That NSN shows that it is Pouch, general purpose made by Pilkingtons. The design spec is OS94621A. The NSN falls amongst predominately thermal imaging components.

The lists of all the publications associated with RE stuff should be in Indexes of the Catalogue of Royal Engineers Materiel and Equipment Support Publications I only have the 1997 edition & they are not in there, so maybe I looking in wrong era?

If it was a question of only a few pages I could copy them. Pamphlet No.8 it is an interesting sequence of publications. We have: WO Code No.11537 April 1956 Army Code No.14249 April 1964 This was entirely amended as: Army Code No.60293-1 Dec 1968 Army Code No.60293-2 June 1969 I have four sets of ER that cover this period, none have Army Code No.60293. I can only assume amendments 1 & 2 were so extensive that nothing was left of the original publication. As you may be aware 1956 introduced a new Asset Coding system with a comprehensive explanation of its structure. but it changed circa 1968 with little explanation of its structure. I have made two FOI requests about the structure of the 1968 system only to be eventually told that the MOD doesn't hold information like that. This is despite the fact that there are still some assets that identified by this code system.

Terry fair point about removing the RFC shroud & resulting overheat. My point was a curiosity about the choice of capacitor. Although the distributor DZS4A was used in FFR Land Rovers, the earliest application I am aware of was in the Morris auxiliary engine on a Centurion that pre-dates B Series engines.

It always seemed curious to me that B Series distributors use metallized paper capacitors rather foil & paper ones. I know metallized paper types have "self healing" properties and with hundreds or thousands of healed repairs they can maintain near the original capacitance. But they are not really healed just a breakdown avoided & another one appears. They do fail with time and their tolerance to temperature is known not to be as good as foil-paper ones. I know the capacitor lives in its own little chamber within the distributor & there is a system of air circulation, but why use a capacitor with poor temperature performance? On the other hand the screened ignition used in Land Rovers & a few other applications use the DZS4A distributor. This is only vented by two pairs of vent holes directly in the distributor cap protected by a fine gauze. Looking in VAOS Section LV6/MT8 it specifies "condenser, high temperature" & this is a foil-paper type. Why not have this extra temperature tolerance in a B Series? In my experience of testing a large number of capacitors over the years neither type seems any more susceptible to failure with time. I have conducted tests with good examples of both types using a hot air gun & a Megger. Curiously the samples I have used of both types seem to fail (ie insulation resistance goes down) at broadly the same temperature. I have been unable to measure the temperature as my infra-red thermometer gun refuses to give sensible readings on the capacitor body, even it I paint a black patch on the capacitor & aim the gun at that. In practical terms if the capacitor is too hot to comfortably touch its insulation is compromised once it is cooled to being slightly warm it has returned to its original properties.

Although this is your combination it is in a Mk 5, but looking under Mk 8 refers the reader to this section. What you need to look for is User Handbook for Radio Installations in FFR 'B' Vehicles WO Code No.12798 Jan 1963

As Andy says that's the way to do it. A bit more crowded in the Hornet though. A nitwit had burnt out the clutch & cracked the flywheel. So I had to replace both.

The anti-roll bars were in a modification issued in Dec 1973 to improve stability when used in four stretcher role.

Rich that's to lift the gearbox I assume, but you are not moving the engine are you?

Just another thought Rich. In a Pig originally each tank was vented by a pipe emerging from under the front antenna mounts on each side. But in 1975 there was a mod so the vent pipes combine & pass through a shared flame trap. This is prone to get blocked with spider detritus etc preventing the tank being properly vented.

Should be a fibre washer. All my fuel & air lines are compression joints, after all they have to carry central heating oil at minimal pressure. Got all the pipes & joints from B&Q. Where they terminate they are soldered to the original fittings. The hose below is only in the air line. But I doubt if yours has a compressor still.

Rich well you've certainly put some toil & tears into that over the years. Great will be your satisfaction when the project is completed, although the work will continue just servicing it & keeping pace with problems as they pop up with use. Just a few thoughts. Is your fuel filter clear? Make sure the washer on the bleed screw on the filter is not drawing in air. Make sure your sump level is not going up or smells of fuel, which would mean the diaphragm on the fuel pump is failing. Make sure the gasket on the fuel changeover switch is not drawing in air. Your clutch mechanism, is that still a chain or welded over? Is this freely moving & not bent? Is the clutch release mechanism lubricated, the chrome cup washer on the bell housing should be turned 360 deg once every 1,000 miles. Check there is grease actually in it. Hope you are always moving off in 4WD (1st gear) & in reverse to share the load between the axles.

I've done a little article on modifications that may be of interest. http://www.shorlandsite.com/images/Shorland%20mods.pdf

http://m.dailyecho.co.uk/news/11858094.Southampton_museum_ransacked_of_rare_artefacts_during_raid/?ref=ar

Just as I said it was important to view things from both sides, I have just come across some of the many notes made by the EME responsible for bringing Malkara into service. He commented that they had reported problems with wire breaks back in the trials of 1961-2 yet the contractor seemed to pay little attention to the problem and were confused that the problem was with Mk 1 missile rather than Mk 1A that had a different motor. It was just one troop that went to Sharjah not the whole Sqn & the plug problem was resolved by a REME solution. I have large sections annotated 'correct', 'incorrect' or 'not true', but also places marked as 'no comment'. In the latter case I'm not sure if that is agreement but I suspect it is tongue-biting disagreement!

I'd like to Terry & it is an ambition. I think to write a comprehensive book it is something that one would have to wholeheartedly throw all one's free time into for a year or two, but I have so many other things to write about & research. I did a chapter on The Humber 1600 Series & indeed the whole book needs an update in the light of new information & photos that have come to light. The author has suggested this to me but it is question of time. I wrote the Malkara chapter for this book last year, which was a great honour. But earlier period of ATGWs is of interest seeing things from both sides. In many instances I have come across conflicting opinions from users & contractors who see things in a different perspective. So for the moment I will content myself with articles here & there. I will soon put up on here an article on Rover screened ignition systems that I have been writing for 4 years. It is about 100 pages & includes first hand experiments & measurements that won't be found in EMERs or the internet. It puts right some of the nonsense that appears both in those sources. :-D

Even quite late in the development of Malkara problems with wire breaks were apparent. The expense of fitting command break up units & the constraints of firing in the UK prompted the Para Sqn RAC to move the whole Sqn for a month in 1965 to the Trucial Oman States for direct & indirect firing (separation sights). The trials were in the desert near Sharjah Abu Khariban. Originally a 4-core wire was used on Mk 1 missiles, but by using a common earth a 3-core wire was used in Mk 1A missiles. This saving in weight allowed a much extended range to 4,000 yds with an improved motor. The wire was enamelled, cotton covered & being made of steel was very strong. Wire breaks were therefore rather surprising. Some wire breaks were actually problems in the plug in the dispensing arm of the Hornet. The other cause of random breaks was more mystifying, an investigation was undertaken at Compton Vale near Melbourne. It was thought that hot debris from the motor was cutting the wires. The thick polythene roll 20ft x 200ft was used to verify that a range of particles that had melted through the sheet. But there was no sign of the cotton covering being burnt. Later investigations in the lab showed it was only necessary for red hot metal to pass close enough to the wire for it to snap given the tension in the wire. So the use of a snap-on bar below the lower fins prevented this problem. So the experimental set up was very effective. This was not a military investigation this was by the contractor, who at this stage was BAC having accepted the design authority from Government Aircraft Factories in that year (1965). I am grateful to Jim Sommerville who led that BAC team to Australia for sharing many of his experiences with me. Many of the technical events or certainly their details seem not to have been otherwise recorded. Much of this sort of information was to have been included in the story of Malkara by Col Val Cockle, sadly he died before his project could be completed. I was lucky enough to have corresponded with Val on a number of projects not just Malkara but Vigilant & Swingfire. For the latter he formed & commanded 20 Trials Unit that brought Swingfire into service.

It was Hornet firing Malkara ATGW. The problem was that the control wire sometimes got burnt by the hot gases from the rocket motor. A fix was provided by clipping a bar across the lower two fins that kept the control wire just clear of the exhaust. This set-up captured the control wire intact, which could be examined in detail. Normally the wire would snap on reaching the target.

Tony yes well done, very good. Any ideas what is on the left?

Sounds fun Tony are you volunteering then?

Trevor it is a polythene sheet In a way, sort of yes

I see what you mean Wally. It is actually the end of a long roll of polythene sheet lying on the ground. As you surmise there is some stuff I've not shown on the left. There is also something attached below the trolley thing where I have drawn jagged lines, but no hoist.

Yes well done Good idea but its not that

I see what you mean Wally but its not that.