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Replica of the
Wireless Operator and Navigator section of the Lancaster
fuselage. Wireless Operator's position at left and Navigator's at
right
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Wireless
Operator's position showing the radio communications equipment, T1154
transmitter, R1155 receiver and Fishpond radar warning indicator
etc.
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Navigator's
position showing Gee Indicator Unit Type 62 at left, and the H2S Radar
indicator unit and controller at right. Gee receiver and PSUs
underneath
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Lancaster Wireless Op. &
Navigator's station
This exhibit is a full size replica
of a cut-away section of the fuselage of a Lancaster bomber containing
the Wireless Operator and Navigator crew positions and is located
in the Duxford Airspace Hangar in front of the IWM
Canadian-built Victory Aircraft Lancaster
bomber KB889.
It contains the complete suit of radio communications,
Gee navigation, Fishpond radar warning and H2S radar display equipment
which was mounted adjacent to
the Wireless Operator and the Navigator in this aircraft (the H2S
radar transmitter and scanner assemblies were mounted in the fuselage
floor to the rear of the crew positions).
The project was inspired by a similar smaller replica owned by DRS
which was
constructed by Member Phil Racher, and which was on display at
Bletchley Park for a number of years. The DRS exhibit which allows visitors to
operate some of the equipment is due to be displayed in Duxford
Building 177 shortly.
The
entire IWM replica project, from concept to completion, was project
managed by
Denis Willis RAF VR, DRS Vice-Chairman and Collections Manager.
The replica was built by a joint team of specialists from the Imperial
War
Museum
Duxford (IWM) and from the Duxford Aviation Society
(DAS).
The Duxford Radio Society (the DAS Radio Section) was
responsible for project leadership and for the restoration and
installation of the entire radio, radar and
navigation equipment.
DRS has also loaned many of the items of equipment to the IWM for this
exhibit.
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Equipment
background story
The
interior of the IWM Lancaster aircraft KB889 is still radioactive, due
to the
radium paint which was used on wartime instruments to make them glow in
the
dark. As a result the aircraft is closed to the general public
and access
is restricted to selected Duxford staff for short periods of time (a
few minutes at a time in fact).
This means that the
public is unable to see or experience the internal
layout of the aircraft or the conditions under which the crews operated.
This replica of part
of the Lancaster fuselage was constructed in order
to provide the public with a
realistic representation of selected crew positions from the interior
of the
aircraft.
All of the electronic
equipment displayed is real war-time RAF issue, and the
only non-original parts
are two dummy lead-acid accumulators.
Construction of the
replica began in late 2005 and in January 2007 the
exhibit was moved into position in the Airspace hangar for final
assembly and system testing.
A system of fibre-optic illumination is used to highlight the
individual items of equipment.
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Conservation
and restoration process
The
replica fuselage section walls and structure has been skilfully
constructed by woodworking
specialists, and other IWM staff have fabricated some of the mounting
fittings and brackets.
The
radio, navigation and radar equipment has been jointly provided by
the Duxford Radio Society and the IWM Duxford Spares Collection.
DRS
volunteers have been
responsible for the conservation and restoration of all the individual
equipments.
As
Project leader, Denis Willis was able to
provide the essential mechanical and electrical guidance necessary,
based on
his personal experience with the equipment during World War 2 at 29 MU
RAF Colerne.
Denis
also personally restored a number of the
individual equipments which make up the complete exhibit back to working order.
Although
it was planned to allow the public to operate some items of the
equipment under supervision, a later Museum decision was taken to
encase the complete exhibit in plastic sheeting for protection.
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