WW2 Lancaster Parts - What are they? What are they worth?

3screwsloose

3screwsloose

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These parts are from a coworker who helped clean out the estate of a Ryerson professor who taught there in the late '50s and early '60s. His specialty was gyroscopes. They appear to be a gyroscope, complete with rebuild tag dated from 1955, and two flight computers. They have been in dry storage for many years but maybe you Military buffs can help out. I've been asked to find out what they are, and find a home for them. I was told they may be from the aviation section of a Lancaster bomber. I have tried to find pics of the bomber area but have never been successful in doing so.

I'm trying not to make this a boring "what's it worth" post, because quite honestly if they could go to a collector, or even a museum, or be part of a display or aircraft rebuild I'd love to have them used and out of my house.

Here are some pics, please tell me what you think.

The back tag on one of the "computer" instruments says "COMPUTER-AIR POSITION INDICATOR AN-5841-1 BENDIX AVIATION CORPORATION ECLIPSE-PIONEER DIV. PART NO. 12580-3-B CONTRACT NO. W33-038-AC-3179 MFR'S SERIAL NO. AF-44-969 TERNSTEDT MANUFACTURING DIVISION"

















 
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Perhaps Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, they have the only flying lancaster in North America. The lancaster is currently going under a engine rebuild this year.

ht tp://www.warplane.com/
 
theres also a Lancaster here in Windsor thats in need of some parts with only 17 complete left and only 2 left flying I don't think parts are too common most of these were scraped
 
FWIW, the Lancaster at Nanton was one of the very LAST to be mustered out of the Service, in 1958, sold for civilian purposes in 1960. It is a B X, A/C number FM-159, which flew out of Comox on maritime patrols. Fellow who spearheaded the project to get it to Nanton had the same name as my Dad, who was with RCAF 133FS (Hurricanes) before qualifying as a Factory Inspector. They met.... and the confusion of 2 men with the same name and both interested in WW2 aircraft led to quite the weekend, I was told!

To be fair, the CWHM Lanc did serve longer, being surplussed in 1963, and so would have been equipped with the very latest avionics.

I would think these instruments would find a very good home in either of these places.

Must run: off to Brandon in the morning to drool on a B-17G and likely a Heinkel-111 as well. It is wonderful that a few (so very few) of these survive.
 
I'd contact the Warplane heritage too. They'll have the contacts for who needs what everywhere. Wouldn't count on anybody buying 'em though. I believe they're a registered charity, so you'll get a tax receipt.
 
Very cool - be careful with the instruments.
Many aircraft instruments faces up until 1960s had luminous paint used to read them at night, this paint was based on Radium.
Radium is a very radioactive chemical element, many times more radioactive than Uranium and even after 80 years they will be 'hot'.
Radium emits gamma radiation which is stopped by the glass on the face so are no real danger sitting passive, the danger is ingesting dust or powder if the instrument is opened.
Most Canadian instrument shops have a Geiger counter and if it shows hot they are mandated to keep the instrument and submit them for proper disposal.

Dan
 
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Wow - that was cutting edge stuff back in 1942. You've got the gyroscopic compass and computer for the Bendix air positioning sytem that was put on Lancs before GEE was developed. There's lots of info on this system if you hit Google. That should definately go to a museum or a Lanc restoration.
 
I wonder what happened to the Lancaster and Kitty Hawk that was on the east side of Highway 2 south of Red Deer Alberta. Used to get to play in it just after the war. Bomber Esso was the place and man is that doing back a few years......
A Lancaster crash landed on the south end of Edmonton municipal airport and the nose ended up about 6 feet from a friends living room window. What a sight to look out the living room window into a pile of Browning machine guns. We all got invited to look and it was one of those times I wish I had a camera .......
 
wheaty said:
I wonder what happened to the Lancaster and Kitty Hawk that was on the east side of Highway 2 south of Red Deer Alberta. Used to get to play in it just after the war. Bomber Esso was the place and man is that doing back a few years......
A Lancaster crash landed on the south end of Edmonton municipal airport and the nose ended up about 6 feet from a friends living room window. What a sight to look out the living room window into a pile of Browning machine guns. We all got invited to look and it was one of those times I wish I had a camera .......
Click to expand...

God you must be OLD. :D I remember those sitting there When I was a kid, thinking it was the Pine lake turn off, cause we used to turn there. Often wondered as well. When i was a kid, we snuck into the Lanc parked by the Calgary airport at the time, now at the museum. Rotated the back turret climbed in, rotate again and you're in. ;)

Grizz
 
smellie said:
FWIW, the Lancaster at Nanton was one of the very LAST to be mustered out of the Service, in 1958, sold for civilian purposes in 1960. It is a B X, A/C number FM-159, which flew out of Comox on maritime patrols. Fellow who spearheaded the project to get it to Nanton had the same name as my Dad, who was with RCAF 133FS (Hurricanes) before qualifying as a Factory Inspector. They met.... and the confusion of 2 men with the same name and both interested in WW2 aircraft led to quite the weekend, I was told!

To be fair, the CWHM Lanc did serve longer, being surplussed in 1963, and so would have been equipped with the very latest avionics.

I would think these instruments would find a very good home in either of these places.

Must run: off to Brandon in the morning to drool on a B-17G and likely a Heinkel-111 as well. It is wonderful that a few (so very few) of these survive.
Click to expand...

Hey smellie, did you manage to make it out to winnipeg last week to see the B-17?
 
I used to work at Sperry in Ottawa, by then it had been taken over by Honeywell. Worked on some really old stuff for the DND contract but I don't think any of it was this stuff. I believe some of the Lancaster stuff was converted to work in another plane thou. I worked mostly on dash8 stuff, the high tech end. when things were slow, we got to work on the low tech stuff...
 
smellie said:
FWIW, the Lancaster at Nanton was one of the very LAST to be mustered out of the Service, in 1958, sold for civilian purposes in 1960. It is a B X, A/C number FM-159, which flew out of Comox on maritime patrols. Fellow who spearheaded the project to get it to Nanton had the same name as my Dad, who was with RCAF 133FS (Hurricanes) before qualifying as a Factory Inspector. They met.... and the confusion of 2 men with the same name and both interested in WW2 aircraft led to quite the weekend, I was told!

To be fair, the CWHM Lanc did serve longer, being surplussed in 1963, and so would have been equipped with the very latest avionics.

I would think these instruments would find a very good home in either of these places.

Must run: off to Brandon in the morning to drool on a B-17G and likely a Heinkel-111 as well. It is wonderful that a few (so very few) of these survive.
Click to expand...


Say Hello to Betty for me, and do have a "Sentimental Journey".
I flew on her when it was in Great Falls...the realization of a life long dream
 
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