Does anyone know what a 'Plessy pistol' is and how it might cause an aircraft to catch fire? This is from the ORB of 146 Squadron: Unfortunately there's a gap in the appendices file so no sign of the report on the incident. Searches turn up nothing - could it be a misspelling?
Just wondering if it could have been manufactured by the Plessey Group The War Period As a result of this manufacturing expertise, Plessey was well placed to take a key role in war-time production of radios, starters and a whole host of aircraft equipment items for WWII, and to add to space available for production as well as to provide continuity of manufacture in the period 1940 to 1942, when air raids on London were at the height, took over a 5 mile section of the Central Line tunnel, intended to extend the London Underground railways into the eastern suburbs of London, and constructed just before the 1939 WWII broke out. This ‘factory in a tube’ was some 13 feet in diameter, entered only by stairways at the locations planned for stations when completed, and at peak, over mile or so long probably the world’s longest and thinnest factory ever! The working area amounted to 300,000 sq ft and used 350,000 Watts of lighting. There was also 7 million BTU's of heat to be dispersed of as well. The company also took over factories at Cardiff and Swindon. By the end of the war Allen Clark had become Chairman and Managing Director, a position he held until 1942. The labour force stood at 11,000, compared with 5000 in 1939. HISTORY OF PLESSEY
I wonder if that could be it: a 'Very pistol' type signal flare gun manufactured for the RAF by the Plessy Group. If so, that would seem to suggest that the pilot decided to buzz the crowd and shoot a flare at them from the cockpit but muffed it and set his plane alight, necessitating a forced landing. Can just imagine the instant regret and the choice words from the CO when he returned to the squadron...
Perhaps just a coincidence, but the deputy Chairman of Plessey in his address to the The 6th World Airports Conference actually mentions the Verey. https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/aftc.00872.0021?mobileUi=0
https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/ste...Spitfire_IX_Flight_Manual_EN.pdf?t=1607978106 Flare launcher A Plessey six-shot signal launcher is installed in the upper rear part of the fuselage between frames 16 and 17. Fires 1.5 inch flares when the handle is pulled. After firing, the handle returns to its place. The selector is located above the firing handle. The control for this unit is mounted on frame 10 on the port side. Rocket launcher is armed through the opening on the right side of the fuselage between the 17th and 18 frames. The cutout in the skin plating under the launcher's muzzle is sealed with percale before takeoff. Also, from a list of armourers duties ttps://books.google.co.uk/books?id=SD3BDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT547&lpg=PT547&dq=plessey+discharger&source=bl&ots=L8mJg0HvMo&sig=ACfU3U1ki-YBt0AvcdMehpb8ZvJTUhxuzA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjoxfntvPHtAhWailwKHQ__AHcQ6AEwEnoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=plessey%20discharger&f=false And a discussion on Historic Aviation forum https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/75790-signal-flare-chute-airworthy-spifires?p=2204050&%3Bgoto=newpost&page=0
Thank you, that makes much more sense! Strange that they referred to it as a 'pistol' in the ORB but I think the squadron was flying Hurricane IIBs at this point so the signal flare chute/discharger device would seem to fit. The discussion you linked suggests they were phased out and removed by mid-war, I guess this event is an example of why.
