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Waclaw Lapkowski

Waclaw Lapkowski second from right at the time this picture was taken he was Squadron Leader of the famous 303 Squadron.

Hurricane P2985 Cam shaft (pg1 Pwr)

There are more pieces from this aircrafts Merlin listed in the Relics section

Hurricane P2985 Piston and Rod (pg1 Pwr)

This is a piston and rod recovered from the crash site of Hurricane P2985. I can guarantee the provenance of this piece and will supply the new owner with three pages of A4 listing information of the 303 Squadron Pilot Waclow Lapkowski who was flying this aircraft when he was shot down on the 5th of September 1940. In addition a copy of the combat report is included. I will also supply the history of this piece since its recovery so it is fully traceable to the dig site.

303 RAF Polish Squadron was the top scoring Squadron of the Battle of Britain and as such this is a hugely desirable piece of history for the battle of Britain collector.

It is in remarkably good condition and is straight.  

Born on 6th November 1913, Waclaw Lapkowski was in the Polish Air Force before the war and was serving with its 112 Squadron at the outbreak of war. On 6th September 1939 he shared a He111 and a Do17 with a He111 destroyed on the 9th.

He subsequently made his way to England, details unknown, and joined 303 squadron on the day it was formed at Northolt – 2nd August 1940. He claimed a Ju88 destroyed on 5th September. On that day he was himself shot down by a Me109 in combat over Gillingham. He baled out, with a broken leg and burns, landed at Hawkwell and was admitted to Rochford (Southend) Hospital. His Hurricane, P2985, crashed at Bonvill's Farm, North Benfleet.

Awarded the VM (5th Class, gazetted 23rd December 1940) Lapkowski did not return to the squadron until 6th January 1941. He returned from a sweep over France on the 22nd with 25 yards of telephone wire round his engine. Lapkowski was awarded the KW (gazetted 1st April 1941) and was wounded on 13th April 1941 and admitted to hospital. Recovered, on 5th May he took command of 303 Squadron, on 4th June he damaged a Me109, on the 8th he destroyed one, on the 22nd two more, on the 24th another and on the 27th he damaged another.

On 2nd July 941 Lapkowski was leading 303, in Spitfire B8596, flying with the Polish Wing escorting Blenheims to Lille. They were attacked in mid-Channel by fifty Me109’s coming down from a higher altitude. Lapkowski was shot down. His body was washed ashore and he is buried in Lombardsidje Communal Cemetery, Belgium.

 

303 Squadron Pilots with one of their Battle of Britain Hurricanes.

 

£850

Hurricane P2985 Cam shaft (pg1 Pwr)

This camshaft came from the same aircraft as the above listed piston and all the history and provenance supplied also apply to this part.

This piece could be polished and mounted as a tribute to the highest scoring squadron of the Battle of Britain.

Formed on August 2, 1940 in Northolt, No. 303 Kosciuszko Squadron was the second Polish fighter squadron to be formed on British soil. Its personnel recruited mostly from 111 and 112 Squadrons of the Pursuit Brigade, which had fought with distinction in the Polish campaign of 1939. In spite of some difficulties, mostly stemming from inadequate command of English, conversion to Hurricanes and training in the RAF tactics proceeded smoothly, and a month later the squadron entered the Battle - soon proving to be the hardest-hitting unit in the entire Fighter Command.

Lt. Jan Zumbach (8 victories) was one of the squadron's top-scoring pilots.

Lt. Urbanowicz scored 13 victories while flying with 303 Squadron

303 Squadron badge

Hurricane P2985 Cam shaft (pg1 Pwr)

£299

Rolls Royce Merlin Engine plate 2 (pg1 Pwr)

Here is an original Merlin ID plate for a 724 series engine. This is not a repro and is in mint condition.

£125

Rolls Royce Merlin Engine plate 3 (pg1 Pwr)

Here is an original Merlin ID plate.  This is not a repro and is in mint condition.

£55

B24 Liberator Engine Mount (pg1 Pwr)

This is an engine mount from a B24 Liberator in good restored condition . This mount was purchased from an aircraft fitter who removed it from a Liberator based at Dunkeswell in Devon England. It is a superb piece in its own right but has the additional historical interest of having seen active service at Dunkeswell.

The US Army's 479th Antisubmarine Group was based at Station 173, Dunkeswell, Devon, which had been designated as FAW-7's new home in England.

The primary mission area for VB-103 and its sister squadrons in FAW-7, VB-105 and VB-110, was the Bay of Biscay. German U-Boat bases were located at Brest, Lorient, St. Nazaire, La Rochelle, and Bordeaux on the French coast, and from there the U-Boats fanned out north, west, and south in search of their prey.  To counter Allied ASW assets in the area, the Luftwaffe's V/KG40, equipped with the powerful Ju88C-6 heavy fighter, ranged across the Bay of Biscay from Bordeaux-Mérignac, and accounted for many Liberator disappearances. Several Ju88s were claimed by FAW-7 gunners in the bloody air battles between them and the Liberators.

 

Joseph Patrick Kennedy (pictured above) was the elder brother of President John F. Kennedy, and was born on the 28th July 1915.  He completed his flight training at Jacksonville U.S.A. in 1942.  As a volunteer U.S. Navy pilot he flew Mariner flying boats from Puerto Rico, Central America, before converting to the B24 Liberator and serving in England at Dunkeswell, Devon, with Squadron VB110.  After completing his normal combat tour of 30 missions, he volunteered for an extra 10 - somehow managing to talk his crew in to flying with him.  Just before his last mission Lt Kennedy volunteered for one further final mission which involved low level flying and a parachute jump.  This mission was to be Top Secret as part of project Anvil, the target being the German V3 Supergun site at Mimoyecques, France.  The details of this mission remained secret until 1966, although the identity of the crew was not released until 1970.

Contact us for shipping enquiries

£1499

Bristol Sprockets (pg1 Pwr)

Here we have two original sprockets which carry the Bristol part number i.e. FB. I am not sure of their application and would appreciate any information so I can update the description.

Please email me

£75 for the pair

Bristol Engine Manifold (pg1 Pwr)

Here we have a carburettor manifold from a

Bristol Mercury or Pegasus.
It goes between the Hobson carb and supercharger

part number FB 60534 D9762

The Mercury's smaller size was aimed at fighter use, and it powered the Gloster Gauntlet and its successor, the Gloster Gladiator It was intended that the larger Pegasus would be for bombers, but as the power ratings of both engines rose the Mercury found itself being used in almost all roles. Perhaps its most famous use was in a twin-engine light bomber, the Bristol Blenheim.

£125

Coffman starter Mint in Original Box

A Coffman starter fitted to a Spitfire

Coffman Starter (pg1 pwr)

A Coffman starter fitted to a Spitfire

A number of methods have been devised to cause an internal combustion piston engine to turn over during the starting process, the most common being manual cranking and electric starter motors. Another method involves the use of a special cartridge that is generally similar to a firearm cartridge (minus the projectile, of course.) The Coffman cartridge system was one of the most common brands, entering the market in the mid-1930s; another was the Breeze cartridge system, which was produced under Coffman patents.

The cartridge starter offers advantages in certain situations, particularly in aircraft applications. For one thing, unlike the business of starting by manually spinning the propeller, a pilot can operate a cartridge starter single-handedly from within the cockpit. A disadvantage is that a supply of special cartridges must be carried, one for each attempt to start the engine.

 

N/A

 

 

 

Click on the pictures to enlarge

£150

RAF RCAF (MERLIN ENGINE) RADIATOR SHUTTER THERMO SWITCH (pg1 Pwr)

LANCASTER BOMBER MERLIN ENGINE RADIATOR SHUTTER THERMO SWITCH. THIS SWITCH WAS REMOVED FROM LANCASTER BOMBER FM 215 AS TIME EXPIRED OCT 26/1959.

Superb item with great provenance, connection to both Merlin and Lancaster. A very rare event is to have a picture of the actual aircraft a part has been removed from, the part was almost certainly in situ when this picture was taken of

Lancaster  FM 215.

History of Lancaster FM 215

TOS 21.8.45 in RCAF; was the 4th. Converted by Avro Canada to Mk.10P; issued to #408(P) Squadron with code 'MN215'; did extensive test on SHORAN; was used for short time at Winnipeg as a SAR aircraft with #111 Composite Unit about Aug. 1959; SOC 28.9.62

 

Click on the pictures to enlarge

LANCASTER MERLIN ENGINE ANTI SURGE VALVE(pg1 pwr)

LANCASTER MERLIN ENGINE ANTI SURGE VALVE PART NUMBER 4400-1 MANUFACTURED BY THE UNITED AIRCRAFT PRODUCTS ,REMOVED FROM A LANCASTER BOMBER FM 215 MERLIN ENGINE (see info about FM215 above) IN 1956.SERIAL NUMBER F1763

£125

Oil Heater A/M 5A/2048

220 Volt oil heater. It has a nice A/M crown. I can only assume this is for preheating oil in big aero engines. Looks serviceable.

£25

 

Beaufighter Exhaust (pg1 pwr)

This is a substantial piece of Beaufighter. Although it has been slightly crushed it should not be to much work to restore it to former glory and would be an excellent source as a pattern. Its just over 2ft in length and quite heavy. You can see it in situ just above the head of the middle aircrew above.

N/A

Early Merlin Exhaust Stub (pg1 Pwr)

 

This is a Fishtail exhaust stub fitted to early Merlin variants, although its missing the flange that bolts to the engine it is in very good condition as can be seen from the pictures. A superb collectable or pattern.

 

L987730A. NIN9 50.

 0001-096. L986227

£175

 

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

N/A

We will deliver in the mainland UK for the postage price quoted or you can collect. These engines will run on super unleaded petrol as they have hardened valves

Merlin/Meteor Engine(pg1 pwr)

Meteor engines are basically Merlin engines converted for tank use. They are not supercharged. They can have Merlin exhaust stubs bolted on and some people who have these mounted on trailers and run them at aviation events. They sound just the same as a Merlin .  Can be mounted on a trailer and run with a few ancillaries just add a fuel tank, "Large" these 27 litre monsters can consume a gallon of petrol a minute. You need an oil tank a radiator and off you go. Unlike the Merlin fitted to aircraft this engine will run happily without the need to apply a load. All the Merlin's you see for static running require some sort of cut down prop as they do not run well with a load. They are awesome, the first time one of these beasts fired up next to me I jumped out of my skin. Once you get used to it these engines have a presence they ooze roar power and sound just the same as a Merlin "sweet" to see our Meteor running click here

This particular engine is missing its starter motor but we will be able to find one for the purchaser.

Merlin XX Valve (pg1 pwr)

Here we have a Rolls Royce Merlin MkXX Valve from Hurricane BD731. In very nice straight clean condition. We have a number of these available as well as springs.

£35

Merlin Exhaust Stub (pg1 pwr)

This is an exhaust stub for a Merlin. Its in pretty poor condition due to corrosion but could make a nice display item and is relatively easy to restore to static condition with some metal filler and some patience. Not sure which aircraft I think more likely Mosquito or Lancaster than Spitfire which generally had shorter stubs.

£45

 

 

Merlin/Meteor Stubbs (pg1 power)

Brand new Spitfire exhaust stubs which fit Merlins or Meteors. We make these to order, delivery is five weeks and a 50% deposit is required. These stubs were made for my Spitfire project and as we have the jigs ready to go we are offering these at a fraction of the cost of the original set.  Complete SET of 12 stubs.

£1000

K Gass Priming Pump (pg1 pwr)

Mk XIV Griffon Powered Spitfire

A mint condition functioning K Gass primer. Situated in the Cockpit used for priming big Piston engines for starting. This type of K Gass was used on the later Generation of engines such as the Rolls Royce Griffon, a 36 Litre replacement for the Merlin. Also fitted in the Tempest and Sea Fury using Centaurus engines.  Basically anything with a Big Piston engine over 30 Ltrs.

£250

Click to enlarge the picture

This belongs in the instruments section as it is closely related to RPM indicator's listed in these pages.

RPM Counter drive(pg10 ins)

This is in superb boxed serviceable condition (subject to required check's and permits only opened for the picture and immediately resealed. These drives were connected to the Merlin by the normal direct drive cable that  powered the mechanical Rev counters .It generates an electric current and power's the electrical type RPM indicator. This  type of indicator was used where it was impractical to use direct drive cable's. They were used in all Mk's of Lancaster's and many other Bombers where the cockpit or engineers panel was far remote from the engine. It was actually used to power the RPM gauge in the rear cockpit of the very rare two seat Spitfire's. These do appear from time to time but never in this condition, this should end up on a flying aircraft.

Click here to see this in the instrument's section

Rolls-Royce Merlin and Friends.

An 82 minute DVD in Pal format showing 5 different aero-engines rigged for ground running in action, plus a detailed walk round one of these, a 1941 Merlin XX, explaining how it works, and other sections including footage from our own workshops of engines being worked on.

The engines featured are a 1941 Merlin XX from a Beaufighter IIF, a 1943 Merlin 24, a Griffon 58 from an Avro Shackleton, Alvis Leonides from a Sea Prince, and to keep the jet fans happy, a Rolls-Royce Derwent Mk8, ex Gloster Meteor.

 

Rolls-Royce Merlin and Friends for sale

If you are in the USA or Canada, you will need to check that your DVD player can also play PAL discs, however, it will also play on a PC using Media player or similar.

Proceeds from the sale of these discs goes towards maintaining these engineering masterpieces so that they can continue to pay tribute to the people who built and flew them so many years ago.

FREE POSTAGE within the UK, £1.50 worldwide by air mail.

£15 each

Spitfire Spares is advertising his DVD on behalf Of Peter Grieve. Please contact Peter for purchase.

Rolls-Royce Merlin Carburettor (pg1 Pwr)

This is a genuine SU Carburettor for a Merlin Engine it is very good complete condition and should be serviceable after an overhaul.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

 

£1800

Super  Merlin Piston with Con rod in excellent condition

N/A

Merlin Piston 1 (pg1 Pwr)

 

 The short Merlin piston was introduced sometime around the beginning of 1943 to combat skirt failures caused by cracking, it was found that this part of the piston was not needed and all subsequent engines had short pistons with the exception of the Meteor.
 Merlin are forged, looking inside the piston it is easy to tell Merlin and Meteor ones apart, as Meteors were cast.

Above and below  a correct piston for the Merlin XX which had had skirts

MK XX Merlin Piston 1 (pg1 Pwr)

Above a Merlin XX Note the skirted Pistons.

The Merlin XX which ran on 100 octane fuel. This allowed it to be run at higher manifold pressures, which were achieved by increasing the "boost" from the supercharger. The result was that the  engine delivered 1,300 hp (970 kW). Another improvement made to the XX and future Merlin variants was a redesign of the cooling system to work using a 70/30% water/glycol mix rather than the 100% glycol of the Merlin I, II and III series. This allowed the engines to run some 70 degrees cooler, substantially improving engine life and reliability. This also removed a potential fire hazard from Merlin powered aircraft, as pure ethylene-glycol is a flammable liquid

£180

MK XX Merlin Sump (pg1 Pwr)

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

He we have a sump for the Merlin XX. It has been cleaned and in its present condition is suitable for a static rebuilt project.

 

£550

MK XX Merlin Crankcase (pg1 Pwr)

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

Here we have a crankcase for the Merlin XX. In its present condition is suitable for a static rebuilt project.

 

 

£1800

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

 

Merlin single stage induction tube (pg1 Pwr)

Here we have an induction tube for an early single stage Merlin, seems to be in good condition but selling as static use.

N/A

MK XX Merlin inlet manifold 1 (pg1 Pwr)

Here we have a superb one piece inlet manifold for the Merlin XX. Looks to be in superb condition and should be Ok on a running engine subject to relevant checks.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

£750

 

 

MK XX Merlin inlet manifold 2 (pg1 Pwr)

Here we have a superb one piece inlet manifold for the Merlin XX. Looks to be in superb condition and should be Ok on a running engine subject to relevant checks.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

£750

Merlin Generator (pg1 Pwr)

Once again this Merlin generator looks in excellent condition turns freely is sealed and would appear to be serviceable subject to relevant checks

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

£1200

Pictured under a Merlin 68

The Mk III Mustang was the original high back version less recognisable to most than the P51 Mk IV which had a bubble canopy seen under.

Merlin ID Plate (pg1 Pwr)

This is an interesting an unusual item. Its an id plate for a Merlin 68 series engine but its not from the engine itself but was attached to the crate the engine was supplied in. It has the specific ID for the engine nos 366799.

From the information I can find there seems to be some confusion as to whether the Merlin 68 is a Rolls Royce produced engine which was copied as the American built Packard Merlin V 1650 engine or actually a Packard made engine.

One thing is certain is that it was produced to power the P51 MK III Mustang B and C .

A MK III Mustang in British Colours gorgeous!!!

£95

Original Spitfire/Hurricane engine plate (pg1 pwr)

This is an original cockpit engine data plate typically fitted to large numbers of 2nd WW British aeroplanes, especially in the early war days.  They were usually riveted to the cockpit side, alongside the pilot.  Often found in Battle of Britain Hurricane and Spitfire wrecks, these are highly collectable as well as forming an essential addition to a restoration or display.

£225

Spitfire/Hurricane engine plate (pg1 pwr)

This brass plate is an unused BLANK cockpit engine data plate typically fitted to large numbers of 2nd WW British aeroplanes, especially in the early war days.  They were usually riveted to the cockpit side, alongside the pilot.  Often found in Battle of Britain Hurricane and Spitfire wrecks, these are highly collectable as well as forming an essential addition to a restoration or display.  The figures were usually engraved to suit the particular engine and application, but the boxes are BLANK in this case. These are NOT cheap screen printed reproductions but are etched and black printed in brass relief.

 

£75

Hawker Tempest

Bristol Centaurus Cylinder(pg1 pwr)

This is a Cylinder from a Bristol Centaurus engine in very clean condition.

The Bristol Centaurus has 18 cylinders in two rows, and is a sleeve-valved radial air-cooled engine. The first version produced 2,000 bhp, and the most powerful variant produced 3,200 bhp. It was the ultimate radial engine, and was developed primarily for heavy bomber and transport aircraft. Over 8,000 were produced. The Centaurus radial engine made the Sea Fury one of the fastest piston-engine aircraft ever built

The Centaurus powered the Hawker Tempest, Hawker Fury and Sea Fury, Airspeed Ambassador, Blackburn Beverley, Bristol Brigand and Vickers Warwick.

A great display item for the Hawker enthusiast, the ultimate piston powered aero engine.

£275

 

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