Lancaster Bomb Switch Panel
Discussion
Simpo Two said:
deadtom said:
i got the impression it was more that the OP wouldnt be comfortable making a play thing from a device that has been used to kill (innocent?) people
It's called provenance, and had they not been used you might well not be around to post such naive drivel.My comment was really that this is a piece of equipment that *potentially* played a key part in melting women and children into tarmac streets, and it's not a particularly nice thought for any sane person.
On the other hand, it's just a box of switches. I wouldn't go out and buy one, but my Dad bought it for his model railway 65 years ago. I doubt he's ever given it a second thought, and maybe I shouldn't have either - after all, as a young child my Dad was on the recieving end of the Luftwaffe many times during the Sheffield Blitz. As he says..."Happy days"!
dr_gn said:
My comment was really that this is a piece of equipment that *potentially* played a key part in melting women and children into tarmac streets, and it's not a particularly nice thought for any sane person.
My angle was that if the unit had some history; ie 'Flown 22 missions over Germany in B-Bertie' it would be worth more than if it had never left RAF Stores.The dying civilians thing is a post-war distraction that achieves nothing other than pointless self-flagellation. Which is something we seem to be very good at these days.
Simpo Two said:
dr_gn said:
My comment was really that this is a piece of equipment that *potentially* played a key part in melting women and children into tarmac streets, and it's not a particularly nice thought for any sane person.
The dying civilians thing is a post-war distraction that achieves nothing other than pointless self-flagellation. Which is something we seem to be very good at these days.
As far as I'm concerend, it doesn't matter which side was on the recieveing end, or even "who started it". When we're talking about civilians being killed in a war it's a tragedy, full stop. Maybe necessary, maybe not, but still a tragedy.
deadtom said:
Marty63 said:
Would it be monetary valued more if it had been used in anger ??
i got the impression it was more that the OP wouldnt be comfortable making a play thing from a device that has been used to kill (innocent?) peopleas mentioned - if it had sat on a shelf or in a plane that went nowhere
compared to a one that had flown x amount of missions,
would it's travelled history alter the value
as to war - there are no winners professor Falken
Simpo Two said:
It's called provenance, and had they not been used you might well not be around to post such naive drivel.
oh f
k off and don't be so patronising. I'm not one of these butthurt hippies who will tell you that soldiers/sailers/airmen at war are just commiting government sanctioned murder.
I realise that civilian deaths are an unfortunately unavoidable part of any significant military action, especially actions which push the boundaries of what can be necessary force (Dresden raids come to mind), and that it's the people at the top of the tree who ordered the raids that should answer the question of whether it was right or not, not the unquestionably brave airmen who flew the aircraft and operated the aforementioned switch panels.
That being said, I stand by my original comment that some people may not want to use weapons, or parts thereof, to make toys from.
And not that it matters, but personally it wouldnt bother me even if the switch panel in question came from the very Lancaster that dropped the first incendiaries on Dresden, in fact I would appreciate the provenance and historical significance of such an item.
at least the OP and others understood what I was trying to say
Marty63 said:
deadtom said:
Marty63 said:
Would it be monetary valued more if it had been used in anger ??
i got the impression it was more that the OP wouldnt be comfortable making a play thing from a device that has been used to kill (innocent?) peopleas mentioned - if it had sat on a shelf or in a plane that went nowhere
compared to a one that had flown x amount of missions,
would it's travelled history alter the value
as to war - there are no winners professor Falken
If you have history you can prove on an item with photos or letters from the previous owner (especially personal kit or weapons) the sky is the limit.
I think there is a certain macabre in some collectors...they want stuff that shows the scars of battle or they want a bayonet that they can prove killed someone.
dr_gn said:
Turns out it's not much use for switching points after all. I need a pulse rather than a continuous current.
I guess it will be put back in in the loft.
How about charging some capacitors then using the switch panel to 'fire' them? My very limited knowledge says that the caps charge while power is going to them & 'fire' when the current is stopped.I guess it will be put back in in the loft.
Hooli said:
dr_gn said:
Turns out it's not much use for switching points after all. I need a pulse rather than a continuous current.
I guess it will be put back in in the loft.
How about charging some capacitors then using the switch panel to 'fire' them? My very limited knowledge says that the caps charge while power is going to them & 'fire' when the current is stopped.I guess it will be put back in in the loft.
The simplest way (but unbelievably expensive) is to buy some "passing contact" switches. They toggle up and down, but on their way to fully up or fully down, they pass a contact, momentarily making the circuit, then are insulated when the swith is fully toggled. This way you get a visuial indication of the state of the switch, but with no residual current.
You can buy a normal toggle switch for 50p, but passing contact switched are about £4, and I need 10. This railway is getting expensive!
Zaxxon said:
I'm surprised by the way this thread has gone.
Yes it has probably been used for what it was intended. Good, that makes it more special.
Using something that a collector would cherish as a toy? Just wrong.
I knew exactly what would happen the moment I wrote:Yes it has probably been used for what it was intended. Good, that makes it more special.
Using something that a collector would cherish as a toy? Just wrong.
"...but somehow I hope this particular unit wasn't used in anger."
Predictable.
Somewhatfoolish said:
What is the rotating selector actually selecting? What's container/distributor/etc?
From notes from a random forum:1. Safe Except for Jettison - with this setting bombs cannot be dropped by any operation of the selector or firing switches
2. Single and Salvo - with this setting the Distributor Unit is short circuited and bombs are released by selector and firing switches
3. Distributor - with this setting the Distributor is in the circuit and operation of the Firing Switch starts the arm of the Distributor moving which drops the bombs. The Carriers must be selected.
4. Container: As above but the contacts on the Distributor are joined together.
At the other end of the box are two Jettison Bars. By pushing these bars in, the load is Jettisoned irrespective of the setting of the Drum Switch.
dr_gn said:
Yes, you use a capacitor discharge unit to give the points solenoids a kick, but it's the residual current that burns the solenoids out.
The simplest way (but unbelievably expensive) is to buy some "passing contact" switches. They toggle up and down, but on their way to fully up or fully down, they pass a contact, momentarily making the circuit, then are insulated when the swith is fully toggled. This way you get a visuial indication of the state of the switch, but with no residual current.
You can buy a normal toggle switch for 50p, but passing contact switched are about £4, and I need 10. This railway is getting expensive!
Dad used proper H & M point switches when he wired up my railway 40-odd years ago. It was like watching him practise magic. But couldn't you use a toggle switch to flip the polarity, then a push button to briefly energise the circuit?The simplest way (but unbelievably expensive) is to buy some "passing contact" switches. They toggle up and down, but on their way to fully up or fully down, they pass a contact, momentarily making the circuit, then are insulated when the swith is fully toggled. This way you get a visuial indication of the state of the switch, but with no residual current.
You can buy a normal toggle switch for 50p, but passing contact switched are about £4, and I need 10. This railway is getting expensive!
Probably much easier to cough up for the proper switches...
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