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RAF airframe packing cases


czechnavy

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As part of a modelling project called ‘RAF in Africa, 1939-1945’ I am trying to find out about the methods of transporting airframes from the UK to Takoradi on the Gold Coast.  From this base the aircraft were flown across the Sahara to Egypt.

 

I have found a couple of photos of Hawker Hurricanes being unloaded from packing cases and being reassembled at Takoradi – see

 

  http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/413/Harry-Boyles-Tango-over-Takoradi.aspx

 

Does anyone know if these packing cases were a standard RAF stock item? 

 

If so does anyone know of any diagrams/plans for the packing cases?

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1 hour ago, czechnavy said:

Does anyone know if these packing cases were a standard RAF stock item? 

They were more than likely stock items (ie they had an RAF stores reference number) but individually sized for each type of aircraft. The days of the standardised shipping ISO container were well in to the future.

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Here are a couple of photos of Spitfires being assembled in Morocco by 145MU.  Given the apparent size of the packing cases visible it looks like the wings and fuselage were in separate cases and one shows the tail separate from the fuselage.  This may well explain why aircraft serials were often painted on various sub assemblies.  It may also explain some odd looking camoflage schemes if sub assemblies were not matched correctly in re-assembling an aircraft

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205212489

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205212490

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205209323

 

On the other hand see Spitfire assembly at Gibraltar 1942.  In this case the packing cases look large enough to contain the whole aircraft as in the drawing above and the tail looks as though it came attached when the fuselage came out of the box.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205209155

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205209153

 

It strikes me that the Hurricane is simpler to pack as the wings detach outboard of the undercarriage leaving a relatively narrow and mobile fuselage that can be rolled into and out of the box leaving space to fit everything around.  With Spitfires the wing is one piece from root to tip and includes the undercart. Then the widest point is the tailplane.

 

The IWM site also has photos of unidentified aircraft being reassembled at Cochin in 1945.  These are larger than Spitfires (possibly Barracudas) and the box needs 2 cranes to handle it.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?query=cochin+1945&filters[periodString][Second+World+War]=on

 

My bet would be on packing cases being standardised for each type of aircraft being shipped.

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The Hurricane is however wider because of that centresection.  It certainly is mobile but not narrow.   You could also consider the Bf109, which does managed to be both narrow and mobile, but not as a design parameter for RAF packing cases.

 

Remember that these cases have to be transported from factory to ship, which generally means fitting within the load gauge of the railways or the capability of the roads.  RAF heavy bomber fuselages were designed with transport joints so they could be broken into manageable pieces for transportation.

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