WWII aircraft wingtips Nav lights ??

[Mancunian airman]

I wonder if anybody can give a definitive answer to this question.

 

Did wartime aircraft such as the Halifax and Lancaster have coloured RED/GREEN lenses or was there a choice of coloured BULBs ???

 

I believe the tail ID colour was White, again a lense or a coloured bulb ?

 

Thanks in anticipation

 

Ian

[Greenshirt]

I think you’ll find “it depends”. 

 

Some aircraft had colored fairings over clear bulbs, whereas some had clear lenses over colored bulbs. Some used a yellow bulb under a blue lense to produce a green light when lit. 

 

It would be best to ask about a specific aircraft to get a specific answer. 

[Mancunian airman]

11 minutes ago, Greenshirt said:

It would be best to ask about a specific aircraft to get a specific answer. 

Okay

 

That would be the Lancaster . . . . .

[Greenshirt]

4 minutes ago, Mancunian airman said:

Okay

 

That would be the Lancaster . . . . .

 

In this image, it appears to be clear w colored bulbs. 

 

[Troy Smith]

5 minutes ago, Mancunian airman said:

Okay

 

That would be the Lancaster . . . . .

AFAIK, British types have clear covers and coloured bulbs

 

For the Lanc specifically

just visible here

50 Sqn. Lancaster, 1942. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

Lancaster    1946. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

from @Etiennedup  great Flickr

the rest of the Lanc pics are here

https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=8270787%40N07&q=lancaster

[BS_w]

in the Army Navy catalog of electric accessories, all bulb are clear and the cover(or lens) is coloured(P51...), then this assembly is sometime under a clear fairing.(P47...it's probably the case of Mosquito, Lancaster...)
The clear bulbs are universal and could be used on any navigation light.
On the Spit, the upward identification light had a clear bulb under a clear fairing but a red or green cover could be fitted  for signalling purposes because there was not coloured bulb.

 

[Graham Boak]

From the point of view of spares, the outer transparent covers are handed and as both need stocking they might as well be individually coloured, and then a single colour bulb is required.  Compared with two separate covers and two separate bulbs,  this reduces spares stocks and hence cost.  How long it took the services to realise this I don't know, but from the above evidence it seems not immediately.

[BS_w]

Army navy, aeronautical equipment, 1944 (but since 1931 it was same)

Edited August 7, 2018 by BS_w

[Troy Smith]

That is US practice,  does not mean it was British practice, the photo of the Lanc shows a clear cover.

not found any close up Lanc wingtip pics online.

 

But note here is the Hurricane preserved in Finland,  unrestored

clear cover, coloured bulb

from

 

[Sonoran]

4 hours ago, Mancunian airman said:

 

I believe the tail ID colour was White, again a lense or a coloured bulb ?

 

 

What color lens would you put over a light bulb to make it white?

[BS_w]

on Hurricane, under the clear fairing , what is green coloured is the cover which is over the filament lamp(bulb)

below, the nav light assembly: socket+lamp holder and cover(lens)

http://spitfirespares.co.uk/Lighting

Edited August 8, 2018 by BS_w

[Troy Smith]

11 hours ago, BS_w said:

on Hurricane, under the clear fairing , what is green coloured is the cover which is over the filament lamp(bulb)

 

That's a great bit of detail.

 

But, what I took the was that OP @Mancunian airman was asking a question from a modelling perspective,  are the outer covers clear or tinted?, and from what I can observe of British WW2 types,  the external covers are clear, and there is a bulb with coloured cover, as shown by the hurricane pic.

 

So from a modelling perspective it's a coloured bulb under a clear cover,  and I hope I'm reading @Mancunian airman correctly here.  If i'm wrong perhaps he may like to clarify the query.

 

cheers

T

[BS_w]

Yes, I agree with you. The modeller don't need to know how was the navigation light exactly, but enough to made it on his model
Examples
Spit: filament lamp/coloured cover
Hurri, Lanc, Mossie...: filament lamp/coloured cover/clear fairing
Seafire(late models): filament lamp/coloured fairing

Edited August 8, 2018 by BS_w

[Mancunian airman]

1 hour ago, Troy Smith said:

That's a great bit of detail.

 

But, what I took the was that OP @Mancunian airman was asking a question from a modelling perspective,  are the outer covers clear or tinted?, and from what I can observe of British WW2 types,  the external covers are clear, and there is a bulb with coloured cover, as shown by the hurricane pic.

 

So from a modelling perspective it's a coloured bulb under a clear cover,  and I hope I'm reading @Mancunian airman correctly here.  If i'm wrong perhaps he may like to clarify the query.

 

cheers

T

Troy

You have understood me correctly.

Nothing wrong with detail but I think the question has been answered.

31 minutes ago, BS_w said:

Yes, I agree with you. The modeller don't need to know how was the navigation light exactly, but enough to made it on his model
Examples
Spit: filament lamp/coloured cover
Hurri, Lanc, Mossie...: filament lamp/coloured cover/clear fairing
Seafire(late models): filament lamp/coloured fairing

As I understand it now, the Lancaster had a clear bulb, covered with a colour filter & contained within a clear lens

 

many thanks

Ian

 

Edited August 8, 2018 by Mancunian airman