RAF Q type seatbelts

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

I've got myself a set (Eduard etch) of these and was wondering which aircraft they were used on? There are several different types and I would guess they would be used on various late war RAF fighters but I thought I best check before I use any.

thanks

Mike

[Edgar]

Unfortunately, the "Q" part is a bit of a red herring; without going into the complications, if your set has the circular parachute-type box, on one lap-strap, into which three other straps clip, directly, for WWII the only a/c using it, that I've found, were the Tempest and lowback Spitfires, with the fuselage fuel tank behind the cockpit (XVIs & some XIVs.) All others used the Sutton, until war's end, around 1946.

Edgar

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

Hi

Here is the link to the product in question at Hannants. It should let you view the instructions so you can see the 4 different types of seatbelt. The first 3 are the normal colour but type 4 is painted blue. Would that help identify which planes used which belts?

thanks

Mike

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ED73006

thanks

Mike

Edited March 23, 2011 by Mikemx

[mdesaxe]

Documents I've gone over in Blackburn's archive specifically state that both Corsair IV and Hellcat I and II aircraft were fitted with what the papers term "Q type seat belts" when they underwent modifications at Blackburn's facility on Long Island before delivery to FAA units. I think this may justify adding these types to Edgar's list.

Maurice

I've got myself a set (Eduard etch) of these and was wondering which aircraft they were used on? There are several different types and I would guess they would be used on various late war RAF fighters but I thought I best check before I use any.

thanks

Mike

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

There are 4 different seat belt types in the set and I wouldn't know which is the Q type. The only thing I recognise is that the first type of seatbelt looks like the Sutton harness from a Spitfire. I'm hoping someone can follow the link and look on the instructions and let me know which planes used which type of seatbelt.

thanks

Mike

[Edgar]

There was not a single "Q type"; there were several, and it might prove difficult to find out what, and how many, there were. The Spitfire, alone, had three, QK, QL, & QS, of which the first (just to confuse matters) was still a Sutton. I fear that the instructions, in that link, are incomplete, since there's no sign of the blue belts, which, very definitely, were post-war only; it's possible that blue was used to ensure that the pilot hit its release box, and not the essentially similar type on his parachute, which normally had white or khaki straps.

Looking at the only sheet that I could download, illustration I matches the post-war Spitfire QS, which came into use in late 1945/6; it would not have seen use during the war, but could be used for the Tempest, provided the shoulder straps go down behind the seat.

Illustration II matches the set-up in the low-back Spitfire XVI & XIV, since it's bolted directly to the head armour, and doesn't go through the bulkhead; it, too, could suit the Tempest.

Illustration III (if there is one,) for the blue straps, looks as though it would be suitable for non-ejection seat aircraft like the early Meteors and Vampires; I'd recommend checking on that flip-style quick-release mechanism, (and that in instruction II) though.

Edgar

P.S. None of those, without a lot of modification, could be used as a Sutton.

Edited March 24, 2011 by Edgar

[StephenMG]

The blue harness will be the "Z type" which was fitted, from the early 1950s, to just about everything from the Chipmunk to the Hunter and is still in production today. The harness was made up of a number of components - lap straps, shoulder straps, QRB (quick release box) - and different suffix letters (from A to L) were assigned depending on the particular make up required. For example the ZF harness used in the Hunter had a QRB with cable release for connection to the the BTRU on the ejection seat and separate shoulder harnesses which individually mated with points on the parachute container of the bang seat. Other shoulder strap variations included those which which were connected to a common plate or D-ring, such as used in the Chipmunk, and others, such as that used on the Canberra, had an additional horizontal webbing strap connecting the two shoulder straps into a H configuration.

Edited March 27, 2011 by StephenMG

[Seahawk]

There are 4 different seat belt types in the set and I wouldn't know which is the Q type. The only thing I recognise is that the first type of seatbelt looks like the Sutton harness from a Spitfire. I'm hoping someone can follow the link and look on the instructions and let me know which planes used which type of seatbelt.

thanks

Mike

Thanks, Mike, for persisting with your query: I've never been able to make sense of the Eduard instruction sheet either. Thanks also to Edgar and StephenMG for their replies: I am now much better informed.