Help identifying WW2 aircraft parts. Any help would be appreciated!

[JakobVonBismarck]

Hey everyone,
Recently I purchased a box full of unidentified aircraft parts in which the previous owner had obtained the parts from a RAAF garbage dump to use in scientific equipment and such after the war, so some of the parts are a bit chopped and hacked up.

I was just wondering if anybody could possibly identify the type of aircraft/s that these parts could have come off of, and what they would have been used for, I am considering that they most likely will be off of RAAF Pacific aircraft such as Beaufort's, Beaufighters and possibly P-51's. The parts all have a similar colour scheme of a khaki/army green colour whilst some parts like the bar and handle are painted in a yellow bomber sort of scheme.

Please find below the pictures of the items in which I seek help identifying, most parts do not have any serial numbers on them, but the parts that do I have attached photos of them below. I didn't take any other photos of the other items in the box as they are mainly chopped up aircraft motor parts turned into drills and such.

Any help or assistance would be greatly appreciated in identifying these aircraft parts.

Firstly, these two strange metal bars. The top metal bar measures 70cms in length, the smaller limb attached to the right can pivot back and forth whilst it can also spin around on ball bearings. The bottom bar is quite similar but has a small locking pin attached with rope to it. Possibly to hold it in place or grant accessibility in maintenance checks?

Picture 1 - D: Has the serial number JI1K899A10 imprinted on the top piece from Picture 1 - A




Next up is a yellow crank handle that came with a plaque which reads, CRANK EXTENSION BOMB DOORS FLAP. The crank makes clicking noises when rotated, and the direction of rotation can be changed by flicking the silver lever pointed out in the photo, which then spins a small tube which can most likely attach to something. A large number of screws are attached to the main body suggesting that this piece may have been attached to something heavy duty or bolted to the inside of a cockpit?



Closeup of the bottom of the rotating metal piece controlled by the crank.





The next strange piece is painted an army green colour with a piece of metal which has the ability to gimbal and spin on one end, and a large screw piece which looks like it may have attached to something heavy duty or structural. On the main body it is stamped with M-378-C and on the other side, 44A. Direction arrows are embossed suggesting the movement of the pieces?



Next up is a black gearbox which measures 16cm in length and has two rotating bolts either side. One side you have to spin really fast in order to get the bolt on the other side to spin, i'm guessing maybe a starter motor for an aircraft, or something motor related? On one side the words, GEAR BOX TYPE JH-1045 - JAHCO - JACK & HEINTZ, INC. CLEVELAND, OHIO, USA are embossed into the metal.



Next up are two strange looking but most likely not important pieces, one painted a khaki green and the other seems to resemble a venturi tube (15cm long) with a ring of red paint around the outside.



And lastly a yellow painted hollow support piece measuring 65 cm in length which looks like it may have been involved in something lightly structural in the aircraft, most likely the fuselage or possibly landing gear? The numbers 204477 are engraved in the end of the piece near the hole at the end.



Any help in identifying these pieces and possibly what aircraft they're off and their use would be greatly appreciated and all suggestions are welcome!
Thanks
Jacob

 

[Kingscoy]

Picture 4A does look like gearbox assy parts seen in ball turrets.

 

[herman1rg]

Picture 4 this was used on the Avenger i and Avenger ii aircraft for starting the engine, found in an Australian navy manual from that era

 

[JakobVonBismarck]

Picture 4 this was used on the Avenger i and Avenger ii aircraft for starting the engine, found in an Australian navy manual from that era

Wow, that's pretty cool. Do you happen to know what specific manual it was from? Thanks for the information!

 

[A4K]

Nice scores mate!

Nothing definite for you, but I think - going by the Yellow Zinc Chromate colour- that the crank handle may be off an American type, possibly B-24, Avenger or Hudson.

 

[MiTasol]

Most parts have PART numbers (serial numbers seldom) and inspection stamps. The inspection stamps are often, but not always, circular or oval with a number and letters inside. Those will identify the maker of the part so find those and post those and many here can help more.
I can see at least one inspection stamp in photo 1D and 1G but not enough detail to read.
A circle with HT inside just means heat treated

 

[Wurger]

1-D

1-G

1-F

 

[MiTasol]

Those have me beat. Not the usual for Beaufort's, Beaufighters and P-51's even though the part with the string attached to a lock pin looks like a section from the Beaufort and Beaufighter control locks however the part number is totally wrong for those aircraft. The bolts with the raised ring on them scream British. Australian built Beauforts and Beaufighters mainly had DAP, GMH and CAC inspection stamps. The colour of those parts is right for Aus built Brit aircraft so maybe Lincoln could be a possibility

My suggestion would be to try AAIR Contact Information as they have a good page with common American stamps though it is dated. They may be able to assist either directly or by giving you the contact details for an British equivalent site. If so please copy their reply to this page so those here can also benefit from the additional knowledge

 

[JakobVonBismarck]

Those have me beat. Not the usual for Beaufort's, Beaufighters and P-51's even though the part with the string attached to a lock pin looks like a section from the Beaufort and Beaufighter control locks however the part number is totally wrong for those aircraft. The bolts with the raised ring on them scream British. Australian built Beauforts and Beaufighters mainly had DAP, GMH and CAC inspection stamps. The colour of those parts is right for Aus built Brit aircraft so maybe Lincoln could be a possibility

My suggestion would be to try AAIR Contact Information as they have a good page with common American stamps though it is dated. They may be able to assist either directly or by giving you the contact details for an British equivalent site. If so please copy their reply to this page so those here can also benefit from the additional knowledge

Thanks for the awesome response! I'll definitely contact the AAIR in response to the parts. I'll take some more photos of the serial numbers tomorrow and post them on here as well.

 

[JakobVonBismarck]

Thanks for all the awesome replies so far! This might help out a bit. This ammunition tin came along with the group in the same box. It is also painted in the same yellow bomber scheme. The tin is made for .50 cal rounds and holds 200 of them! I mostly presume it is Australian because of the word "Port" written on the top. Hope this helps with identification.

 

[Airframes]

Can't help with identifying aircraft type, but the ammo box looks to be of American origin, due to the use of the term 'Left Hand Wing', although obviously could be from an American aircraft in Australian service. The other markings, such as 'Port', have been added when in service.
British and Commonwealth Air Forces never used the terms 'Left' and 'Right' to identify which side of the aircraft, always 'Port' and 'Starboard'.

 

[nuuumannn]

found in an Australian navy manual from that era

They must have been fitted to something else that the Royal Australian Navy used, as it never used Avengers.

Picture 1A and 1B, the smaller rod looks like a stay of some sort (for a cowling?), with a locating pin attached to a lanyard. 3A and 3B is a drive shaft for something, with a threaded end, which drives the swivel piece through the T junction gear box. The arrows denote rotation direction. Picture 5, the smaller tube looks like a rigid fuel or hydraulic line with a flared end, dunno what the other thing is; a restrictor? Last thing again looks like a cowl stay?

 

[MiTasol]

Can't help with identifying aircraft type, but the ammo box looks to be of American origin, due to the use of the term 'Left Hand Wing', although obviously could be from an American aircraft in Australian service.

Agreed and definitely not any of the aircraft like P-38, P-39, P-40, P-51 that I am familiar with. As a guess, based on the B inspection stamp, I would suggest Brewster Buffalo. There are some Buffalo experts on this site so if one of them is looking they can shoot me down or maybe support this guess. The RAAF also operated Vultee Vengence's and Republic P-43 Lancers so those are also possibilities. I do not know what the Aus Navy operated in the 40's except Walrus's and Wirraways and that ammo box is definitely not from them.