Spitfire Mk V – Gun Sight Mk II

Take an in-depth look at the Spitfire’s Gun Sight Mark 2. We shall look at the Reflector and the Projector Mk.I units. We shall also look at the Gravity Drop, Harmonization of the guns and Deflection Angles. I shall refer to the 1942 Air Ministry Manuals and show my relevant re-worked colour AP diagrams.

Textual extracts from Air Ministry Air Publications are Crown Copyright and transcribed with the kind permission of the National Archives, London. All colour diagrams are based on original Air Ministry Air Publications mono illustrations and transcribed into colour by Bryan Atkinson with the permission of the National Archives, London.

Thanks must also be given to the following superb organisations for their kind support when Bryan Atkinson originally developed The Spitfire Mk V Explored PC CD-ROM back in 2005, all are listed below and are included once again in this series of videos.

Spitfire Mk.Vb, AB910. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Spitfire Mk.Vb, BL614. Royal Air Force Museum, London.
Spitfire Mk.Vb, BM597. The Historic Aircraft Collection.
Spitfire Mk.Vb, EP120. The Fighter Collection.
Spitfire Mk.Vc, AR501. The Shuttleworth Collection.

The Imperial War Museum, Duxford.
The Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust.
The National Archives, London.


The material contained in this video is intended for historical, reference and entertainment value only, and is not to be construed as usable for aircraft or component restoration, maintenance, or use.


Consort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Table of Contents:

00:00 - Introduction
00:33 - A brief History
00:43 - Gloster Gladiator
01:06 - The Purpose of the Gun Sight
01:22 - Gravity Drop
01:32 - Effect of Harmonization
01:50 - The Deflection Angle
02:23 - Gun Sight Projector Type I Mark I
03:27 - The Gun Sight Graticule
04:41 - The Gun Sight Lamp
05:54 - Gun Sight Wiring Diagram
06:14 - The Dimmer Switch
07:21 - The Gunsight Lens System
08:04 - The Range Estimating Mechanism
08:14 - The Gratical Ring
08:41 - The Range and Base Heads
09:57 - Targetting with Range Scales
10:24 - Gun Sight Reflector Type I Mark II
11:37 - The Reflector Glass
12:02 - The Rubber Crash Pad
12:22 - Reflector Type I Mark I
12:34 - Early Dimming Screen
12:54 - Spitfire Mk.V Dimming Sun Screen