Back at the RAF museum ...
Here are some 'odds and sods' that might be of interest (apologies - some of these photos were taken of objects in glass cabinets so there is some unwanted flare / reflections).
On the left a German MG15 aircraft machine gun (to the right is an MG17 and in the background is a 0.303 Browning; the camouflaged vehicle behind the ring-sight is an RAF fuel bowser).
The MG15 was a flexible-mount 7.92mm calibre machine gun with 75-round double drum magazine. It was a modular design with various attachments that could be quickly attached or removed. Operation was easy and the bolt remained in the cocked position after expending the 75 round double drum (also called a "saddle drum") magazine, negating the need to re-cock once a fresh magazine was installed.
Starting in late 1940 the MG 15 was replaced by the Mauser 7.92 mm MG 81, MG 81Z (twin-MG 81), MG 131 13 mm machine guns, or MG 151/20 20 mm cannons. Many MG 15s were modified for infantry use as heavier weapons replaced them on Luftwaffe aircraft.
MG 17 machine gun. The MG 17 was a 7.92 mm machine gun produced by Rheinmetall-Borsig for use at fixed mountings in many World War II Luftwaffe aircraft, typically as forward-firing offensive armament, but also used as fixed, remotely-fired tail guns in certain aircraft variants, such as the Do 217.
The provenance of the museums MG17 is unknown. Once thought to be from the Dornier 17 bomber which crashed on Victoria Station, this type of gun was in fact only fitted to Dornier 17 nightfighters, He-111s and Me-110s.
Toughened glass windscreen taken from a 19 Squadron Spitfire flown by Fleet Air Arm pilot Sub-Lt Blake. A bullet fired from a He-111 apparently passed through the cockpit, clipped the pilot’s ear and shattered the glass from the inside.
Bomb ‘screamers’. When fitted to a bomb, both the modified bayonet scabbard and cardboard tube would emit a loud screaming sound as they fell, intended to demoralise those on the ground.
Rear end of a 1Kg German incendiary bomb protruding out from a wooden ‘bomb grab’, designed to enable such bombs to be picked up and disposed of.
Three rotor Enigma machine – probably an early version used by the Wehrmacht or Luftwaffe (the Kriegsmarine and Abwehr machines always had more than 3 rotors).
RAF radar display equipment, circa 1940.
Statue of Air Chief Marshall Keith Park
Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand soldier, First World War flying ace and Second World War Royal Air Force commander.
Promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal, Park took command of No. 11 Group RAF, responsible for the fighter defence of London and southeast England, in April 1940. He organized fighter patrols over France during the Dunkirk evacuation and in the Battle of Britain his command took the brunt of the Luftwaffe's air attacks. Flying his personalised Hawker Hurricane around his fighter airfields during the battle, Park gained a reputation as a shrewd tactician with an astute grasp of strategic issues and as a popular "hands-on" commander.
Unit insignia of the RAF and Luftwaffe Squadrons / Staffeln which took part in the Battle of Britain.