I am trying establish the purpose and operation of the "Resin Lamps" seen on the trailing edge of the Mosquito wing tips, just outboard of the ailerons.
There is also a possibility that such devices were found on the trailing edge of the Lancaster wing tips as well.
There is a suggestion that these lamps were designed to operate in the Infra-red spectrum as some form of IFF system.
I can find no reference to any system employed for the detection or interrogation of IR lamps in any of my books or on the WWW on this subject (Including "Most secret war" by RV Jones) and wonder if the existence of the system has been forgotten over time, perhaps due to the sensitive classification of such a device, or if these lamps were simply some form of low intensity formation lamp and unremarkable in their use.
A "resin lamp" switch is also located in the cockpit of the Hawker Tempest II as can be seen in this diagram (figure 3, item 70)
The Hawker Tempest Page
Can any Ppruners shed any (cough) light on this subject?