Help needed to identify possible aircraft components

[EGNH Flyer]

I have some photos of mechanical components recovered from a site in France. They are alleged to be parts from a downed aircraft, does anyone have any ideas?

[oxenos]

First 3 piccies look like an inlet or exhaust manifold from an inline or V engine.

[FlightlessParrot]

In the first photograph, there are what look like markings in cartouches on the manifold. I can't do anything with them, but if you played with contrast and size, they might be readable. Best, of course, would be to examine them on the object.

Good luck

[critter592]

Any other, legible markings on them?

Try asking in the "Historic" section of the Flypast Forum.
Key Publishing Ltd Aviation Forums

Good luck.

Don

[Krystal n chips]

Purely a guess, but.

The first shot shows what appear to be locking plates.

The last one, and with the end cap in particular, some sort of accumulator perhaps given the size of the component in comparison to the bucket.

The manifolds also suggest something like a shuttle valve or brake control valve.

[johngreen]

To my eyes, that is almost certainly a combined inlet and exhaust manifold for a four cylinder engine. The two centre and two end ports are the exhaust ports and the two remaining are inlet that would go to a 'Y' port created within the cylinder head. The carburettor would have been located to the left of the first picture attached to the ports number 2 and 5 and an exhaust pipe connected to the main body of the manifold either at the unseen end or, perhaps via the two connecting parts visible at either end of the manifold in the third picture - albeit that in this case, the gas flow would probably be somewhat restricted.

This arrangement of a manifold is absolutely typical of engines from the early days and there are probably still some engines being manufactured using the same design today.

Given that the object looks to be rather solid cast iron with no attempt at weight saving, it may well be more likely to come from a wheeled vehicle rather than one for flight...

[blue up]

Looks quite like a water-cooled boat manifold to me.


Morris Minor Owners Club ? View topic - Morris Vedette Engine

[The Flying Pram]

Looks quite like a water-cooled boat manifold to me

I was thinking the same thing. It looks as if it has shared inlet ports (No's 1&2 & 3&4), but individual exhausts. The BMC "A" & "B" series engines used a similar arrangement, but the car versions had no other connections, or the large tubular part.

[AtomKraft]

Water heated, surely?

[The Flying Pram]

Water heated, surely?

Water heated Inlet Manifolds are quite common, but not exhaust! The reason for cooling one on a boat is that most have the exhaust routed through a flexible rubber hose, and there is no way this could cope with the temperatures that a car type steel system can. If you look at the exhaust outlet of a typical motorboat it will have both gases and water coming out. The majority of these pump river/sea water through a heat exchanger to cool the normal engine coolant, then inject it into the exhaust. This cools the gases and saves having to provide a further outlet for the water. However, steel hulled canal boats usually employ a keel cooler, and remove the exhaust through a metal pipe, so they are much closer to a standard automotive arrangement.

[DaveReidUK]

Looks quite like a water-cooled boat manifold to me.

I would agree that none of the photos appears to show a component where weight is a primary consideration, so I'd be surprised if there's an aviation connection.