Todays Mystery Objects?

Martin, I suggest you send the photos to Yeovilton Museum and to Flight Refuelling to see if they can help identify.

My guess is that one of them might know - thinking maybe to do with the drogue used for in flight target practice? I think Flight Refuelling use their civilian pilots to drive the targets ( almost as dangerous to my mind as being the hatchet throwers target at a cicus!)

Drogue shute could be close, but having had a few searches I think it's the swivel attachment for a sea anchor, which will take the form of an open canvas cone and often with only four lines.

Unlike a drogue chute it may be deployed for many hours and needs to avoid twisting the rope.

Neil

You can see how one of those could replace the hardware on this, swivel and attachment oints for multiple lines to the drogue:

Liking the droque idea! Wiil check with some naval people I know, also will contact Yeovilton just down the road!

Cheers, Martin

possibly a chute connection for air dropping supplies for ground troops.

If Bloodhound SSC crashes into a cliff because someone made off with the drag chute clip, we know where to point the finger...

Neil

I think they are the head parts of a wooden stanchion post. The arrangement for releasing the wire suggests a temporary fitting, perhaps as fitted to boats in harbour to protect areas of deck not normally visited at sea, like the bow of a fast patrol boat.

Couldn't find an exact match to Martin's examples but like this:

The heavy construction and paint job suggests to me that Martin's items are ex-military and not recent. Nice to think they might be WW2 off an MTB or a submarine.

Dave

I vaguely remember seeing something similar on a sonobuoy, or possibly a torpedo drogue?

My reasoning for supply drop parachute is because the "clip" is clearly designed to release cleanly even under load and is also designed for manual release. Multiple attachment holes on one suggests prachute lift lines. If you were chasing a supply can being dragged by the chute this is just the kind of release you would need. It's not heavy enough for any brake chute I've seen. Might have been a drogue 'chute for an ejection but that woud not need the manual quick release.

Robert G8RPI.

I can't comment on Bloodhound, but have a few stories about the brake 'chute system on Thrust SSC. For starters The ribbon 'chutes needed an export licence - they were retardation 'chutes for a nuclear weapon. Most of the rigging parts cme out of Richrds garage aving been left over from Thrust 2 and they were surplus in '83. We had numerous failures for various reasons. I designed the circuits that fired the explosive squibs used to launch a bolt that pulled the drogue chute out. The squibs were left-over / the same as Thrust 2 and I could not get the mating plugs. I plead the 5th, but if you look at Thrust 2 in the museum in Coventry you will see there are no squib connectors......

Robert G8RPI.

Edited By Robert Atkinson 2 on 28/11/2018 18:30:09

Still intrigued by this

Although I have no experience in that area I can see the argument for a supply drop 'chute, for the round one at least, but I wonder why the added complication of a lubricated swivel bearing. Surely it wouldn't be necessary in that case?

The shape of the square one is puzzling in that it looks as if the shaped corners might be designed to fit onto a four-legged frame of some sort, and the rims of the holes appear to be thickened, perhaps to avoid chafing a cord or cable passing through them.

Even more annoying is the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I've seen something like the round one before . . . somewhere

Mike.

Bloodhound SSC has already crashed into a cliff, a financial one........

'Bloodhound Programme Ltd has appointed Andrew Sheridan and Geoff Rowley, partners at specialist business advisory firm FRP Advisory LLP, as joint administrators'.

Sorry to revive an old post but I believe I have a parachute & squibbs from thrustssc as well as a number of other parts. I was / am not sure exactly what Squibb’s are so interesting to see some info here.
Robert Atkinson I have a panel from ThrustSSC with what I believe is your signature on it.

Hi Michael, I sent you a private reply.
The squibs look like a male to male pipe coupler with different threads on each end, no through hole and 4 electrical connection pins in the small end.

Robert.