From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Secret memo discussing the ammunition box for the ½' Browning Gun in the Spitfire Wing.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 176\1\ img167 | |
| Date | 25th April 1941 | |
| To EV.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork} / JD.{J. Draper - Frames} c. to Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} SECRET. Ev.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork}2/JH.25.4.41. ½" Guns in Spitfire. We have now received the attached drawings of the ammo. box for the ½" Browning Gun in the Spitfire Wing. From a letter, a copy of which you have received, you will see that there are certain points upon which we are not quite clear. It appears that the ammo. box is more or less permanently in the wing and that it is filled from a trap door in the top surface of the wing up to which its sides extend. The face of the rib in the way of the ammo. box is lined with sheet aluminium and the chute is attached to it which goes from the ammo. box to the gun. Apparently there is no loose intermediate throat lying between the neck leading from the ammo. box and the mouth of the gun such as is found on the .303 Browning. The throat shewn cannot therefore be attached to the gun in any way. The belt is threaded in the chute from above through the trap door over the ammo. box. The whole scheme would appear much simpler than that used with the .303 weapon although one must admit it is less idealistic. How well it functions, Messrs. Vickers Armstrong's will not say and we do not know. Ev.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork} | ||