Bob Bradley recalls the day when, during an engine running lesson, one of the Beaughfighters engines decided that enough was enough!

 

As I remember it………

 

It was a cold and frosty morning and I was the first to carry out the engine start and ground running exercise.

I cannot remember who was on my “team” but there was the requirement for one person to prime the fuel line and injector using the kygas pumps; one person to man the fire extinguisher and one safety person.  Vision from the side window on the classroom was very limited.

The instructor, resplendent in light brown dustcoat had his clip-board and marked items off as the pre-flight checks continued.

Every thing went well and the engines started without any trouble.  I remember telling the instructor that I was aware of the boost limit.  If the boost limit was exceeded the needles (hand made) jumped off the gauges, the fluorescent lights swung around and the back door unlatched.

As it was such a cold morning I elected to exercise the prop levers to the get some warm oil through the CSU’s.  Having done that and feeling comfortable with stepping the rev’s up for the next part of the exercise, which may have been checking for a mag drop, I told the instructor that I was going to step the right engine up to, I think about 1100 revs.

The engine at about 1000 revs just went bang and stopped.

The instructor was stunned, I thought my budding career had come to and end, and the rest of the team stood staring at the still but slightly smoking donk.

The instructor kept mumbling “it’s been fitted since 1947” and then turned to me and asked me what I thought had happened.  I had not idea but said maybe if we “dropped the filters we will find something’. This premise was based on what to me was the answer to all problems – drop the filters.

There were several filters and out of one fell two pieces of alloy, so the next question was what part of the venerable engine was made of alloy?  The pieces turned out to part of the supercharger. When they stripped the engine they found that the super-charger lay-shaft bearing had failed and the impellor had moved into the volute casing.

There were two spare engines in crates that had been in storage since WW11. One of these was de-inhibited, parts swapped over and it started first time.

 

The old Beaufighter classroom looks older than I remember – but there again so do I.

 

Interior of the Beaufighter Classroom