The undercarriage control quadrant. While on the ground, the lever would be kept in its lower gate as shown. The angled metal shield on front of the quadrant protects the hydraulic runs.
The undercarriage control quadrant. While on the ground, the lever would be kept in its lower gate as shown. The angled metal shield on front of the quadrant protects the hydraulic runs.
The gear operation is interesting, the idler wheel just visable, carried a system of cables and chains, which rotated the undercairrage locking pins. These were large spring loaded pins with a chamferred (angled) edge, they engaged the round lugs/rings visable about half way up the oleo legs. When slecting gear down for example, the cables rotated the pins so that the chamferred edge would get pushed back by the moving leg. When retracted, the U/C lever operation would again rotate the pins, presenting the angled section of the pin towards the oleo leg, as the legs came up, the pins would be pushed back, only to snap forward again into the lug ring, locking the oleo leg up in this case. These cables and chains which rotated the pins, were always carefully inspected, in the wheel bays during a pre flight, (SAAF Museum Spitfire) as if one broke whilst the gear was up, it would effectively permanantly lock the gear leg up. Hard to explain without a photo!!