Was the entire seat in a Spitfire Mk9 brown, or was it only the back rest with the seatpan ans surrounding allu structure same interior green?
Thanx
Theuns
The whole thing was plastic:-
Edgar
That is interesting, looks like bakealite or something.
Thanx mate
Theuns
Theuns, it seems like I’ve read that too. Maybe something to do with non-strategic material, eg. aluminum? Anyway, that’s a cool pic!
Gary
It was not bakelite, which needs high pressure, and precise temperature control, to mould. Some Air Ministry “mandarin” wrote bakelite in the Spitfire A.P., and caused us mayhem ever since. The seats were made by a company in Glasgow, were basically a combination of resin and paper, and were always referred to as “plastic seats”; the same company supplied the cushion on the backrest, and, since it no longer exists, we don’t know if they were made from leather, or basil leather, which is made from sheepskin.
The seat, pictured, is designed for a Seafire, since the odd-shaped frame, by the pilot’s right elbow, is a “holster” for a Very pistol, and the “holes,” at the front, were designed for the Very cartridges. Spitfires had their own recognition device, in the fuselage, so rarely needed a Very pistol, which means that not many had this style of seat. This seat was fitted into a Westland-built Spitfire, and Westland built most of the Seafires, which we take to explain the presence of the “wrong” type of seat.
The plastic seat was not a replacement for the early metal seat; it was always seen as an alternative, so aircraft could, conceivably, have had either.
Edgar
Not really plastic.
It’s a little late to correct Aeroplastics Ltd., the Air Ministry, and Supermarine’s nomenclature, I fear.
About 20 years ago, the I.P.M.S. (U.K.) accepted that resin could be viewed as a plastic, so paving the way for the resin kits (and parts,) which are now so prolific.