Hi Elliot, I've just joined the site. My dad was a rear gunner in Whitleys
during the war. I have a technical question for you. The wings were very thick
and were set set mid-way up the fuselage. What happened to the main spar when it
reached the fuselage? Did it pass straight through to the other side? I have
never seen a picture of this aspect of design, so I don't know. It seems to me,
that if the main spar does directly connect both the engines, this would provide
the strongest and most stable platform, but how would anybody get from the front
of the fuselage to the rear except by climbing through or perhaps over the spar?
The only other way I can think of is to have the spars from both wings fitted to
a kind of roll cage inside the fuselage. I notice that there was also a fuel
tank in the top of the fuselage approximately where the wings join, which is a
further complication. Thanks.
Brian Gill
--- In Whitley_project@..., "biddly01" <biddly01@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Elliot, I've just joined the site. My dad was a rear gunner in Whitleys
during the war. I have a technical question for you. The wings were very thick
and were set set mid-way up the fuselage. What happened to the main spar when it
reached the fuselage? Did it pass straight through to the other side? I have
never seen a picture of this aspect of design, so I don't know. It seems to me,
that if the main spar does directly connect both the engines, this would provide
the strongest and most stable platform, but how would anybody get from the front
of the fuselage to the rear except by climbing through or perhaps over the spar?
The only other way I can think of is to have the spars from both wings fitted to
a kind of roll cage inside the fuselage. I notice that there was also a fuel
tank in the top of the fuselage approximately where the wings join, which is a
further complication. Thanks.
> Brian Gill
>
--- In Whitley_project@..., "biddly01" <biddly01@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Elliot, I've just joined the site. My dad was a rear gunner in Whitleys
during the war. I have a technical question for you. The wings were very thick
and were set set mid-way up the fuselage. What happened to the main spar when it
reached the fuselage? Did it pass straight through to the other side? I have
never seen a picture of this aspect of design, so I don't know. It seems to me,
that if the main spar does directly connect both the engines, this would provide
the strongest and most stable platform, but how would anybody get from the front
of the fuselage to the rear except by climbing through or perhaps over the spar?
The only other way I can think of is to have the spars from both wings fitted to
a kind of roll cage inside the fuselage. I notice that there was also a fuel
tank in the top of the fuselage approximately where the wings join, which is a
further complication. Thanks.
> Brian Gill
>
From my recolections as a rear gunner, the main spar went through the fusilage & one definately crawled under the main tank to pass to the cockpit. Other tanks were in the leadind edges of the wing, in our crash the wop was apparently crushed between the main tank & his radios.
From: george6216 <georgechambers@...> To: Whitley_project@... Sent: Saturday, 2 May, 2009 12:16:35 PM Subject: [Whitley_project] Re: where does the main spar go??
--- In Whitley_project@ yahoogroups. co.uk, "biddly01" <biddly01@.. .> wrote: > > Hi Elliot, I've just joined the site. My dad was a rear gunner in Whitleys during the war. I have a technical question for you. The wings were very thick and were set set mid-way up the fuselage. What happened to the main spar when it reached the fuselage? Did it pass straight through to the other side? I have never seen a picture of this aspect of design, so I don't know. It seems to me, that if the main spar does directly connect both the engines, this would provide the strongest and most stable platform, but how would anybody get from the front of the fuselage to the rear except by climbing through or perhaps over the spar? The only other way I can think of is to have the spars from both wings fitted to a kind of
roll cage inside the fuselage. I notice that there was also a fuel tank in the top of the fuselage approximately where the wings join, which is a further complication. Thanks. > Brian Gill >
The wing spar passes through the fuselage as a fairly complex network of bracing
tubes - a catwalk allowed crew members to crawl through - but this must have
been a bit of a squeeze in flying gear.
All the best
--- In Whitley_project@..., GEORGE CHAMBERS <georgechambers@...>
wrote:
>
> From my recolections as a rear gunner, the main spar went through the fusilage
& one definately crawled under the main tank to pass to the cockpit. Other tanks
were in the leadind edges of the wing, in our crash the wop was apparently
crushed between the main tank & his radios.
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: george6216 <georgechambers@...>
> To: Whitley_project@...
> Sent: Saturday, 2 May, 2009 12:16:35 PM
> Subject: [Whitley_project] Re: where does the main spar go??
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In Whitley_project@ yahoogroups. co.uk, "biddly01" <biddly01@ .> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Elliot, I've just joined the site. My dad was a rear gunner in Whitleys
during the war. I have a technical question for you. The wings were very thick
and were set set mid-way up the fuselage. What happened to the main spar when it
reached the fuselage? Did it pass straight through to the other side? I have
never seen a picture of this aspect of design, so I don't know. It seems to me,
that if the main spar does directly connect both the engines, this would provide
the strongest and most stable platform, but how would anybody get from the front
of the fuselage to the rear except by climbing through or perhaps over the spar?
The only other way I can think of is to have the spars from both wings fitted to
a kind of roll cage inside the fuselage. I notice that there was also a fuel
tank in the top of the fuselage approximately where the wings join, which is a
further complication. Thanks.
> > Brian Gill
> >
>
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