Foster Mount.

[Ginger.]

Was the mount painted the same colour as the aircraft or blued like the guns?
Any information on the Foster mount would be greatly appreciated.

[Graeme]

Ginger

Most pictures I've seen (SE5s and the like) have been black and white so it's difficult to tell what item is painted what colour, but most seem to show the rail the same general colour as the gun - so my guess would be blued.

The only colour photo I've seen was of a replica SE5 and the gun and mount were obviously dummies and both were painted black.

VBR Graeme

[Graeme]

You could try the pictures on these sites and see what you make of them:

www.insyncstudio.com/speed/foster.htm

http://www.geocities.com/capecanaver...n/fgun-uf.html

www.greycounty.on.ca/museum/bishse5a.html

www.aviationusk.com/details/detaec.html

http://blindkat.tripod.com/voss/se5a.html

Graeme

[Ginger.]

Thanks Graeme,
It's a hard one to call from the photos.I would'nt think it a good idea to slotten paint on something you want to slide easily.But the Shuttleworth SE5 looks to have the mount painted,but whos to say thats not a compromise to prevent rust on something that these days is purely decorative.

[Graeme]

Ginger

No probs.

Given that the lubricant originally used on the Vickers and Lewis guns froze at altitude, I wondered if the mount didn't incorporate something like ball-bearings, that way a spot or two of rust wouldn't have mattered too much. Of course, if the thing was made of aluminium, rust wouldn't have been a problem anyway.

As Bluebottle said "Just a thought"

Graeme