MikB Posted 25 May , 2019 Share Posted 25 May , 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, RobertBr said: Could the knob on the top be for adjusting an inclinometer. ... I wondered if the top.tube held a spirit bubble, like in an Abney level, but it makes no sort of sense. None of it makes any sort of sense for offensive, defensive or signalling purposes, starting engines or igniting fuel or fuzes. Edited 25 May , 2019 by MikB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
593jones Posted 26 May , 2019 Share Posted 26 May , 2019 We may just have to hope that someone recognises the officer as being their great-grandfather, and remembering the strange contraption in the shed at the bottom of the garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipman Posted 26 May , 2019 Share Posted 26 May , 2019 1 hour ago, 593jones said: We may just have to hope that someone recognises the officer as being their great-grandfather, and remembering the strange contraption in the shed at the bottom of the garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthStaffsPOW Posted 26 May , 2019 Share Posted 26 May , 2019 Looks like some steampunk enthusiast has been playing around with photoshop to me..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted 26 May , 2019 Share Posted 26 May , 2019 cartridge starter for an aeroplane? more WW2 but possibly also for tractors or heavy transport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipman Posted 26 May , 2019 Share Posted 26 May , 2019 No word from Facebook page. I think someone is pulling our chain here. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 10 hours ago, NorthStaffsPOW said: Looks like some steampunk enthusiast has been playing around with photoshop to me..... But as I said previously, if modern and so available for P-shopping, where is an original? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierssc Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 I'm coming to the conclusion that it's a brilliantly successful British "dirty tricks" distraction photo to be fed to a German spy for transmission back to the Reich, supposedly of a top secret British weapon. It was intended to waste the time of the enemy's Intelligence department and the country's best inventive minds who would spend their days fruitlessly trying to work out how the darn thing worked and what it was for, instead of concentrating on inventing something useful to the war effort, such as the tank. I expect that in early 1919 there was STILL a room full of professors in Berlin earnestly saying things like "yes, but what's that hook thingy on the front for?"(in German, of course). Who knows how many lives were saved and by how much the war was shortened as a result? Like much WW1 weaponry this photo is still potentially lethal 100+ years later and should be approached with extreme caution. I'm only partly joking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 (edited) It's a lot easier to believe in a modern cgi clown. Edited 27 May , 2019 by MikB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierssc Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 But as Julian keeps pointing out, there must have been an original object to have been photoshopped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 20 minutes ago, pierssc said: But as Julian keeps pointing out, there must have been an original object to have been photoshopped. With solid-modelling CAD packages, I'm not at all sure of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelS Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 3 hours ago, pierssc said: But as Julian keeps pointing out, there must have been an original object to have been photoshopped. Possibly an industrial tool of some sort? Try a Google image search on nail guns, staple guns, pneumatic tools, power tools,spray guns etc, etc,(with or without 'early', 'vintage' or 'old') all sorts of weird and wonderful 'pistol like' tools are or have been available over the years - although one identical to that in question doesn't, of course, want to reveal itself. NigelS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardenerbill Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 Having studied the close up posted by Dave (post #8) I am convinced that the photo has been doctored in Photoshop. If you look to the left of the device there is a clear change of colour in in straight lines. In the bottom left corner there are clearly cloned blocks of pixels with a stepped pattern where the light patches do not line up at the edges, similar can be seen to the right of the device. Unless we can turn up the original images then there is no way to solve this, in my opinion it is a hoax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierssc Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 Yes there is a change of tone. Isn't that the edge of his pocket, see post #1 ? The pixellation could be a matter of enlarging a low-resolution image too much. Look at the better quality close up on the Royal Ulster Rifles Museum FB page (the link may only work if you have a FB account) - if it is photoshopped whoever did it, did a very good job. The strap, the pose, the creases in the cloth... makes me think that whatever it is, it was present in the original photo. I take NigelS's point about nail guns - there's a 45 degree slant to many of them ("framing nailers") which they have in common with this thing, though in other respects they don't quite match (modern ones usually have pointy fronts - this is blunt). An early Paslode has already been suggested by someone on FB. That could explain the extremely crude trigger. But then we could equally well be back to a flare gun, grenade launcher, captive bolt pistol etc etc for which a fine trigger pull might not be necessary. I wonder if they will put us out of our misery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Currell Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 Is the officer's uniform consistent with the photo being from the Great War period? If we had a date range to work with it might make identifying the gadget a bit easier. I agree with pierssc that the artifacts seem to be from enlarging the image, rather than a photoshop job. It may very well be a hoax, but if so it's a pretty convincing one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 I don't think it matters how it was done. It's a fact that none of the experienced collectors or students of arms history on here recognise it, and nobody's owning up to any related or fragmentary field finds. So even if it's real, it's not likely to be an item of any military, historical or engineering significance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardenerbill Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 Another anomaly (sorry if this has been mentioned before) the subject is not in the centre of the picture, no professional photographer would compose a picture like that, this suggests it has been cropped from a larger picture perhaps with another figure to the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 Might the Regimental Museum know anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierssc Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 They were the ones who posted it and asked the original question. It is not clear whether they know what it is or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipman Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 23 minutes ago, pierssc said: They were the ones who posted it and asked the original question. It is not clear whether they know what it is or not. I have asked on their Facebook page but no reply as yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 Is it possibly of WW2 origin? This is described as a WW2 British Mk1 Pressure Cabin Flare Pistol. Not the same, of course, but described as partly aluminium. "Constructed of steel and aluminum with Bakelite grips. Listed as a cabin pressure pistol. This British signal pistol has a very complex design which allowed the aircrew to load, fire and unload the gun as a high altitude in a pressured aircraft cabin without depressurizing. Gun was manufactured in this version, the Mk I, and the Mk II. The manually operated pistol was attached to the inside of the aircraft fuselage in a recoil dampening bracket. It is a double action operation. The large handle at the center of the circular central portion of the gun on the right side allowed the pistol grip, firing mechanism and barrel to be rotated up and out of the way. Pistol was developed for the British Royal Air Force for use during World War II. It is rarely seen and most people do not know what it is. Fully proofed. CONDITION: Excellent, all original condition showing usual wear from being on an airplane during the war. Barrel Length: 6 - 1/2" Caliber/Bore: 37mm Manufacturer: British Serial Number: NSN" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 There were (afaik) no pressurised cabins in ww1 aircraft. The pressure-cabin flairgun has an altogether more businesslike design than the thing in the OP, and no baroque excrescences. Apart from that, you'd expect contemporary documentary references to such an elaborate equipment, and a background of queries in this forum asking for pics, and I've seen nothing of the sort. Fake news, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 What is the latest that an officer could be wearing such a uniform? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Open Bolt Posted 3 June , 2019 Share Posted 3 June , 2019 On 27/05/2019 at 08:44, pierssc said: It was intended to waste the time of the enemy's Intelligence department and the country's best inventive minds who would spend their days fruitlessly trying to work out how the darn thing worked and what it was for, instead of concentrating on inventing something useful to the war effort, such as the tank. Marvellous! I wonder how many hours we've collectively sunk into it now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 3 June , 2019 Share Posted 3 June , 2019 25 minutes ago, Open Bolt said: Marvellous! I wonder how many hours we've collectively sunk into it now? Dunno, but suspect the intention to waste time dates more recently than WW1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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