Green Lens Holder for an Aldis Signalling Lamp.
The front of the metal ring: part of an Aldis lamp.
Linda Duffield
The Air Ministry stamp on the front of the metal ring with the part number 5A/1320.
Linda Duffield
The reverse of the metal ring, showing the clips that would have held the lens in place.
Linda Duffield
An Airman using an Aldis Lamp at RAF Catfoss, Yorkshire, in April 1941.
F/O B. J. Daventry. RAF official photographer.
One of our favourite finds from the Community Archaeology Dig, 2019, was this metal ring clearly stamped “Air Ministry 5A/1320”, found by Neil Quinn.
The part number indicates that this ring would have held the green lens for an Aldis Signalling Lamp. They were used to signal instructions to aircraft which didn’t have radio, or whose radio was malfunctioning.
Signalling lamps are still kept as a back-up by Air Traffic Controllers today. They can transmit basic instructions using a red, green or white light, steady or flashing. The pilot can acknowledge receipt of the message by rocking his aircraft’s wings or flashing the landing lights.
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