HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX AIR MINISTRY 5D/551 LANDING LIGHT 'BELL' TOGGLE SWITCH

One of the more unusual, if not incongruous cockpit instruments installed in the RAF's heavy bomber, the Handley Page Halifax, was the toggle switch for the aircraft's wing-mounted landing lights.

With its ceramic base and brass 'bell-shaped' cover, the Halifax's Air Ministry stamped 5D/551 Landing Light Toggle Switch sat directly overhead, above the aircraft's main flying panel, squeezed in between the Halifax's Morse Code Sender Key and the aircraft's four Propeller Feathering Switches.

Compared with the more streamlined bakelite or cast aluminium cockpit controls of many contemporary RAF aircraft, the Halifax's Landing Light Switch had a distinctly domestic look about it - something more likely found in the hallway of Grandma's cottage than in a four-engined RAF heavy bomber.

Also installed in the early Avro Anson and the Hawker Hurricane, the Air Ministry 'Bell' Switch had a ceramic base with the Air Ministry Crown cast into its undersides and the AM & Crown with its 5D/551 part number stamped around its edge. 

The brass 'Bell' screws onto the all-brass rocker switch housed beneath with the pimple ended toggle switch protruding through the centre. 

This is an extremely rare Handley Page Halifax artefact and combined with a highly detailed scale model of the Halifax atop its Mango Wood Display Stand and accompanying Fact Sheet, would make a fantastic gift for any budding aviator, aviation enthusiast or experienced pilot!

This Handley Page Halifax Instrument comes complete with detailed Scale Model, Mango Wood Stand & Plaque plus Printed Fact Sheet featuring photo of instrument in aircraft cockpit.

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