I am a photographer starting to specialise in aviation museum artifact preservation. I am currently making detailed photos of an empty standard red flare cartridge that was carried in an RAF bomber for emergency landing requests. I understand they carried 10 of these, fired through an opening in the canopy via the Webley pistol. It is a brown cardboard tube with brass base and is approximately 3.75" tall and 1.5" diameter.
It has the following markings:
VT LOT 183 1-43 SPRA" which translated means it was a mark 5 flare propelled by black powder and made in Jan 1943 from Lot 183 and made by Schermuly Pistol Rocket Apparatus, Newdigate, Surrey, UK.
It was fired from a Webley No. 4 Mk1* Flare Pistol and used for example to signal control tower for an emergency landing.
The attached diagram is missing a description of the 10 items on the right hand side and although not an expert I can speculate on what some are, but I'd like to hear from experts. Taking information from a very different 1"flare the item at top next to the square pellet probably says "Sulphurless mealed powder" but I have no idea of its purpose.
Does any have information that could fill in these missing items or care to speculate, perhaps based on US equivalents from that era?
Thanks, Peter
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Missing RHS text