Hi all, I am currently involved in a couple of Mosquito projects (1/48 Airfix and 1/24 Airfix) and I have a question re the type of seat harnesses I should use in the kits - should I go with a Sutton harness or the later "Q' type? I'm asking because while my instincts tell me it should be the latter, given the late war/post-war time frame of both aircraft I'm modelling, the few (unclear) pictures I've seen of Mossie seatbelts seem to point towards a Sutton harness...If anyone can help, or post decent pictures of Mossie harnesses (and indeed pilot's and navigator's seats!) I would be really grateful!

cheers Brad

So far, during my researches, the only aircraft, which I can say definitely had the "new" style of harness, with the quick-release box, was the Tempest. The Spitfire, definitely, never used it during the war, nor did the Hurricane, and the Typhoon is extremely doubtful. Going by that, I'd go for a Sutton.
Edgar

Brad: I don't think you'll get a definitive answer unless you have evidence for your individual aircraft. If they are post-war, I do them as Q-type; if they were 1945, it is a toss-up.

Edgar: Here is a Typhoon in February 1945 (F/O A.H. Fraser, 439 Sqn, taken a few days after claiming a Me 262).

I've had that photo put in front of me, before, and my response, as always, is where's his parachute harness, which always went underneath the seat harness? If that is his seat harness, he's sitting very high up, for someone who doesn't have a parachute to sit on. On the other hand, if it's actually his parachute, and he either hasn't done up his harness, or has undone it, and it's fallen out of sight, the jury remains out. The National Archives has a copy of the manual, for the Typhoon, and it only shows a Sutton, while that for the Tempest clearly shows the quick-release type.
Edgar

Thanks very much Edgar and Ben, on the basis of what you've both said, I think I'll go with Sutton harnesses on my 1/24 Mossie (a 1944 Mk XVIII) and - possibly - a Q type harness on my 1/48 kit, which I'm doing as a post-war racer...cheers Brad

Now that I look at photos of harnesses: Edgar, I think you are right- that is his parachute harness.

The release and the thicker waist strap do not match a Q(S), but they do match a parachute harness and release (the thicker waist belt was one-sided like that too).