I have found this lamp in the Netherlands, a first as two previous 300's were bought from german soil, but likely here too with the british army it's distributor. Everything on this lamp suggests it is original, unless the remnant of the label might be indicating it has been in a depot, where things could be mixed, then matched. All is there, the globe a thinner variety compared to my other two which have thicker and even more thick glass. A conclusion would be there is variety in thickness, no matter if it is made by same maker Pyrex. A fuel cap with non-secured central vent might be a melange of period detail, as the other Vapa 300's I have seen in the flesh do have that practical gizmo, but could easily have been interchanged. Indicator of who initially paid for this lamp is to be found in the lower rim of the brass ventilator, plus the year of manufacture or assembly. The steel cage has the patent No. 540783 stamped into the lower rim, referring to the multihole base for easier positioning of the cage in relation to the pricker knob, and introduced with the E41 predecessor. Another patent No. 537892 is stamped into the vapourizer, and refers to a sprung coil inside the vapouriser to help guiding the needle rod. The vertical orientation is said to be earlier than the same patent number applied in a horizontal manner, a standing lamp in mind. However, this too could be a mix based on what was on hand when assembly took place. Somehow this lamp was used very little, with some shiny spots on the inside bottom, and thus likely not 'fettled' by the military. Luckily no sign of abuse, no dents, nor bends. The needle pokes it's head when asked. The glass is without chips or cracks. the eyelet of a label is still attached to one of the bail nuts. But time and some measure of humidity did alter the appearance of the steel tank and cage, with rust vying for prominence with the RAF color Rapidal Grey. And expectedly, the blue/grey enamelled top has some damage to the vulnerable enamel. This lamp is still as shown, so not cleaned, and still with it's three inhabitants that pased away in different times, if the colouring is any indication. To me, this is an honest lamp not tampered with. Usually I clean away dust and grime, but this time I forgot, or felt some respect for the deceased spiders, encapsulated in their web and time.
Yes Colin, I feel the same way, no point in altering its character. In fact it might replace a 'better' looking Vapa 300 as I do not want two similar lamps in my collection.
I would say that is all correct and a very nice find. No split pin on the air release screw is common on the earlier lamps. Not sure exactly when the pin was introduced maybe 1945 ish when the font vents changed. Label looks correct to me also, one query, no pressure pip? Always seams a mystery to me when it appeared, then disappeared, then reappeared… Stunning find..
Gary, as for the pressure tit this 1943 Vapa is like my other '43 lamp, a 1944 incomplete parts lamp and a (sold) 1945 lamp with a brass tank and new style collar. The only lamp with tit in my posession is the E41 second edition. I think the presence of the pressure tit is made too much of imo. It is likely a thing W&B copied from Tilley once the military rejected the nice but costly pressure gauge on the intial E41 proposition, presumedly because any pressure indicator was regarded as essential at that time. By now there is consensus that W&B delivered lamps with an almost infinite variety of parts, that should explain why tanks with or without pressure tits have come up in a non-linear way, at least during the war period. In retrospect I think W&B delivered many Vapalux 300's without this pressure indicator under stress of (war) time, but also in the realisation that such an indicator was not needed, with the military unlikely to protest anyway. It might have re-appeared for a short time right after the war as a marketing thing, rather than of neccesity. This can be seen even with the first Bialaddin lamps, so these lamps with the new style tank came with, or without pressure tits. They likely appeared for the last time in 1946, but then, W&B excelled in including old stock whenever they found it.
Yeah I think your right because you do see the pressure tit on the later brass tanks (brown versions) and early Vapalux 300X slim tanks. But it then quickly disappears on the Bialaddin 300X.
