British Aircrew 119 Type Plug /
"Bell" Plug
Stores Ref. No.: 10H/10991
The most common conenctor used in the RAF and RN during the second world war for headsets and helmets to interface with aircraft, and continued in service until the 1990s in the Shackleton for aircrew, and behind ejection seats in the Jet Provost and Canberra. It mates with the socket 359-Type.
There is a standard colour code for headset wiring, and the electrical contacts inside the connector are marked to indicate which contact is for which wire colour:
TEL + = Red
TEL = Blue (and microphone screen)
MIC + = Yellow
MIC = Green
Advertisments / Brochures
The conclusion of who manufactured these connectors was triggered by two things, firstly most have an inspectors stamp marked ASTL, secondly, I noticed that these connectors were very similar to British telephone connectors "plug 420" used in the GPO Plan 4 telephone system. So I researched telephones, and found a group of enthusiasts and historians, the Telecommunications Heritage Group who were amazingly helpful in this research. I owe them many thanks indeed.
Members of the THG pointed me in the direction of The Post Office Electrical Engineers' Journal, Vol 58, Part 2, July 1965 where this beautiful advert was located:
