P51 Barrel Breather Hole Position, End Or Side? Age?

[Bill Nick]

 

I've just acquired two more Navy Grey Aerometric 51s, they both have the "4 times" inscription on the sac guard so they're post 1950 but one has the breather at the end of the barrel, the other has it halfway down the side.

 

Does anyone know the significance of this trivial difference, simply a design difference or does it indicate the age?

 

I've said that they're both Navy Grey but there is a slight shade difference that I'm putting down to either original shade differences from the factory or fading. Having said that, I have never seen a Dove Grey pen in the flesh and pictures indicate that Dove Grey is significantly lighter, almost lavender-ish but some commentators have said that the difference between Navy and Dove is minimal and they are sometimes confused. Could anyone please confirm that these two are the same, Navy Grey?

 

Thanks, all.

Edited May 25, 2019 by BillNick

[Bill Nick]

Yes, I know there's no photo, for some reason (too big?) it wouldn't attach, I'm trying to reduce it's size.

[PenFisher]

My understanding is that Dove Gray was a vacumatic color and Navy Grey was an aerometric color. The breather hole was moved to the side of the barrel in 1960 I believe. There can always be some variation in the side by side comparison of the "same" colors due to aging, sunlight exposure, etc. However, IMHO the two colors in question were intended to be separate and distinct colors.

Edited May 25, 2019 by PenFisher

[Bill Nick]

My understanding is that Dove Gray was a vacumatic color and Navy Grey was an aerometric color. The breather hole was moved to the side of the barrel in 1960 I believe. There can always be some variation in the side by side comparison of the "same" colors due to aging, sunlight exposure, etc. However, IMHO the two colors in question were intended to be separate and distinct colors.

 

That makes sense, the side breather has the longer clip with more feathers than the 'end breather'.

Thanks for that.

[mitto]

That makes sense, the side breather has the longer clip with more feathers than the 'end breather'.

Thanks for that.

No. The cap with longer clip and more feathers should be on the earlier (1948-1950) pens and not on the later production pens with barrel side breather.

[richardandtracy]

What I've never really nailed down is whether all the dates specified on Ernesto's site all apply to UK manufactured pens. I have my suspicions that they don't. Not on any identifiable evidence, but on the type of oddities that we are seeing here, where the pens seem as if they may contradict Ernesto's timeline. Makes the pens hard to fit into Ernesto's timeline sometimes - I have a UK made single piece sac guard pen (post 1964) with an end hole (pre 1960). It could be mix & match parts, but as I got the pen from the original owner's daughter, I don't think so. The pen appeared original & is unlikely ever to have had work. Anyway, as I got no original receipt with the pen, I have no hard evidence, but equally I am left with this feeling that Parker UK could well have done things differently or used up old stock for much longer than the US.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.