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I have a character in some war-time fiction I'm writing 'acquiring' an aircraft (a Westland Lysander).

Just need to know: was there a helmet/face mask for radio communication for these aircraft? And, by default, was it present in a 'parked' plane?

fwiw...my character's genned up with the entry, startup and takeoff procedure.

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Since they were not suited for combat, they transitioned to supporting clandestine operations where, to quote the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada,

To give it the long range it needed, the aircraft had to be lightened by removing all unnecessary equipment such as guns, armour protection and excess radio equipment, retaining only the radio/telephone for communication with the ground.

It appears that they did have radios, not sure about how they were used. But if you look at the video in the linked page at about 2:33 the pilot appears to be wearing a helmet with built-in headset and a face-mask type microphone. At 6:19 the rear crewmember looks like he is wearing a mask as well.

This is the same aircraft that features prominently in Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein.

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  • $\begingroup$ re. the leather helmet/mask. I've found a still to corroborate this: goo.gl/YWBiqc $\endgroup$
    – Grateful_Jim
    Nov 24, 2017 at 11:53
  • $\begingroup$ It could also just be an intercom setup. $\endgroup$
    – acpilot
    Nov 26, 2017 at 19:19

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