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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 2, 2022 16:16:17 GMT 12
Loads more power though, and when a Ventura had no bomb load and light fuel load, it was fast and flew like a fighter apparently. I imagine the pilot also used momentum from a dive in the race too. I always wish that some film of that race would turn up some day.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 9, 2022 1:01:27 GMT 12
This one is great, No. 15 (Fighter) Squadron P-40E NZ3040 JZ-I. Note it has a little roundel on the tip of the spinner that others do not seem to have!  PR193A LINKAnd a close up crop  |
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Post by Antonio on Apr 9, 2022 12:59:01 GMT 12
Awesome pair, thanks Dave
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Post by davidd on Apr 9, 2022 14:28:12 GMT 12
The pilot killed in the crash of P-40N NZ3283 on 13th February 1945 was named Hilliard (not Hillary) Ernest Boucher, see Errol Martyn's For Your Tomorrow, Vol 3, p 97.
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Post by davidd on Apr 9, 2022 14:52:05 GMT 12
Diving to build up speed just prior to a drag race in aircraft would rightly be interpreted as blatant cheating, definitely NOT cricket Dave! I don't know if such tactics were ever contemplated in the Schneider Trophy races in the 1920s, you would have to find their book of rules. In the case of determining actual "air speeds" when aircraft were being judged on outright speed at very low altitudes, runs would have to be made in opposite directions (and as close in time to one another as possible) in an attempt to cancel out any "downwind" effects. Quite possibly also relevant in the case of cars, speedboats, etc. However nobody was worried if two aircraft flying at same altitude and direction were in a drag race at same time, for obvious reasons. However circuit races were an entirely different game, with all sorts of tactics being tried and tested quite legitimately.
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Post by davidd on Apr 9, 2022 15:13:27 GMT 12
Looking again at Antonio's photos of P-40s on previous page, two caught my eye. Negative No. G.2065 (P-40E NZ3098, 4 OTU 8/8/44) seems to have the later model sliding canopy fitted, although never knew this was possible.
The P-40 (unknown serial), Negative No. G.1812 looks very much like another P-40E to me, with plain round exhaust stubs, early-type sliding canopy, and the early style rear vision mirror on left hand side of windscreen frame (as fitted to P-40E, F, K, M models I think.) On later N models the mirror was right INSIDE the cockpit, on centreline forward of pilots forehead. However I will have to do further checks on this statement! For instance, I believe that both types of exhaust stubs (plain round, and "fishtail" latter also known as "flared). Even engine types specific to airframe model were interchangeable (although probably not encouraged) as I know of at least two RNZAF P-40s fitted with "wrong" engine types, recall that an ex-Tonga "E" was retrofitted with a dash 73 Allison rather than the factory-fitted dash 39, cannot recall details of the other off hand. Also not certain of what was possible when it came to changing types of rear-view mirrors, interior and exterior. I imagine that mirror-swapping was something that pilots might take greater interest in when it came to efficacy of this item in actual combat. All comments welcome, good and bad!
David D
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Post by ams888 on Apr 10, 2022 21:53:27 GMT 12
I noticed this photo from the Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1370-350A-32, 33, 35, 36. Is the P-40 in the red square one of the Silver ones? It looks too dark, but it definitely looks like it has an anti-glare black stripe going up to and past the windscreen. It also appears to have a fuselage code and a white tail...  silver P40 by Andrew Sutton, on Flickr |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 10, 2022 23:22:05 GMT 12
The fuselage code is OD, so No. 4 (Fighter) Operational Training Unit.
It does look to have a black anti-glare strip, and the rest could be bare metal but I am not sure, the tone does not look right, it looks the same as the other P-40's nearby that are olive drab.
A bare metal P-40 with a white tail that has a red stripe and a black anti-glare is not a combination I have seen before. There are three known bare metal P-40's of No. 4 (F)OTU. They were NZ3110, NZ3210 and NZ3283. Interestingly NZ3110 and NZ3283 both crashed and were destroyed during the war. NZ3210 made it to Rukuhia but I have a photo of it there with a bare metal tail. So if this is bare metal it does not fit those known examples.
This photo is clearly very early in their storage as they still all have props and engines, and most have canopy & engine covers including the P-40 in question.
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Post by bevanid on Apr 11, 2022 8:20:45 GMT 12
Nooks to me more like it has a canopy cover and another cover over the cowling/exhausts, which would make sense as you can see the corsairs mostly have co era over the cowlings ect too.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 11, 2022 10:07:56 GMT 12
Yes you're possibly right Bevan that the canopy cover extends forward and looks like an anti-glare panel. Need a bigger resolution version of the photo.
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Post by curtiss on Apr 11, 2022 16:18:43 GMT 12
Looking again at Antonio's photos of P-40s on previous page, two caught my eye. Negative No. G.2065 (P-40E NZ3098, 4 OTU 8/8/44) seems to have the later model sliding canopy fitted, although never knew this was possible. The P-40 (unknown serial), Negative No. G.1812 looks very much like another P-40E to me, with plain round exhaust stubs, early-type sliding canopy, and the early style rear vision mirror on left hand side of windscreen frame (as fitted to P-40E, F, K, M models I think.) On later N models the mirror was right INSIDE the cockpit, on centreline forward of pilots forehead. However I will have to do further checks on this statement! For instance, I believe that both types of exhaust stubs (plain round, and "fishtail" latter also known as "flared). Even engine types specific to airframe model were interchangeable (although probably not encouraged) as I know of at least two RNZAF P-40s fitted with "wrong" engine types, recall that an ex-Tonga "E" was retrofitted with a dash 73 Allison rather than the factory-fitted dash 39, cannot recall details of the other off hand. Also not certain of what was possible when it came to changing types of rear-view mirrors, interior and exterior. I imagine that mirror-swapping was something that pilots might take greater interest in when it came to efficacy of this item in actual combat. All comments welcome, good and bad! David D Hi David, The P40 in Negative G.2065 has no canopy fitted - you can see the canopy attach rail hanging down the side of the fuselage. The bit of "canopy" is just the normal rear vision panel on an E. |
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Post by Mustang51 on Apr 11, 2022 16:42:05 GMT 12
Bevan...think you are correct on the canopy and engine covers
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Post by Antonio on Apr 11, 2022 17:15:53 GMT 12
Thanks for the input David.
I have updated the comments in my photos.
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Post by davidd on Apr 12, 2022 11:09:05 GMT 12
Curtiss, I do believe you are right! That at least makes more sense too, as the later-type canopy would probably have a large air-gap behind it when in the fully-forward position!
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Post by ams888 on Apr 12, 2022 22:54:47 GMT 12
So the Auckland Libraries Team very kindly sent a cropped image. Mystery solved. Not some new bare metal P-40. As Bevan has correctly guessed - just engine and canopy covers  1370_0350A_35(crop) by Andrew Sutton, on Flickr |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 12, 2022 23:21:37 GMT 12
Wow, that is excellent.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 12, 2022 23:24:49 GMT 12
So that aircraft is clearly NZ3021, I wish we could see what the OD- number is as we do not know what it's number code was. Looks like two digits.
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Post by Antonio on Apr 13, 2022 0:41:38 GMT 12
So that aircraft is clearly NZ3021, I wish we could see what the OD- number is as we do not know what it's number code was. Looks like two digits. adf serials have: NZ3021 To No.2 OTU, Ohakea. Mid air collision with NZ3061 on 14 June 1944. Written off books at Ohakea on 23 June 1944. The engine cover is 3021 though |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 13, 2022 7:46:22 GMT 12
Well done, I wondered who would be the first to spot that.  |
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Post by Antonio on Apr 13, 2022 10:29:42 GMT 12
Begs the question though, the damage must have been minimal as NZ3061 is listed as being sold at Rukuhia - with no mention of the mid-air collision.
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