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A1... A2's back - WWII Era Aircraft ID's Please

zipperzap
Doug - just got back last night. Went up there to the Kalamazoo Air Zoo for a day
and saw some pretty interesting stuff. Saw a few I haven't seen up close and
personal, as well as lots of old friends.

Thought I'd give your grey matter (perhaps) a run for it's money. I picked out five -
one's easy (one of your favorites) and one's (very) hard to ID. The hard one looks
easy but you've got to keep a close eye on the markings - I'd never seen one and
had to 'cry uncle' before I talked to one of the docents there. The other three ...
were, kinda hard to ID.

Enjoy! Anyone else wants to show your stuff, feel free!

Flew back on a 757 last night - big but noisy - was kind of disappointed with the
noise but liked the speed Atlanta to San Diego in about four hours.

KAZ has a '71, too, but no drone.

#1.
IMG_6088.jpg
The airframe is pretty easy to ID - BUT - it's not
what you'd think - the engine is a mind boggler!

#2.
IMG_6094.jpg
Easy one - and a favorite of yours!

#3.
IMG_6077.jpg
Tough one - puller and pusher!

#4.
bc_6099.jpg
Obviously carrier based.

#5.
tc_6101.jpg
Obviously carrier based, again!

A2&G1
[:D]
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Comments

14 comments

Date Votes
  • catpealer111
    #1 is a variant/copy of the BF-109. I can't find exactly what it is in my sources, but it appears to have a Merlin engine judging from the photo.

    #2 is an F4F Hellcat

    #3

    #4 is an F8F Bearcat

    #5 is a F7F Tigercat

    I can't for the life of me remember what #3 is. I've seen it before and I'm fairly sure it's an American design, but I'm drawing a blank. I'd do some more research but i have to get ready for work.
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  • catpealer111
    quote:Originally posted by eboydell
    I think #3 is a Lighting.NO! I am wrong![:(]


    Lightning has a box tail with both the engines on the wings.
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  • jonk
    Nice pics.

    None were too hard though. [;)]

    #1- Spanish made Hispano-Suiza copy of Messerschmidt BF-109. Designated Hispano Aviaci?n HA-1112 M. 1. L Buchon. Merlin engine. Also, Def. NOT WW2 vintage- made starting in 1951.

    #3- Curtis XP-55 Ascender. I might be wrong on the number designation, but def. Curtiss.
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  • catpealer111
    Jonk is right, Curtis XP-55 Ascender.
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  • zipperzap
    Actually, the Curtis XP-55 Ascender was built in 1942 and fiddled with until 1945 when it
    was cancelled.

    VERY GOOD GUYS!

    You're certainly MUCH better than I at your aircraft recognition!
    [:D]

    quote:jonk:

    #1- Spanish made Hispano-Suiza copy of Messerschmidt BF-109. Designated Hispano Aviaci?n HA-1112 M. 1. L Buchon. Merlin engine. Also, Def. NOT WW2 vintage- made starting in 1951.

    IMG_6090.jpg

    Well, you're partially right. It was certainly flown in the 1950's but THIS ONE was one of the first five built (in Franco, Spain) and sat until after the war without an engine. Franco had promised Hitler that he'd build them for the Luftwaffe and sell then back to Nazi Germany. During the war Hitler didn't send him any engines - they were apparently too busy making them for their own 109's. Later the Brits sold them the Merlins.
    [:D]
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  • PATBUZZARD
    That museum is about 2 miles from my apartment! I can remember as a kid when the air zoo could afford insurance and all those aircraft flew on the weekends. Every July they'd have an air show, in which the entire collection would be flown. After 9/11 insurance skyrocketed effectively grounding the museum.
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  • zipperzap
    Pat - I'll be up there again - probably (early Spring/Summer) next summer - and
    I'll buy you dinner.

    This was a fast trip - buddy has health issues and we wanted to spend my time
    with him and his wife - even left the laptop behind, this trip.

    As Arnold often says, "I'll be back!"

    I was very impressed with their 'pieces and displays. Caught the Kalamazoo May
    3-D presentation. While sad, it was also a lot of food for thought!
    [8D]
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  • Colt Super
    Just got back home from the Emergency Room. Perfect Daughter Deanna got hurt by Pandora while riding to a friend's place down Savage Road. She called me on her cell and I called for the EMTs while I was on the way there. When I got there she was standing in the road holding her hoss, and her face was a mask of blood. The EMTs got there just as I did and stopped the blood flow from her scalp and I took her to the ER. Pandora had tossed her head while Deanna was walking on the road, leading her. There was some working farm machinery nearby that had scared the hoss and made her toss her head, hitting Deanna in the head with her bit. I used to work in ER admitting and I called them on my cell on the way in. They had me go to the ambulance entrance, where they instantly took her in, checked her out, stitched her up, observed her for awhile and sent her home. She is sacked out and doing fine.

    Sorry that I took so long to respond to your post.

    These guys know a lot more about those WarBirds than I. Seems like a cool museum.

    A1
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  • fugawe
    It's easy to spot the Merlin powered 109's by the location of the exhausts. The Merlins are high, the Daimler powered ones are low because the engine is inverted.
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  • zipperzap
    Excellent answers - excellent air hobbiests - HOWEVER - I didn't see am
    ID for #3.

    That one's probably a 'nothing question' for any of you guys!

    Doug Wilson considers it one of his favorites ... care to divulge #3's ID?
    [:D]
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  • lts
    #2 is an F4 Wildcat. The F6 Hellcat has wing mounted landing gear like the F8 Bearcat. I was at a Warbirds Airshow around 10 -12 years ago that had a Tigercat whose pilot put that bird through it's paces! He didn't fly the plane, he FLEW it! Awesome!!!
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  • lts
    oooopps.... F6 and F8 landing gear similar, not the same. F6 gear is wing mounted inboard and retract up/outward towards wingtips. F8 gear is wing mounted further out and retract up/inward toward fuselage. Amazing how you can activate grey matter to remember these things.....
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  • Permanently deleted user
    Ever see the movie "The Battle of Britain" circa 1969?

    Those "ME-109"'s were the Spanish version..with the nno-original engines painted up to look like Luftwaffe fighters circa 1940.

    Question - is that a F4F Wildcat made by Grumman, or is the FM1 or FM2 made by General Motors? They were more common than the F4F IIRC?
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  • zipperzap
    PBJloaf: WOW! Now that you mention it ... THAT EXACT PLANE, #1 was in that film ...
    according to the guy who explained it's history to me.

    Another plane that I actually was able to tour, with it's owner, that was in The Battle of Britan, was a Heinkel HE-111, owned by Franco at one time and was active in the Spanish Air Force until the end of that film - than all the old Nazi design stuff was sold and their air force was upgraded.

    I was promised a ride in the old (beautiful) HE-111 but both the owner/pilot and plane went down at the Cheyanne Airport a couple of years later before he got back to the El Cajon Air Show. It was the last HE-111 that was flyable - there are only two others that he knew about in the world and not as nice as his!

    He was an owner/Confederate Air Force member out of Tucson, AZ.

    The last thing we talked about was how underpowered it was - he said it was like flying a dump truck and that if it wasn't so rare and 'glamourous' he'd swap it for something with more power - money didn't seem to be an object. He said, "If you lose an engine on take off or landing ... you ride it right on in to glory!"

    ... and he did ... and he did ... according to the newspaper story we saw when it happened

    Web site story/more info:
    http://www.hopepilots.org/he111/

    [8D]!
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