Warbird Information Exchange

Does anybody know how much of the remains were used in the build of "Scatterbrain Kid II"?

I think this is it when it was with Fairchild Aerial Serveys.





Mike

the tall skinny dude reminds me of Anthony William "Tony" LeVier...

If anyone feels like giving a brief "bio" on the a/c in question, please do. Not talking about its genesis where the aluminum ore was dug etc,etc,etc, but beginning in modern times ... like when the CAF had 'er. She bit the dust somewhere along the line, can't recall what happened. Was it a "bomber nose" or gun nose, can't remember? Some of us are enjoying a brand new day each morning, and surely others are too young to know much. Thanks.

Signed,

Col. Alzheimer

IIRC, the plane had a bomber nose AND a P-38M canopy (two seat night fighter version, although the second seat was about as roomy as the back seat in an old Chevrolet Monza). Shortly after being restored, it crashed, but there was enough that survived that the plane could be rebuilt again.

Speaking of Scatterbrain kid II, since the whole P-82 debacle, what is the status of the remains of "kid II" ? I thought someone posted pictures at one time but I can't find them now.

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The more I learn about aircraft, the more I realize I still have to learn.

According to the book P-Screamers they obtained another airframe out of Yukon, Ok and used some parts from Scatterbrain Kid and another P-38 to complete it. Also it was Scatterbrain Kid II that had the P-38M style second seat.

Mike

Actually it was a post war aerial survey nose.

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Don't touch my junk!!

Yes the lst two photos show it whan registered to Fairchild Aerial Surveys of Van Nuys, CA. Time frame is 1946-1947, and aircraft was registered as NX33638, 43-50281. Later N138X as Yippie, then to N38LL (lst issued of N #), and named Scatterbrain Kid. Crashed in LA, 10-19-1974. Now for Scatterbrain Kid #2 it is P-38L 42-104088 and it was stored at Page Airmotive, Yukon, OK. It was moved around in the CAF and finally restored in San Marcos, TX. It crashed at Breckenridge, TX on 5-28-92 and is reported still in parts back at San Marcos, TX. Below is a picture from my collection, photographer unknown, showing the same nose on it as the lst two photos. Hope this helps.

When I was a kid & saw it the local airshow a time or 2 in the early '70s, it had a single canopy & a gun nose cone. I don't recall if it had any barrels sticking out or not. Somewhere in my ancient archives, I have some Polaroids of it. All ISTR hearing, (my dad & I were at the local airport that Sunday afternoon in '73 - '75 timeframe, IIRC.) that it had crashed at Laffayette(?) (La.) earlier & ISTR the guy flying had just been checked out & lost an engine, why, I don't recall hearing, got slow, poured the coal to the good engine & she torque rolled on him.

Here's my picture of it from Ft. Worth 1972...that's me getting indoctrinated to the smell of heavy aluminum at an early age...

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Zane Adams
There I was at 20,000 ft, upside down and out of ammunition.
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That is a great looking plane

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

That looks right familiar! I've always been curious about the paint scheme. When I built a couple of models of it way back, I painted it tan & black over light gray, 'cause black's what I'm sure I remember in person & it looked it in any color pics I saw. Was it indeed black or a very dark brown or very dark green & was the scheme authentic & accurate? I always assumed it was based on the RAF scheme & patterns, but never looked into it. I can not recall whether it had any stars (or anything besides "Scatterbrain Kid"). Anyone have any background on its scheme?

The camo is based on the painters own imagination.
The name and insignia on the booms relate to the co-owner
Revis Sirmon who flew the original P-38L "Scatterbrain Kid" with
the 49th FS 14th FG in Italy in 1944-45 and downed a ME-109 in it on
Dec 17, 1944.
Sirmon lives in Abbeyville, LA

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Don't touch my junk!!

I know it isn't correct, but I think it's cool.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

There were several small parts from SBK that were used on SBK II. Mostly cannon plug connectors and such. Some small parts also came from a WW II P-38 that crashed in the Bull Creek Watershed (in OR or WA, can't remember which). Anyway, the Evergreen Squadron (wing?) of the CAF recovered the rediscovered wreck and stored it. (We sent Ray Harper up there with his flatbed truck and a trailer to bring those remains back.) I'm not sure where the SBK remains came from, but we also had them. No big parts were straight enough to use. I think the elevator counter weights came one each from each wreck.

There were some who remembered the backseat on the P-38 that John Stokes once owned, and they wanted to build one for SBK II. Sandy Sansing was going through Mesa, enroute to a fighter squadron reunion in CA and stopped to take photos of the one John once had. He got talking with the folks there and found that they were wanting to return the "M" to an "L" model, so a trade was made. That P-38 that John Stokes once had was not a production "M", but one of three "L" models that were modified as proof of concept planes. At least that's what I remember being told by him thirty-something years ago.

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Mike