Another REAL A6M Zero to return to flight at Duxford?

[SPANNERmkV]

Probably not!
But the Imperial War Museum has started work on a historically significant display of a Zeke brought off Taroa Island.
It has to be historically significant because the USN set off some sort of explosive next to the right side of it while it ws luxuriating in the Pacific and so it is now history!

[SPANNERmkV]

Our story continues...
The aircraft appears to have been shot up and then after it returned to base it was cannabalized for parts... and then it was turned into a decoy and the Navy obligingly either bombed or shelled it and deformed those panels on the right side.
Then in order to remove it for further safe-keeping the wings were surgically removed.


IWM has the wings, but they are not pretty. Also some galvanic corrosion has set in on the wing tops.

Last edited by SPANNERmkV on Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[SPANNERmkV]

And now the real reason for this thread---
For all the A&Ps, modellers and fans of Mitsubishi who wondered how these things were built- a few detail shots...
Looking forward from the right side of the huge gaping hole


Looking forward from the left side of said huge gaping hole- note the plexi-glass stringers around the circumference holding the fuselage together.

Access hole for the tailwheel and empennage servicing.


Tail-wheel

Looking aft towards the tail-cone



Note: the lovely Plexi-glass bulkhead reinforcements which Andy used to strengthen the airframe so he could run plexi-glass stringers to tie the fuselage into the empennage to keep it from folding in on itself.

Last edited by SPANNERmkV on Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:27 pm, edited 5 times in total.

[Adam Kline]

Thanks for posting. Those pictures will come in handy. Especially like the tail wheel shot.

[Travisd80elcam]

Thanks for posting. great pictures and its always good to hear another Japanese plane being restored, sense there are so few. but i would love to here more about the HE 111 in the back ground. thanks again

Travis

[SPANNERmkV]

The bottom picture shows the stringers to good effect.
It was explained to me (and forgive me if I get this wrong) that the stringers were left open, probably to save weight, but that it also contributed to the inability of the Airframe to withstand high-speed dives without structural tail flutter and/or failure.

I think the implication was IF GRUMMAN HAD MADE IT- it would have had top hats for stringers and they would have it flying again for Flying Legends 2013!

But seriously- the Museum plans to preserve what is there, possibly add some missing bits if available and correct AND place it in a diorama style display.

Should anyone need any specific detail shots I imagine we can cajole one of the locals to snap off specific requests!

If anyone has any asundry correct bits that might add to this project let's talk via PMs...

SPANNER the helpful

Last edited by SPANNERmkV on Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[SPANNERmkV]

Thanks for posting. great pictures and its always good to hear another Japanese plane being restored, sense there are so few. but i would love to here more about the HE 111 in the back ground. thanks again

Travis

Travis,
I believe we are looking at a Spanish CASA and that it is for sale by sealed bid.
I know the IWM has a CASA built Ju-52 available and a French built Storch as well... Also for sale by sealed bid.

Serious inquiries only please. We do not need to distract the IWM with tyre-kicking "Looky-Lous"

Jump in and correct me if I am wrong Pedro Verde.

SPANNER the easily confused and still terribly jet-lagged

[Travisd80elcam]

Thank you for the quick response. Now how do we get some one in VA to buy it . thanks again

Travis

[JDK]

There's nothing like a Spanner tour! Thanks.

Interestingly, it looks about the same as I recall when I last looked at it in 2004, but I gather from your comments and presumed conversation with 'Andy', it's getting some work now and that's a rather good Conservator on the job (IMHO.)

The bottom picture shows the stringers to good effect.
It was explained to me (and forgive me if I get this wrong) that the stringers were left open, probably to save weight, but that it also contributed to the inability of the Airframe to withstand high-speed dives without structural tail flutter and/or failure.

Interesting - I've never read of empennage failures of the Zero - a quick check shows wing failures were an issue, but not the back end. We might be concatenating that it was famously unable to sustain any significant combat damage, and fuselage damage may have regularly led to the tail surfaces detaching. More from the better versed welcome...

Regards,

[k5083]

The CAF Zero looked a lot like this when I first saw it in Dave Price's shop back in the 80s. A docent gave me a very interesting tour of the structure that I still remember, including showing me a lot of structural parts that would have been castings on a US aircraft but that on the Zero were sheet metal bent into intricate cross sections. Lightness, cheapness and ease of manufacture were all cited as reasons. I came away with the sense that the Zero is still an under-appreciated aeroplane, at least in the west.

August

[mustanglover]

The bottom picture shows the stringers to good effect.
It was explained to me (and forgive me if I get this wrong) that the stringers were left open, probably to save weight, but that it also contributed to the inability of the Airframe to withstand high-speed dives without structural tail flutter and/or failure.

I think the implication was IF GRUMMAN HAD MADE IT- it would have had top hats for stringers and they would have it flying again for Flying Legends 2013!

But seriously- the Museum plans to preserve what is there, possibly add some missing bits if available and correct AND place it in a diorama style display.

Should anyone need any specific detail shots I imagine we can cajole one of the locals to snap off specific requests!

If anyone has any asundry correct bits that might add to this project let's talk via PMs...

SPANNER the helpful

Actually those stringers look like any normal "Z" stringer I have seen. Lot's of those type of stringers in the FM-2.

[SPANNERmkV]

There's nothing like a Spanner tour! Thanks.

Interesting - I've never read of empennage failures of the Zero - a quick check shows wing failures were an issue, but not the back end. We might be concatenating that it was famously unable to sustain any significant combat damage, and fuselage damage may have regularly led to the tail surfaces detaching. More from the better versed welcome...

Regards,

Much obliged JDK---

I stand guilty of all concatenization that may have occured in my extemporizing about fluttering Zeke tail-feathers.
I re-read the Corky Meyers Flight Journal article and all he noted in a high speed dive was a distinct concretization of the ailerons and the elevators, but strangely enough, NOT so much with the rudder.

I wonder if in a few more years we are going to see dioramas of shot down Wildcats or P40s in the land of the rising sun? hmmmm

SPANNER the correctable

[Rossco]

Spitfires had z section stringers as well but werent full length..

[Dan Jones]

About ten years ago I got a tour of Blayd's shop and their pile of original Zero stuff that they had reverse engineered. I was impressed with the Zero's construction but it certainly looked pretty labour intensive. Blayd's operation was very impressive (and really great people) and they had enough new stuff stashed away to produce another two or three airplanes someday.

Dan