Photos and info from NASM

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Fri Apr 04, 2008 2:14 pm

That has to be one of the biggest treasures from WWII hands down. Great job, and awesome photos.

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:05 pm

Fantastic pics!

Looks like the insignia was "grayed out" at some point..in fact, the bars appear to have originally been gray. Looks like the squadron codes were originally gray as well, but were repainted in white at some point. Just speculation on my part, but I wonder if the markings were "brightened up" when the invasion stripes were applied. Do you have any pics of the wings where the stripes were? I'm curious as to whether they were stripped off or painted over.

SN

Taigh Ramey · **Posted:** Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:22 pm

Here are some shots of the wing on Flak Bait. I can't see much left of the invasion stripes on the upper surfaces but they are visible on the lower ones. Sorry for the poor pictures. My little Sony camera does better close up than it does for distance. The flash just doesn't cut it.

Check out the gear door

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:25 pm

Oh man, that is just awesome.

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:38 am

MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE!

Sorry..got a bit of an adrenaline rush, there.

I was wondering about whether she was ever flown post-war once she returned Stateside, but judging by that gear door, she was disassembled and crated immediatly after the war. That makes her possibly the most original WWII Allied warbird in existance!

SN

Taigh Ramey · **Posted:** Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:29 am

By more do you mean more Flak Bait or more NASM?

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:34 am

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Sat Apr 05, 2008 12:06 pm

What he said.

But especially Flak Bait!

SN

Taigh Ramey · **Posted:** Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:46 pm

Here are some more shots of Flak Bait.

The tracks for the waist gun windows are awesome. They slide up on rails and stow against the fuselage. The ammo boxes are still up there and the feed chutes are rolled up and tied with webbing.

The inside of the wing is beautiful. Interesting blue finish to the aluminum. It shows up throughout the aircraft.

These gentlemen must have been the crew chiefs as the paint matches the other crew positions names. Someone has written in pencil "WRECKANICS" just behind their names. There are lots of other names on the gear door and aircraft as well.

The tail gunner’s position

Check out the armored bulkhead and bullet resistant glass.

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:48 am

Thanks, keep 'em coming!

That armor plate looks pretty rusty..looks like she was exposed to a fair bit of humidity at some point. Was FB one of the aircraft stored outside in the tarpaper-covered crates back in the day?

I think the blue was an anti-corrosive coating..it was tinted as an indication that the metal had been treated. Curtiss used a similar "shop coat" on parts of the P-40s.

Looks like the wing leading edges have been stashed in the rear fuselage. I'm assuming the engines/props/landing gear/etc. are also in storage somewhere?

SN

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Sun Apr 06, 2008 3:49 pm

Are any of you guys going to be around the museum on Sat? Me and two friends are heading to the NASM.

JDK · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:35 am

Great pics, great thread.

gregv wrote:

Note the lighter white on the bar ends compared to the star, the darker shade to the brush painted red-surround cover-up, the slightly cocked inspection cover to the right, the bare metal inspection cover above it...it goes on and on; great details.

Excellent shots, it is amazing to see the richness of the preserved details; time capsules indeed. And to think that these aircraft could just as easily been "restored" in some goopy thick gloss coat of inaccurate colors, or even worse scrapped; the foresite to amass and preserve this collection is to be heartily commended, to say the least. An amazing resource for now and future generations.

Steve Nelson wrote:

I think the blue was an anti-corrosive coating..it was tinted as an indication that the metal had been treated. Curtiss used a similar "shop coat" on parts of the P-40s.

These two quotes show clearly why we need national collections working on conservation (not restoration) to preserve how the artefacts (which support our understanding of history) really were. In another 100 years the aircraft's originality becomes even more important.

Regards

Curtis Block · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2008 11:00 am

Anyone have photos of the NASM's Nakajima C6N "Myrt," in its' current condition?

TAdan · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2008 11:09 am

n/m double post.

TAdan · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2008 11:10 am

Taigh, thanks for sharing these pictures.

The Flak Bait shots are totally awesome.

What a time capsule.

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