Warbird Information Exchange

Hey,

I ran across this great shot on another forum with no other info. Any idea what it is?

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Red

Thats some photo!

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Could it be a Spit ? Where is it ?

I think we discussed this pic here on WIX previously, or maybe it was on the Flypast Forum. I remember the photo and a relatively long discussion thread about the type but what I don't remember is if a conclusive identification was ever made! Looks like a Firefly to my eye.

Looks like a boat to me!

Looks like an Ironworks bird to me... F6F or TBF/TBM

That was my first thought as well, but looking closer the nearly straight LE and beginnings of rounded tips lead me to think otherwise. Also looks a bit narrow for a radial.

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Red

I think what you're seeing @ the left wing tip is part of the bottom rock formation. It sure looks like a TBM/TBF with the large wing and gun bays in the outboard wings, the extensive cockpit cutout ending in what looks like a turret hole, and the tail appears to be broken off/missing.

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

I'm thinking it's a Jake floatplane. I just did a quick Google image search and found shots of one submerged off Palau that looks awfully similar and may be this one.

Duplicate post. Sorry.

The flap spaces look different than those on a Grumman craft.

I googled the Jake pics, but I'm not convinced. It seems that the aileron position to the gun bays are wrong. It seems the closest so far though.....

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Red

I found the sailboat photo on the photographer's web site, where it is ID'd as a Japanese floatplane.

http://www.georgesteinmetz.com/section18

I don't know much about Japanese floatplanes. Definitely not one of the others I know -- Rufe, Rex, Pete, Serian. Looks like a 2- or more likely 3-seater, twin floats. I keep coming back to the Jake, but I definitely reserve the right to be wrong!

Aha!

I found another reference to the sailboat photo as being taken in the Shortland Islands. A quick trip to Pacific Wrecks finds two submerged Jakes:

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/ ... index.html

Presumably this is the one said in the middle of the Tuha Channel:

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/e ... land2.html

Based on the description on the Pacific Wrecks site, I would say this is not the one in the center of the channel. The depth of that one is listed at 12 meters, and it is described as being missing the outer wing panels. The wreck in the original poster's photo appears to be less than 12 meters, and the wings look to be mostly intact.

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If God had intended airplane engines to have horizontally-opposed cylinders, Pratt & Whitney would have built them that way.