B-17G "Chuckie" Update

[Second Air Force]

Here are a few New Year's Eve photos. Far left is Bill trying to stay out of the frame, Steve consulting on warbird issues, Mike working on a wire harness, and Ellen watching the consultant work. We're not always 100% productive.......


Later on Layne arrived and went to work on the left wing inboard fuel cell bay. Zane (Ztex) was here for a bit and we got to visit with him.

Here is the bracket that Bill pointed out a few posts back. We spent a few hours removing it and pulling up the blueprints of the assembly and individual part. Next will be a trip to the warehouse.







Happy New Year from the VFM crew!
Scott

[Django]

Hey Scott. What's the "warehouse"? Is there a chance you won't have to make a new one then?

[Second Air Force]

Chad,

When the Hospers first acquired 44-8543 they also bought a fair amount of spares. I kind of coined the "warehouse" term for our parts storage area when I first started working here.

Scott

[RAMC181]

I've been examining the three photos I have of the radar camera fitting a bit more closely this afternoon.
While at first I too thought they would swing up to photograph the main scope, all three can be seen to have their own PPI repeater fitted on the end of the "tube". Cross checking the data plate readable on one of the three photos against the parts list and the German Intelligence Report confirms this is the ID-30A/APS-2D Plan Repeater Indicator, used in conjunction with a fixed K-24 Camera.

Hopefully that makes the engineering a bit easier for you guys.

All the best,
PB

[CrewDawg]

Here's latest little bit that we've been working on at the VFM. One of our newest Rosie the Riveters, Kellie, who is fresh out of A&P school, was working on installing some carburetor fuel filter gaskets. Any girl with a Rosie the Riveter tattoo on her shoulder is gold in my book!


We also started to tear down a spare 1820 that we have in preparation for overhaul. This particular engine was donated siezed up, so the crankshaft and rods are toast. For those of you who may have never seen the crankshaft, master rod and connecting rods of a radial engine here you go.


Pat and Ricky working of finishing up replacing some cylinders on the Prowler


We will have some more exciting news very soon about a new addition to the Vintage Flying Museum hangar very soon, but for now that is all I can say.

[RAMC181]

Here's four photo's showing variations in the K-24/ID-30A/APS-2D installation:

Nice basic vertical mount by the 381st Bomb Group from October 1944.



Very cramped vertical setup by the 91st Bomb Group.
They've left the radio gear on it's rack, and the photographer has even had to remove one of the chairs to take the picture. (It's been shoved through the doorway)



Another vertical installation by the 91st, much more room now the radio gear has been relocated:



And a final, oblique, installation from the 91st:



One thing I hadn't noticed before is the modification to the door in each case.
It's been trimmed at the bottom to suit the raised floor around the scanner assembly.

All the best,
PB

Last edited by RAMC181 on Sun Jan 10, 2010 1:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Second Air Force]

Thanks for that research, Paul. I'd wondered how the radar operator was supposed to monitor his screen, put the stovepipe camera up there, and shoot photos during a bomb run. Having the repeater on the floor makes perfect sense. We don't have any idea what configuration our camera mount might have been as the bulkhead was replaced years ago.

We were examining photos a few weeks ago and noticed the shortened door. The raised flooring around the scanner is approximately eight inches above the radio room floor, which corresponds nicely with the braced "guardrails" around the scanner visible in other photos. It's going to become rather more difficult to do walk-throughs once we get the radome installed.

I'm glad to see that Bill had a work crew at VFM this weekend. I'm "enjoying" a touch of the flu here at home.....

Scott

[RAMC181]

Ta Scott,

That makes two of us with the flu..... ugh.

Checking a few more reference books it appears this particular camera/remote indicator setup was officially titled the O-10 by 1945, and could be either manually operated by the Mickey operator, or wired into the bomb release circuit for automatic operation.

All the best,
PB

[CrewDawg]

Hey we got a sticky!! How cool is that! Thanks Zane, Ryan and/or Scott!

[K5DH]

Hey we got a sticky!! How cool is that! Thanks Zane, Ryan and/or Scott!

I asked Scott to "stick" us, and he obliged!

[Second Air Force]

Sorry I haven't done any updating lately--we have been AWOL from the VFM hangar far too long..... I will have a neat piece of equipment to show off when the UPS man gets here, though.

I was just viewing the photos of the Lacey B-17 that Fortress17W posted here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=34371
and noticed that she has two SCR 718 radar altimeter antennae on the lower wing surfaces that Paul B. highlighted back a couple of pages ago.

Scott

[RAMC181]

I only have one 44-five digit serial PFF-equipped Fort in the database currently:

B-17G-75-DL 44-83297.
Assigned 8AF, 305BG, 366BS 04 Mar 45.
Code: KY-J
Base: Chelveston
Station 105
Nickname: Arlene
Fate: Returned to USA 11 Jun 45.

Although 44-85790 is a Vega Fort (B-17G-105-VE) like the majority of PFF conversions, I have none listed higher then block 90-VE.
Interesting spot though Scott.

All the best,
PB

[Second Air Force]

Paul, I wasn't connecting the Lacey airplane with the PFF mods, just noticing that she had been equipped with the radar altimeter. I believe she had her ball turret when first purchased. Sorry If I implied that she was a Pathfinder.

Scott

[K5DH]

Hmmm. . . I wonder if the owners of the Lacey B-17 would consider donating their radar altimeter antennas to VFM for installation on the world's only surviving PFF ship? At the very least, it would be nice to borrow one and see if we can make some cosmetic-only "clones" of it. Unless, of course, someone has a set of radar altimeter antennas that they'd like to donate. . .

[RAMC181]

Paul, I wasn't connecting the Lacey airplane with the PFF mods, just noticing that she had been equipped with the radar altimeter. I believe she had her ball turret when first purchased. Sorry If I implied that she was a Pathfinder.

Scott

Not to worry Scott, no implication taken.
I was just illustrating that posession of these antennae does not necessarily a Pathfinder make.

Hmmm. . . I wonder if the owners of the Lacey B-17 would consider donating their radar altimeter antennas to VFM for installation on the world's only surviving PFF ship? At the very least, it would be nice to borrow one and see if we can make some cosmetic-only "clones" of it. Unless, of course, someone has a set of radar altimeter antennas that they'd like to donate. . .

I'm sure you meant to say "I wonder if the owners of the Lacey B-17 would consider donating their radar altimeter antennas to VFM for installation on one of the world's only two surviving PFF ships?" there Dean.

All the best,
PB