Glass tubes between a P-51 drop tank and the rubber hoses

[agent86]

Its been a few years but if I remember correctly,the P-51 that I wrenched on that was all original had the remnants of glass tubes in the rubber hoses where the drop tanks used to hang.the glass would break when the tanks would be dropped.am I hallucinating about this? wouldnt be the first nor last time

[Jerry O'Neill]

I believe you're correct. There was a short glass section designed to break cleanly when the tank was released.
.
Jerry

[JohnTerrell]

I'm not sure what drop tank type you may be referring to specifically, but due to Midwest Aero Restoration's incredible attention to detail, the 108-gallon 'paper' tanks as fitted to "Happy Jack's Go Buggy" at Oshkosh in 2008, had authentic glass break-away sections, which you can see here, both for the pressure line and feed line:

[the330thbg]

Beauty!

Love the attention to detail

[Robbie Roberts]

Glass Breakaways was correct.

[agent86]

The P-51 i'm talking about had the gun cameras and the glass tubes still.it had last flown in 1972,before being flown to california.I posted some pics but got in trouble and had to ask Scott to remove them.It also had WWII era rubber hoses that were as hard as stone .how the plane made it to Ca. was a miracle

[agent86]

Thanks for the info guys,I was talking with someone and he was doubtful about glass being used.it made me question my memory.I more or less knew I was right but had some doubts. the fact that there were still glass tubes under the wings kinda blew me away.

[greatgonzo]

Is it safe to assume the breaking glass idea was typical for any alllied fighter? Or american at least?