Warbird Information Exchange

I recently took a picture of an ID plate on the rear bulkhead of a T-28. The question is, can anyone tell me if the information on the plate gives the exact airplane construction number? If so, is there a good source for cross referencing the construction number to military ID?

Data transcribed here, picture for reference.

AIRPLANE MOD T28A
DWG or PART NO 159 31301
CONTR NO AC 21800
SER NO 129

Thanks for any help.

Dave

Usually the 'Dwg or Part No.' identifies the drawing that makes that assembly out of many smaller subassemblies. Frames and webs come from 'pots and pans' where nutplates and clips are installed, then they may go to a completely different plant or building or come from a vendor, for the next assembly step and so on. Occasionally an assembly audit would be called out on the paperwork and some lucky Inspector would start with the Top Drawing and pull every 'cartoon' that made that assembly and check against the drawings and parts lists to make sure that every nickle invested by the taxpayer was on that whateveritis, long day at the drawing crib and lots of riding the Pine ending in a bad headache.

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My experience of ID plates, containing "Dwg or Part Numbers" is limited to identifying Sikorsky helicopters and usually the Ser No equates to the last digits of the construction number. The Contact Number you have given, AC 21800, places this in the 49-1491 to 1756 range of serials, which were built with the c/n's 159-1 and 159-4 to 159-268. If the same theory can be applied, then it belonged to 49-1617, last heard of as Struck Off Charge at Davis-Monthan as "Reclaim", 23 Sep 1957.

Hope that helps

Sid

Thanks Sid, your logic is where I was headed. I would still be interested in hearing any other answers about this data plate.

FWIW, this is the T-28 hulk at the Proud Bird restaurant at LAX. I have not seen any good data in it's ID.

Dave

Dave:

Would you plz post other angles of the whole fuselage??

Part No. 159 31301 is a fuselage assembly, Sta 238-7/8 to 338-3/8 complete. That is the whole aft fuselage (tail cone). from the production break to the trailing edge of the rudder. The serialnumber is for that assembly, and is irrelevant to the aircraft serial no. as it could have been the 129th built, or the 129th built as a spare, or the 129th modified etc... blah blah blah.

The data plate in the fuselage center section ( located on the structure that runs between the upper longerons immediatly behind the front seat and immediatly in front of the rear instrument panel shroud (under the roll over structure if it is a true un modified A) will contain the ships serial No, and the Manufacturer's serial or construction No. It is from this plate that the aircraft identity is established. It will be a manufacturers model 159-XXX (XXX is the manufacturers serial or construction No.,) and it can be crossed to an Air Force S/N.

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Ex: Former.
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It appears that Dave Tallichet owned at least 19 T-28s, and undoubtedly a number of spares. No telling which airframe it came from unless you can find more clues.

I am back in LA a few times over the next few weeks. I will walk up to the Proud Bird again and see if I can get some better pictures. I will look for the ID tag in the cockpit and then post the results.

Thanks for the help on this bird.

Dave

According to Andy Marden's excellent USA Military out of Service book, the T-28A is reckoned to be ex Mexican Air Force.

I had an overnight at LAX yesterday, well, this week....On my way around the world again...

So I walked down to the Proud Bird again to look that the T-28, but back to that in a second...

Sid, I have Andy Marden's book, though out of date... a 2010/2011 version. I am due a new one, tell us when it is ready Andy, as soon as it is available. Which is why I am happy to say, we may have a new positive Identification for his book!

T-28mike, you described a location that I was attempting to feel out by memory when I arrived with my point and shoot. I first looked through where the firewall belongs to see if I could see anything...



I then tried to look under the rear cockpit glare shield to see if it was there.



it was under the rear glare shield that I found this.



I got excited, then remembered that I was told that it was under the roll over structure if it was unmolested.

So, I climbed as high as I could on the hill and held the camera up to look around. I found this...



So... on closer review... I found a way to get a bit closer and found the following 2 images.





So, with that... I think that as previously discussed, this is construction number 159-129, USAF 49-1617.

I am more than willing to accept defeat if someone can tell me where I have gone wrong on this conclusion. However, IF it is correct, then we have another ID that can be attached to a known airframe.

Andy and Mike, please consider adding these to your databases. All pictures can be used with proper credit.

Here is what the airframe and wing look like right now.









This is an incomplete airframe as far as I can tell.

Thanks for all the help and any other info that can be added

Dave

The actual data plate (or what remains of it) is under the four screws immediatly to the left of the modification plate in your pictures.

I can not say 100% for sure that the serial number on the mod plate is the same as the ships (contractors) serial but it sure seems to match the one in the tail cone, and it is a high canopy "A" which would fall in the range of that serial number.

_________________
Expert:
Ex: Former.
Spurt: A drip under pressure.