Warbird Information Exchange

MITSUBISHI 'PETE' SEAPLANE for sale!!!!!!

From the Classic Wings AC sales site.

Cool find!

https://www.classicaircraftsales.co.nz/listings/pete-seaplanes





Also an early P-47 just listed....sweet.....

https://www.classicaircraftsales.co.nz/listings/p-47-thunderbolt

So at least one of these airframes appears to be F1M2, msn 5269, which was recovered in 2007 from Magusaiai Island in the Solomon Islands. If you compare a picture on from the sales listing with a picture from Pacific Wrecks, you can see the same holes in the vertical stabilizer in both pictures. This means one of the other four claimed airframes is likely F1M2, msn 1250, as they were recovered at the same time. However, as it appears to be just a rear fuselage in the Pacific Wrecks picture, neither of the airframes pictured in the sales listing seem to be 1250.

As an aside, it's interesting how you can identify some of these unrestored Japanese airframes, like the D3A that went to the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, by idiosyncratic details such as stains or damage.

The P-47D is 42-8066, recovered from Waigani Swamp in Papua New Guinea from 1965 to 1968.

_________________
Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

I wonder how much of the Pete's parts besides the four fuselages are available. The ad mentions that "hopefully" one flying example could be restored. Included items to complete the cockpit of at least one plane. But nothing is mentioned about wings, floats, horizontals or control surfaces being available.

Mac

_________________
WWII Naval Aviation Research - Pacific
https://www.ww2nar-pac.com/

Paging Dave from Classic Wings......pretty sure you have more on this offer?

Cheers!

No clue if you noticed.there is a cleverly shaded fuse in the background!

Had a feeling it was HARS with the P47..

_________________
If the CO ask,s you to be Tail End Charlie...Just Shoot Him..A Piece of Cake

Those Pete airframes were recovered by Craig Turner from Ballalai.

Hey Derek,

Do you know if there were any wings recovered with them?

Thanks,

Mac

_________________
WWII Naval Aviation Research - Pacific
https://www.ww2nar-pac.com/

Now this is pretty remarkable. More impressive, to me anyhow, than any spits in boxes.

After some further comparison, the aircraft nearest the camera is F1M2, msn 2256, which was wrecked on Poporang Island in the Solomon Islands. It has the same distinctive hole in the middle of the hinomaru and bare metal skin behind the rear gunner as seen in a picture from Pacific Wrecks. The large section of skin that was cut out from the rear fuselage is underneath the bubble wrap with the model sitting on it.


I'm pretty sure that's a wingtip float sitting upside down on a box in the background of the picture of both fuselages. It's just forward of the gunsight on the one without a windscreen on the front cockpit.


Yeah, noticed that after I posted, but I couldn't figure it out. My first thought was that the blurriness was some water on the lens of the camera, since it looks like there is some lens flare just above it. However, it seems a bit too perfectly placed to be a result of that. I don't know why they would have blurred it, but maybe they didn't want to confuse people as to what they were offering?

_________________
Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

The Tamiya model on the tail end of the fuselage in the foreground is a nice touch as well. You can have a full scale one of these for the right price!

I hope these go to a good home and will be restored promptly. One question, was there a land based version of this design? It would be easier, cheaper and quicker to restore as a land based type while rebuilding the floats and sponsons.

Nice Mike!

Tks.

Well thats one Zero found.Now where is the other one?

_________________
If the CO ask,s you to be Tail End Charlie...Just Shoot Him..A Piece of Cake