Frasca, CAF, CFM P-40s

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Fri Jul 29, 2011 8:50 pm

So it seems like these three P-40s were all painted at the same time at one point. IIRC I remember seeing a shot of all three in flight together. I find it fascinating when aircraft (especially ones such as P-40s) are painted simultaneously such as a pair of Mustangs or Thunderbolts. So I was just wondering if anyone had any info on these three. Thanks

The Inspector · **Posted:** Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:53 pm

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:57 pm

What? Doesn't make sense?

hang the expense · **Posted:** Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:54 pm

I remember back in the day when frascas P-40 was painted at 10,000 US.WOW!

Brad · **Joined:** Thu Apr 29, 2004 10:30 pm **Posts:** 1131

It was the P-40s that are currently owned by Rudy Frasca, Jim Cavanaugh and Kermit Weeks. The numbers were 40, 42 and 47. The CAF P-40 was painted in desert colors with the number 26 at the time.

TAdan · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 8:24 am

I *think* I remember seeing a poster with three warbird P-40's in formation wearing an AVG scheme. Probably from the 80's. I'll have to search around a bit and see what I can come up with.

Edit: This is the poster I was referring too. I picked it up at an airshow and it was hanging on my wall for many years.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=P-40+war ... x=95&ty=54

PeterA · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 8:32 am

So which '40' is this?

Don Plumb's P-40 in 1974 that passed to Max Hoffman I believe in 1976.

PeterA

Brad · **Joined:** Thu Apr 29, 2004 10:30 pm **Posts:** 1131

#40 is now owned by Jim Cavanaugh.

CWBuff · **Joined:** Tue Jul 19, 2005 1:14 am **Posts:** 854

Brad wrote:

#40 is now owned by Jim Cavanaugh.

That's P-40N 44-7369. You can see a couple wartime photos of this Hawk on my website, HERE... look for the last couple photos on the page.

Please excuse the ads, and also be aware that I am currently re-building the site... so many of the links are not working at the moment.

Fade to Black...

JDK · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 5:56 pm

TAdan wrote:

I *think* I remember seeing a poster with three warbird P-40's in formation wearing an AVG scheme.

THREE P-40s in an AVG scheme? Whoda thunk it? :hide:

Hey, Peter four oh, Stevo - Where ya been man? Good to see ya back.

Toodle pip.

k5083 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 6:04 pm

The pic you have seen of the three together is by Budd Davisson, one of a series he took at the Harlingen show in 76 or 77, shortly after Plumb's death. The best of the pics was sold as a poster by Challenge for a long time, maybe still is.

As has already been noted, 47 and 40 were both painted for Plumb, which is why they matched. 26 (CAF) was painted similarly but did not quite match them. 26 was later repainted as 42.

Further trivia point. The tail number on 47 actually is the serial of the Mustang in which Plumb died. It was painted as a tribute to him, though I'm not sure if by someone connected with his estate or by Hoffman, the next owner. Certainly it was there by the time Hoffman took home the Grand Champion prize with this plane at Oshkosh 76.

August

k5083 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 9:22 pm

Some further trivia points.

Plumb also owned Spitfire TE308 "RA-F" at the time, now with para-Wixer Bill Greenwood. The camo colors on TE308 were then very similar to those on his P-40s.

I am not sure that Plumb lived to see the P-40E completed. I lived in Windsor then and followed his activities closely, and I well recall seeing the P-40N flying around as seen in Peter A's pictures, but not the P-40E before his death.

When Frasca's #47 appears at Oshkosh it should be appreciated as something of a time capsule. How many 35-year-old Grand Champs in any category are still showing up at Oshkosh in the same paint they wore back then? And thanks to meticulous maintenance it still looks terrific.

August

Brad · **Joined:** Thu Apr 29, 2004 10:30 pm **Posts:** 1131

k5083 wrote:

As has already been noted, 47 and 40 were both painted for Plumb, which is why they matched. 26 (CAF) was painted similarly but did not quite match them. 26 was later repainted as 42.

August

I believe you are right August. It was #26 in the picture. A copy of it is hanging on the wall at the CAF here in Midland and I just walked over to look at it. I could have sworn it was three identical planes, 40, 42 and 47 One small note though, 26 was repainted as #48. Isn't Kermit Weeks P-40 (not the TP-40) painted as #42 and in the same colors as the other two? Seems like he had to belly land it in Florida several years ago and it's kind of fallen off the radar.

k5083 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 11:00 pm

OK, yes. I do recall Kermit's AL171 #42 looking a lot like the Plumb airplanes. Been a long time since I've heard about it and I never got to see that one.

August

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 11:35 pm

P-40N #26 brings back some memories. I believe she was the first P-40 I ever say fly, at the Selfridge air show back in 1977. I remember the "flight of three" pics. The CAF used one in their magazine ads back in the late 70s.

SN

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