Damaged Tri-Motor photo on ePay?

[bdk]

Anyone know the real story? Were tri-motors actually in use during WW2? In a combat area?

Anyone know the history of this aircraft?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0510671983

[Second Air Force]

Or was it some kind of proving ground/battle damage test ship? Interesting picture.

[mike furline]

From Joebaughers website,

http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1930.html

31-401/404 Ford C-4A
c/n 5-AT-91/93,95. Similar to civil 5-AT-D Tri-Motor
401 (c/n 5-AT-91) stricken from the records May 26, 1938
402 (c/n 5-AT-92) stricken from the records Jul 9, 1938
403 (c/n 5-AT-93) crashed Jun 11, 1934
404 (c/n 5-AT-95) stricken from the records Jul 3, 1938


From aerofiles, http://aerofiles.com/ford-regs.html

U S MILITARY
28-348 4-AT-A, 13 - USAAC XC-3, dr 7/9/32 ← [3444]
29-219 5-AT-B, 38 - USAAC C-4, dr 4/29/35
29-220 4-AT-E, 80 - USAAC C-9, dr 8/2/35
29-221 4-AT-E, 81 - USAAC C-9, dr 5/25/36
29-222 4-AT-E, 82 - USAAC C-9, dr 8/6/34
29-223 4-AT-E, 83 - USAAC C-9, dr 2/13/36
29-224 4-AT-E, 84 - USAAC C-9, dr 11/1/34
29-225 4-AT-E, 85 - USAAC C-9, dr 5/1/36
29-226 4-AT-E, 86 - USAAC C-9, dr 9/3/35
31-401 5-AT-D, 91 - USAAC C-4A, dr 5/26/38
31-402 5-AT-D, 92 - USAAC C-4A, dr 7/9/38
31-403 5-AT-D, 93 - USAAC C-4A, dx 6/11/34
31-404 5-AT-D, 95 - USAAC C-4A, dr 9/30/38
A-7526 4-AT-A, 4 - USN XJR-1, dr 4/30/30
A-8273 4-AT-E, 59 - USN JR-2, dr 1/31/35
A-8274 4-AT-E, 60 - USN JR-2, dr 7/31/34
A-8457 5-AT-C, 72 - USN JR-3, dr 10/6/34
A-8598 5-AT-C, 82 - USMC JR-3, dx 8/4/30
A-8599 5-AT-C, 83 - USMC JR-3, dx 3/22/33
A-8840 5-AT-C, 84 - USN RR-4, dr 4/23/37
A-9205 5-AT-D, 109 - USMC RR-5, dr 8/31/37
A-9206 5-AT-D, 105 - USN RR-5, dr 7/11/40

[bdk]

So scrapped or repaired after that crash?

The story with the photo sounds a bit far fetched.

From Joebaughers website,

http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1930.html

31-401/404 Ford C-4A

403 (c/n 5-AT-93) crashed Jun 11, 1934



From aerofiles, http://aerofiles.com/ford-regs.html

U S MILITARY

31-403 5-AT-D, 93 - USAAC C-4A, dx 6/11/34

[Steve Nelson]

Not combat damage I'm afraid. She was destroyed in weapons testing at March Field in 1935. William Larkins' book "The Ford Tri-Motor 1926-1992" has a pic of side of the same aircraft (with the same damage) but from the side.

The caption reads:

"The end of 29-219. With the engines removed it was tested at March Field in 1935 for the results of fragmentation bombs on all-metal aircraft."

The complete history (again from Larkins' book):

29-219 C-4 5-AT-38 FF 4-5-29

Received at Bolling Field 6-9-29. Went on a two months-long cross country flight of 70 flying hours with Capt. Harry A. Dingu as pilot. 12-5-29 Fairfield Air Depot. 1-21-30 Bolling Field. (Damaged 7-22-30 at March Field when hit by soldiers in a truck.) 4-18-31 Ford Motor Company. 5-27-31 Kelly Field. 7-3-31 March Field. Converted to C-4A on 7-17-31 and used for research and development 7-5-32 to 3-3-33 at which time it reverted to regular flying with the 70th Service Squadron. 4-1-34 to the Western Zone to fly the Air Mail. 5-15-34 March Field. Surveyed at March 4-29-35 and then used for tests of the effects of fragmentation bombs on metal aircraft. TT 2,329 hours.

I don't think any U.S. Military Fords saw service in combat, but several Australian Tri-Motors were impressed into the RAAF, and two or three were lost in action in New Guinea.

SN

[JDK]

Plenty of trimotors in W.W.II.

Ford, not so much.

Wasn't there a Ford Trimotor at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th, and one of the current survivors claimed to be the same a/c?

[tulsaboy]

James-

I think that the one that was just auctioned with great fanfare was the one that claimed to have been at Pearl Harbor. They (IIRC) also claimed to have identified battle damage received from Japanese aircraft on the restored aircraft.

kevin