Modified B-24?

[ACMech]

Does anyone know the back story on this picture of what seems to be a modified B-24?

[The Inspector]

Appears to be a post war jet engine test bed

[ACMech]

Yea I wasnt sure, with the scoop on the top and the ADF antenna on top of that and in fron it seems to have some little sensors right in the airflow of the scoop, maybe a test cabin atmosphere control unit?

[The Inspector]

tailpipe sticking out under the location of the former tail turret, wish I could read the s/n on the vertical stab

[ACMech]

You might be right, I cant see the number either!

[The Inspector]

I found a close up of the tail in GOOGLE IMAGES showing the faired over tail turret position and tailpipe (really nice sheetmetal work!). The airplane was used by General Electric in 1946 to flight test one of their early engines.

Want to see a real eye opener? GOOGLE Image "New York Central M-497 'Black Beetle'"

[Steve S]

I heard it was bought surpluss and modified buy a couple of cousins living in the deep south after the war. Probaly used it to buzz the trailer park where there girlfriends lived and try to imprss them. This was probaly taken just before they painted it orange and had a rebel flag put on the top of the wing

[RareBear]

I think what you're calling "sensors" in front of the air scoop may be water mist nozzles to test the engine under icing conditions.

Walt

[maxum96]

Want to see a real eye opener? GOOGLE Image "New York Central M-497 'Black Beetle'"

It went 183 MPH back in 1966.

[Elwyn]

tailpipe sticking out under the location of the former tail turret, wish I could read the s/n on the vertical stab

Looks like maybe 44556 or 44555

[JDK]

Interesting image, one I've not seen before, certainly. Definitely an engine test rig.

There were a number of British types modified in similar ways to test early jet engines; including (fabric covered!) Vickers Armstrong Wellingtons, Avro Lancasters and the like.

The thread the Inspector mentioned earlier has a pic of one of the Wimpeys and the back end of this B-24, though no more details than the Inspector found.

http://www.mission4today.com/index.php? ... ic&p=83844

[JFS61]

Interesting image, one I've not seen before, certainly. Definitely an engine test rig.

There were a number of British types modified in similar ways to test early jet engines; including (fabric covered!) Vickers Armstrong Wellingtons, Avro Lancasters and the like.

The thread the Inspector mentioned earlier has a pic of one of the Wimpeys and the back end of this B-24, though no more details than the Inspector found.

http://www.mission4today.com/index.php? ... ic&p=83844

Doesn't appear to be the same aircraft - The rear end looks different, and so does the scoop. Also the serials don't appear to match.

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php?topic=333972.15

[JDK]

You make a good point; the shape of the intake is different (hard to tell) the fuselage end is different, and the waist window configuration, unless different each side, is different.

Here's our original bird though;

Contributor - Robert Livingstone

Info Contributor - Al Blue

Used as a test aircraft by the NACA Lewis Research Center (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, now NASA) near Cleveland, Ohio, in the immediate post-war period. The plane had many other structural modifications in the course of its career at Lewis, including a variety of nose configurations. In this photo, the plane has a jet engine installed in the rear fuselage.

http://www.b24bestweb.com/986-v1-1.htm

So are we looking at two aircraft, and some muddling of their histories? Anyone able to run down the GE engine and it's test bed?

Regards

[JDK]

So are we looking at two aircraft, and some muddling of their histories? Anyone able to run down the GE engine and it's test bed?

Answering my own question, yes, and yes. The GE aircraft, as linked in the thread posted by JFS61 is '295100' and seen outside a GE hangar.

More info welcome!

[The Inspector]

JDK,
Nice shovel work! And, as usually happens to searches for oddball airplanes, 4295100 is in a small hole in Baughers lists.