Wrecked P-40 in Florida

[AFD94]

Going back about 10+ years atleast I was at the Flying Tigers Museum in Kissimmee and I remember seeing a wrecked P-40 there. I was wondering what the serial number was on it? I know the museum has closed and I cant seem to find the aircraft in question at all online.

Doug

[Beachy]

I'm pretty sure that the P-40 went to Douglas, GA with Tom Reilly. I'm sorry, I don't know the S/N, but I last I heard, it's being restored and is owned by the same man who owns Liberty Belle.

[Ryan Keough]

I believe it is P-40E 41-5709: http://www.warbirdregistry.org/p40registry/p40-415709.html. There was a photo in a recent magazine (Air Classics or FlyPast?). Will post photos if I find them...

There are some members here that work with Don Brooks in Georgia, perhaps they can help.

[phil65]

Is this the one? From Reilly's back in 1992 I think.

[Randy Haskin]

I have a photo I took of it in Florida when they were getting ready to ship it to Douglas.

When I get a chance I'll post it.

[RMAllnutt]

The P-40 wreck in the photo is not the Don Brooks P-40 that was under active restoration at Kissimmee. That particular aircraft is one which was recovered from a swamp... somewhere in Florida, I think. The group that recovered it put the pieces together on a jury-rigged frame so that it once again resembled a P-40. They painted sharks teeth on the cowling, and took it to a few airshows on a trailer. I remember seeing it at Sun n' Fun in 1999, but neglected to take a picture for some unfathomable reason. The photo does indeed appear to show the aircraft in Tom Reilly's hangar though. Perhaps it was stored there for a while, or perhaps Tom bought the wreckage as a source of spares....

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Richard

[AFD94]

ya thats it in the picture

[Chuck Giese]

The P-40 wreck in the photo is not the Don Brooks P-40 that was under active restoration at Kissimmee. That particular aircraft is one which was recovered from a swamp... somewhere in Florida, I think. The group that recovered it put the pieces together on a jury-rigged frame so that it once again resembled a P-40. They painted sharks teeth on the cowling, and took it to a few airshows on a trailer. I remember seeing it at Sun n' Fun in 1999, but neglected to take a picture for some unfathomable reason. The photo does indeed appear to show the aircraft in Tom Reilly's hangar though. Perhaps it was stored there for a while, or perhaps Tom bought the wreckage as a source of spares....

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Richard

I talked to Tom about it today, and the same guy still owns it, and it still appears at air shows. I'll post some pictures of Don's P-40 later this week. We're finishing the landing gear install, and need to put the fuel tanks in the wing to close it up and then mate the fuselage to the wings.

[F3A-1]

I remember this P-40 well. It's actually a composite of at least 2 crashed P-40Ns. They were involved in a mid air and crashed into a swamp near the Swanee River in Northwest Florida. Hal, myself and a couple others recovered these in the mid 80s. Warbird recovery isn't all glamour! Hal Thompson's a great guy and he said that by towing this around to various airshows he got a lot of leads on parts in other crash sites. Maybe I should put my Corsair back on the trailer and try to find parts just like he did?


Lex
http://www.BrewsterCorsair.com

[Dan K]

Heh heh...

There's nothing quite like the facial expression of a man who draws the short straw!

[Lightning]

There were two P-40s at Tom's, one was Don Brooks (P-40E) and the second one was Roger Simpson's (P-40N)

Warbirds Worldwide Journal 48, pg57 (picture of the P-40N)

"Tom Reilly's team are working on Roger Simpson's P-40 which was a lend-lease aircraft despatched to Russia, from where it was recovered some years ago. The aircraft crashed near Murmansk."

Hope this helps

Keep Em Flying

Lightning

[Lightning]

The above pic of the P-40N, was the remains that Hal Thompson has(Arcadia, Florida)
The aircraft was recovered from the Everglades
Im sure this wreck was listed as a P-40N-25-CU, s/n. 43-24362
It has also been mentioned that the Pilot was killed in that machine back in WW2

Keep Em Flying

Lightning

[Eric Friedebach]

Warbird recovery isn't all glamour!

What?!

You mean you have to get dirt under your fingernails and stuff?

[AirJimL2]

the second one was Roger Simpson's (P-40N)

What happened to the Simpson P-40 after his death? Where is it now?

Jim

[Chuck Gardner]

I heard a rumor that one of these P-40s formerly at Reilly's is still nearby in a local storage unit.