From a B-17 crash site-help?

Fuzzy41 · **Joined:** Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:27 pm **Posts:** 13

Found these parts at a B-17 crash site. Not much to go on, I know, but any ideas on what they could be?

Obviously a bracket of some sort, but from where?

Vent?

The little broken piece to the right is made of a brownish alloy- almost looks ceramic? Very light...

In the upper-left you can barely see some copper sheet. Don't know where copper would be used on a WWII A/C...?

Fuzzy41 · **Joined:** Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:27 pm **Posts:** 13

Anybody?

SPANNERmkV · **Posted:** Wed Apr 25, 2012 3:48 pm

You are correct... There is not a whole lot to go by.
Also having a scale in the picture for size purposes might help.
Going out on a limb- that top piece appears to be a bracket that was used to hold a pulley for engine control or trim tab cables.
Take a picture from 90 degrees of what is in your top picture, put a ruler in the shot and maybe we can see some more tell-tale details. Or not.

Best of luck... BTW where did the parts come from.? No need to get too specific if you are expecting the bedouins to come jump up and down on it and haul it off if you divulge the EXACT location.

SPANNER

cptsmith · **Joined:** Sun Feb 05, 2012 6:59 pm **Posts:** 70

The top pic kinda looks like the brackets that hold the trailing edge ribs to the aft wing spare.

17f · **Joined:** Sat Sep 25, 2010 10:56 pm **Posts:** 87

cptsmith wrote:

The top pic kinda looks like the brackets that hold the trailing edge ribs to the aft wing spare.

Their are similar brackets that hold the rib in place between the front and rear spar as well. I enlarged and circled them in an image I took at Urbana. Next time I`m there I`ll have to take some better pics of this and post them.

Fuzzy41 · **Joined:** Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:27 pm **Posts:** 13

Wow- good eye there! I think you are on to something. We also found, in the same location, some of the corrugated aluminum that is sandwiched between the spars and the inner wing, so your ID is probably spot-on. Thanks!

This crash is near the Sioux City, IA Airbase. There are many more like it here, this one just happened to be on my family's farm.

I will try to post some better pics soon to help with the ID of some of these other pieces.

cptsmith · **Joined:** Sun Feb 05, 2012 6:59 pm **Posts:** 70

If there were corrugated skins nearby, 17f probably has the right location. The trailing edge has no corrugation, just a thin over some light ribs.

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From a B-17 crash site-help?

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