P-12 Photo - Help Needed

[kalamazookid]

I recently purchased a heavily used copy of "They Call Me Mr. Airshow" by Bill Sweet (which is an incredible read for those who haven't read it). This photo was tucked in the pages.

Screen Shot 2022-02-04 at 10.49.47 AM by Matthew Vader, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2022-02-04 at 10.51.28 AM by Matthew Vader, on Flickr

The nose art reads "Bradley's Beast." The inscription on the back reads as follows:

"P-12 went over on back near Julian [?] on way to Philadelphia air show."

I was initially skeptical that this was labeled correctly as a P-12 due to the cowling, but what can be seen of the turtledeck, cabane struts, rigging and tail seems consistent with the P-12 - although it's possible that it could be another modified aircraft or a replica. It doesn't appear to have a front cockpit, which would also be consistent with the P-12. What can be seen of the landing gear configuration looks different and the wheels are obviously not stock.

I have Googled numerous iterations of P-12 crash, Bradley's Beast and other related topics without coming up with anything, and none of the surviving aircraft seem like likely candidates based on what I have been able to locate on their respective histories. I did find the following reference to a P-12 crash near Uniontown, Pa.

Flying the U.S. Mail, Lieutenant Charles P. Hollstein, also given as Hollestein,[183] "out of Cleveland for Washington, was forced down near Uniontown, Pa., in a heavy fog. His plane was damaged, but he escaped unscathed and the mail was saved, according to reports sent to Cleveland airport."[192] According to another account, he "suffered superficial face injuries, but after reporting at Uniontown, walked back into the hills to his plane and returned with the mail to send it on by train. He had been fifty miles off course when he crashed. Hollstein attributed his accident to a faulty radio." Hollstein was piloting Boeing P-12C, 31-235,[193] c/n 1351,[185] when he came down at Woodstock, Pennsylvania.

This seems highly unlikely to be the aircraft for a lot of reasons, but is the closest I could come to a P-12 crash that refers to Pennsylvania at all.

Sweet mentions several Boeings in the book. None of the photos match the aircraft in this picture nor do any of the references bring up the name Bradley in association with Boeing 100, P-12 or F4B.

Any help on figuring out the full story would be greatly appreciated!

[bdk]

That aircraft is clearly a Stearman in the post-war era with an R-985 conversion.

[mike furline]

Looks like Philipsburg to me, also in PA..

[Dan Jones]

Yup - I see a Stearman, even squinting at my phone with my glasses fogged up.

[JohnB]

While the main gear certainly looks Stearman and the cowl and prop spinner look like a 450 P&W, allow me to point out the "N" cabane struts (which the Stearman lacks), the lack of a cutout in the top wing (like a P-12), the cockpit being located where a P-12's is...the Stearman's front cockpit is more forward, the back seat further back.
Finally, the fuselage is short coupled.
So if it is a Stearman, it has had extensive work done to the wings and fuselage.

It looks more like a P-12 than any 75 Stearman I've seen.

In fact, it looks more like a C2, but the curvature of the fuselage is closer to a P-12, (albeit rounder), in fact it looks like Paul Mantz's Boeing 100.

Photo from Scott's excellent Aerovintage site.

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Last edited by JohnB on Sat Feb 05, 2022 9:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Dan Jones]

I walked around a duster fuselage on it's gear at Chino once for about twenty minutes before I decided it was, or used to be, a Stearman. I think this is a Stearman that has had some P-12 ideas added to it (like the headrest) and is something akin to "the Ghost Ship". I see Stearman landing gear and flying wires, the rear cockpit in about the right place, and I don't see a diagonal in the cabane struts. The wing center-section isn't stock 75 but they might be Ziegler wings... I think it looks more like a 75 than a P-12 but I wouldn't mind being wrong - maybe it's out there hiding in a barn yet - but for my money that's a Stearman and I've been living with a couple of them for thirty years.

(Shoot - forty years!)

[raconnel]

I enlarged and lightened the photo. There is something between the cabane struts, but it's not a part of the struts.

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[Duggy009]

(N247K), this sole example of the Boeing Model 100-A has a remarkable history of redesign. Owned by Ben Bradley of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Nicknamed " Bradley 's Beast"

More here -- https://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contribu ... J/9573.htm

[Dan Jones]

Nailed it, Duggy - you win the turkey!

Now the big question; what became of it?

[Stoney]

Frank Tallman's Boeing 100/F4B4

[BigGrey]

Comparing that 100-A to a current picture of a newly restored 100-A shows the heavy modifications to Bradley's Beast. The vertical fin and rudder are taller, the headrest and turtle deck are taller, the gear fairings are different and the tires/wheels are different. It looks like some parts off of a Stearman were used.

[Hooligan2]

This seems to be N247K's sad demise...

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/203919

[AG pilot]

The Bradley's Beast vertical fin/rudder shape remind me of a Bearcat.

[BigGrey]

N247K has been rebuilt and that is the pictures I referenced. It is a 2-seater but the 2nd seat can be faired over to make it a single seat. The plane did once belong to Howard Hughes.

[Baldeagle]

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