Pre-WWII P-40 Aircraft Star - Identified!

[Franklin]

Too close to the wing tip to contain the insignia.

huh? ... looks about right to me ... or does it?

[JohnTerrell]

I think it matches up with the P-40 very well!

If you take just a little bit of time to compare the location of the insignia as shown on the wing under-surface in this USAF-owned photo, with the same proximity that the insignia has on the panel in question, I think it matches up about perfectly (panel lines/rivet lines included in that study).

[Steve Nelson]

The insignia location looks about right to me. Here's the insignia superimposed on the drawing, using the rivet patterns of the skin panel as a guide.



And here are a couple of wartime photos of P-40 wings. One is the topside, but I would assume the location on the wing is the same.





SN

[gemmer]

I think you're right.

Duane

[Pathfinder]

Well Done.

[Quest Master]

Wow, I just checked back on this post and WOW fella's. Awesome work!!! Does this mean you don't want any additional pictures of the bottom wing section?

[Quest Master]

It was obviously removed from an aircraft that had crashed or had damage. The tear across the star has patina, more than the drilled holes. And, it was removed with careful precision to drill out every rivet to remove just the star as a souvenir. Sorry, other history for the piece. The meatball has been (appears) to be painted over.....so post Dec 7th 1941? They didn't paint over the meatball before that time, correct?

[Steve Nelson]

The meatball was officially ordered to be painted out in May, 1942 to avoid confusion with Japanese aircraft (I think individual units may have been painting over it earlier than that.) However if your P-40 was a Stateside training aircraft, the meatball could have lasted longer. In any case, the markings indicate that it was in service in prior to the spring of '42, and possibly as late as the summer of '43, as the bars were added to the insignia that June.

I'm no expert in the details of P-40 construction, but I don't think that section of wing changed throughout the entire series. That means that based on the markings, the skin could have come from a P-40B/C or E model (I think the meatball had been officially deleted on the production line by the time the F came along.)

Are you at liberty to say how you came by the piece? Being from the underside of the wing, it's possible that the paint could have been protected and still be in good shape even if it was recently recovered from a wartime crash site.

SN

[Quest Master]

Winner winner chicken dinner!!!
From the Curtiss-Wright P-40 factory, early production of wings:

Close up of the above photo:

My section, which must be from the starboard (right) under wing:

The frames/rivet holes line up exactly!!!! I do not know (yet) where this section was obtained. When I have more detail....I'll post it up here. Thanks guys! Van

[Steve Nelson]

Winner winner chicken dinner!!!

Cool! I'll put some hay in my garage for the forthcoming pony...

SN

[the330thbg]

so it is two pieces held together by those 'splines'?

Looks like she was mauled at a scrap yard. Then yanked off as a souvenir.

Cool piece over your mantel!

[Quest Master]

Yes, it is was originally two pieces. I added the bars on the rear ONLY to hold the sections together due to the big tear down the center. It is held together with simple countersunk machine screws just for presentation purposes.
Here is another fun picture that I found for comparison: P-40s lined up for scrapping at Walnut Ridge TN (to my knowledge
this star DID NOT come from the aircraft in the picture, this is shown only to show the underside of the wing and star placement):

[Steve Nelson]

That pic is one of a whole series. I thought about using one to support my insignia location hypothesis, but I figured somebody would complain "yeah, but those stars have bars!"

Not to hijack the thread, but it's interesting to see the rocket rails on that aircraft. I assume it's a Stateside trainer..did P-40s ever use rockets in combat?

SN

[Quest Master]

Yeah, I know it is....but now that I know that this star is from a P-40, I figured I'd throw it up there. As for the rocket mounts, they are cool aren't they. I believe they are for stateside training. They look super new installed under those dirty wings in the photo!

Back to the original thread....what model P-40 do you think this wing section is from?

[Quest Master]

Ok fellas....I have some more information on where this wing star came from - Hawaii! I was recently told by the person that I obtained this wing star from that it was recovered from a salvage yard on Hawaii, but that is as much as is known. So....get out your Pearl, Hickam, Wheeler, Bellows etc. wrecked P-40 pictures fellas and lets see if we can find a match (I know...it's a long shot), but we did identify my P-61 nose here on the WIX a few years ago! Fire away!!!