Pre-WWII P-40 Aircraft Star - Identified!

[bdk]

Looks to me like the wing might have scraped a paved runway perhaps?

[Quest Master]

I wanted to insert an image, but I can't seem to do it, so here goes a description. The lines of the star seem very crisp and well defined. The blue circle doesn't look as defined. Why do you think this is? For instance, look at the bottom right side of the circle, is that a bad paint job? Or a bad camera angle? It's just not a crisp circle.

This may or may not answer your question but this star is a great example of early painting style. Unlike most late war and current restorations in which you paint the entire aircraft and then add stencils to add the insignia, this one was done like this: First you paint the section of the wing white (directly over the bare aluminum)....you can see the white poking through under the grey paint (but the grey gets painted last). Second you apply the star shape stencil (not the outline of a star, a star shape) over the white and paint the color blue. Then you would add a circle shape over the star and paint the whole wing grey. The white star would be the first layer of paint....and over time would take the most punishment over the years. The blue is the second color and the grey the third. As apposed to later where you would paint the wing grey, add a blue circle on top of the grey and then paint a white star over it.

I have had and currently own several sections of aircraft with stars and markings from WWII and the variations are awesome. I have one fuselage star from a B-24 that was applied with the red outline (mid-1943) only to have it painted out in a darker blue much later.

[hang the expense]

Too close to the wing tip to contain the insignia.

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

I even know which P-40 it came from.Anybody else want to take a stab at it?

[PinecastleAAF]

I even know which P-40 it came from.Anybody else want to take a stab at it?

Something with an Aleutian flavor would be my guess. There was a guy named Dick in Tarpon Springs that had some stuff from the same a/c iirc?

[Nathan]

Welch's?

[brucev]

I even know which P-40 it came from.Anybody else want to take a stab at it?

sure i'll take a whack, s/n 43-24362 most of the rest of which is seen here

[gemmer]

I even know which P-40 it came from.Anybody else want to take a stab at it?

sure i'll take a whack, s/n 43-24362 most of the rest of which is seen here

Can't be. It's a P-40N. Anything carrying the insignia in question would not have a serial number with a fiscal year prefix number higher than 41. So it would belong to a P-40, P-40B, P-40C, P-40E or very early P-40F.

Duane

[Steve Nelson]

I have one fuselage star from a B-24 that was applied with the red outline (mid-1943) only to have it painted out in a darker blue much later.

Oooo...my favorite bomber! Pics please!!

SN

[hang the expense]

I even know which P-40 it came from.Anybody else want to take a stab at it?

Something with an Aleutian flavor would be my guess. There was a guy named Dick in Tarpon Springs that had some stuff from the same a/c iirc?

Ding,ding,ding.Dick odgers recovered 41-5709 out of the dump at cold bay way back.I remember this skin as part of that plane.Thats almost 20 years ago now.

[PinecastleAAF]

Ding,ding,ding.Dick odgers recovered 41-5709 out of the dump at cold bay way back.I remember this skin as part of that plane.Thats almost 20 years ago now.

I thought it looked familiar. He had an add in Trade-a-plane about 9 years ago and I went to look at the pile of parts. There was part of one wing, some skins from the fuselage, a very battered pilot seat and a few other odds and ends. He told me I could make a jig for it and hang the parts on it like the P-40 on the trailer in this thread. I've always loved the P-40.

[Quest Master]

I even know which P-40 it came from.Anybody else want to take a stab at it?

Something with an Aleutian flavor would be my guess. There was a guy named Dick in Tarpon Springs that had some stuff from the same a/c iirc?

Ding,ding,ding.Dick odgers recovered 41-5709 out of the dump at cold bay way back.I remember this skin as part of that plane.Thats almost 20 years ago now.

Any chance there are any photos out there that can confirm it? P-40E-CU c/n 16701 41-5709, 11th AF, crashed by D. Crisp on September 26th 1942 in Alaska. That aircraft type and date of crash do seem to fit the production style of star and the painted out "meatball". Anything else to confirm this?

[Julie]

Thanks everybody who took time to answer my questions. I appreciate the information.

[Quest Master]

I have one fuselage star from a B-24 that was applied with the red outline (mid-1943) only to have it painted out in a darker blue much later.

Oooo...my favorite bomber! Pics please!!

SN

This posting has nothing to do with the P-40 wing star that I am trying to figure out the history of......but this is the section of B-24 Starboard Side Fuselage Star that I have that has the painted out "Summer of '43" red outline around the star: NOTE: The olive drab paint surrounding the star has turned "reddish" due to sun exposure.


Note the red outline to the star.....and then over painted later in darker blue.

Enjoy!

Let me know if anyone has any more details about my P-40 Wing Star. Thanks.

[Steve Nelson]

Neat..thanks for indulging me! Looks like the red was originally sprayed before the OD (even taking into account the fading/color shift.)

SN

[Django]

Wow! That's cool! Where do you find this stuff??

Yeah, it does kinda look like the red was oversprayed first. Interesting.