What's your best piece off a warbird

[VikingsBoss]

A bit late in the day (I'm a new WIXer) but I have the upper wing canvas from a Stearman following its replacement. Painted in RAF yellow trainer markings, it makes a neat (and bright) wall display!

Mark.

[CraigQ]

I have a placard brought back from a trip I made years ago to a remote Pacific island that reads "F6F change #75 has been installed". It is about .75 X 2.00 inches and I have not yet been able to find out what that particular change was.

BTW, Jack, I may have misread your statement intent in an earlier post

"Gotcha Paul.
To early for a 'D'. 44-13735 went down over Burkerstroda, Germany on 11-2-44. Nice item but with a tragic overtone to it."

But 44-13735 would have been a D-5


CraigQ (new WIX'er)

[gary]

panel from JG26 Battle of Britain 109 shot down over Kent in 1940..... engine block part of Battle of Britain Spitfire downed near Hawkinge again in 1940.....
Gary

[airnutz]

Now, how authentic is the piece? who knows. One humorous side note is that the museum also sells patches commemorating their victory. The craft had the name "Invisible" painted on its side. In Serb and English, the patch reads "Sorry, we didn't know it was invisible."

No F-117s that I know of have "Invisible" painted on them anywhere.

As I read his post Randy, I understood Chico to explain the "Patch" was
worded "F-117 Invisible"...a Serb translation of F-117 Stealth?

[chico]

I've spent some time digging through google image search trying to find pics. The pieces of the bird they have on display clearly show the word "Invisible" on a piece of wreckage.

hopefully my friend got a decent picture. I've got a DVD of his trips to the Yugo-serbia-croat-calafraglisticexpalidocius national museum and the Polish national museum on it's way.

[airnutz]

Ooopsie, I stand corrected...

[Randy Haskin]

I've spent some time digging through google image search trying to find pics. The pieces of the bird they have on display clearly show the word "Invisible" on a piece of wreckage.

hopefully my friend got a decent picture. I've got a DVD of his trips to the Yugo-serbia-croat-calafraglisticexpalidocius national museum and the Polish national museum on it's way.

Interested to see the photos which show that.

The F-117s aren't coined names, so it's not as if this aircraft was named Invisible like a B-2 might be named Spirit of Washington.

If there is a piece of the aircraft that has the text "invisible" on it, it's likely to be part of some kind of stenciling in the fashion of cautions like "No Step" or "Caution - Ejection Seat". I can't for the life of me think of any reason to use the word "invisible" on any of those, though. The only one I can come up with is if there is a placard on the airplane showing where the airplane was given it's LO paint, and the paint shop guys were being funny and calling it "invisible".

F-15E paint shop tag (example):


T-38C paint shop tag (example):

[Swiss Mustangs]

Randy

I concur with your view

as far as I know there probably is some sort of cartoon on display in the Belgrade Museum which relates to a message that was reportedly sent to NATO HQ after the downing of the Nighthawk that read "Sorry, we didn't know it was invisible".

On the many (detailed) photographs I have seen of this wreckage, nothing even comes close to the stencilling "Invisible".

JFYI

Martin

[Former Member]

It's amazing some of the stuff you guys have!

I prefer to collect gun turret parts with a special interest in those hard to find and non-existent ball turret parts. Some of the items I have are:

* Numerous parts for a Martin 250CE upper turret.
* Gun charging handles w/cables for ball turret
* Ball turret K-4 gunsight.
* Vickers hydraulic pump units (2) for azimuth & elevation
* Ball turret elevation gearing assembly

I'm always on the lookout for more ball turret parts so feel free to point me in the right direction!

[Mikael O]

Hi Guys,

I've got an original wooden prop blade (license from German Schwartz company) made for Swedish SAAB B 17 dive bomber. Various instruments from Swedish fighters, Plexiglass from Junkers Ju 86, piece of wood from Bleriot XI, and a road sign named "Catalina road" in Swedish, different engine parts, sheet metal from Ju 52 and Ju 88 wrecks still with original paint of different colours and melted lumps of metal from V 2 a crashsite.

I've missed buying a nose turret for a Ju 86 because I was a poor student with no money. He wanted only EUR300 for it and I had to walk away... It would have been so good above my desk!

I've also missed a ejection seat for a SAAB A 32 Lansen by 25 minutes. Some one else saw it in the shop before me.

I'm still looking for a DB 605 to put my TV on...
/Mike

[DIK SHEPHERD]

Let's see . . . , what do I have?

A few years back I picked up a manufacture's data plate at a swap meet for a Martin B-10B. It cost me $5.00.

Although not a warbird, I acquired a manufacture's data plate for a Boeing Model 80A-1. This was a tri-engined bi-plane used for passenger and later cargo hauling. There's only one complete aircraft known to exist and it's at the Seattle museum. I got the data plate on ebay.

I have another manufacture's plate, this one from a bomb bay door off of one of the Martin B-26s that I helped recover from Canada. One of the few things I have left from that venture.

I have a few gun sights, types K-4, K-11, K-13, etc. Also a couple of Revis.

Lots of flight helmets, oxygen masks, goggles, flight suits, flak vests, parachutes and harnesses, Mae Wests, etc.

A few bits of a crashed B-17 that I got off of ebay. I got these because there was an interior door handle in the lot.

I acquired a couple of Mig-type instrument panels when I was in Somalia back in '92-'93.

Also have a couple of World War Two type 500 lb. practice bombs, 100 lb. practice bombs and other things.

Oh yeah, I also used to own a B-25 and still have the military data plate from it.

I also have a lot of other things, too numerous to list.

Last edited by DIK SHEPHERD on Thu May 04, 2006 12:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Jerry O'Neill]

I was lucky enough to get several large pieces of fabric off of the "Waldo Pepper" Standard J-1 after it was stripped. Lots of layers of movie paint on it and a real piece of aviation film history. Used in "Wings of Eagles", "Mad, Mad, World", "Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies", "The Great Waldo Pepper", "Lucky Lady" and many other films and TV commercials.
Blue skies,
Jerry

[DIK SHEPHERD]

I forgot, I also have a half dozen B-17 waist gunner sliding windows, the type used on the "E" and "F" models. Some are O.D. and some are bare metal.

I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do with them. I might make a display out of them by painting the names of certain B-17Es or Fs on them, one name on each side of the plexiglas window. With a brief history of that aircraft.

Or I might paint all of the different bomb group insignias on them.

[TimAPNY]

I just received this Tail Hook as a gift from my Uncle and Dad. This was among several used as driveway markers at a farm, the guy was pulling them up after he sold the farm where they were. My Uncle found out I liked them and asked the guy about them and was given one.

Now I just need to clean her up and repaint her and she will go nicely in "My Room".

I assume it is off a A-4, is that correct?



Tim

[RickH]

A-4 it is, Tim.