This is the place where the majority of the warbird (aircraft that have survived military service) discussions will take place. Specialized forums may be added in the new future
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Re: Interesting B-25 wing, Doolittle Raid?

Tue Feb 20, 2018 8:22 am

I also felt like the digit was an "8" due to the asymmetry between the halves. Given that Crew 6 was captured in a Japanese-held area, then one would think it would have been more likely for that aircraft to be recovered.

Only after rereading the thread did I realize these were postwar pix. Too bad these parts weren't preserved.

Ken

Re: Interesting B-25 wing, Doolittle Raid?

Tue Feb 20, 2018 9:17 pm

Here's a look at one of the other "8" candidates...

http://www.doolittleraid.com/Research01.htm

Image

Glad I checked in. Those images certainly look appropriate for a B-model!

Fuselage Left Bmodel B25.jpg

Re: Interesting B-25 wing, Doolittle Raid?

Wed Apr 04, 2018 1:22 pm

That may be an “8”, but is it the right kind of “8”?

Looks like it has smooth contours, while the S/Ns on the Raider B-25s were 45-degree block characters that were stenciled on. There’s a distinct possibility that it’s an optical illusion, or a number that was applied by the Japanese post-retrieval.

It opens the door to it being any one of a number of Raider B-25s. The only known historical reference to a plane being retrieved by the Japanese and returned to Japan is Ted Lawson’s mention of the Duck’s fate in Thirty Seconds. But even that is suspect, since the information came to him second hand.

However, given his recollections of seeing the Duck’s remains post crash (detached tail twisted and projecting out of the water), and it’s location, the wreckage in those pictures seems to match and it would probably be the mostly likely of the planes to be recovered at least in part by the Japanese.
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