Lake Kunming P-40C recovery....

[Joe Scheil]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcVLYq9l9zk#

Appears to a very structurally sound P-40C, ex AVG. Don’t know if this is the aircraft referred to in the link below.....

https://www.warbirdforum.com/lake.htm

[JohnTerrell]

Looks too good to be true, doesn't it? From what I've read, it sound like it is just a mock-up, filmed for a TV show. If what is hanging below the tail is the tailwheel, it is far too far forward to be the real deal, for one.

Last edited by JohnTerrell on Sun Oct 21, 2018 7:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[gemmer]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcVLYq9l9zk#

Appears to a very structurally sound P-40C, ex AVG. Don’t know if this is the aircraft referred to in the link below.....

https://www.warbirdforum.com/lake.htm

Well, according to the Ford page, the P-40 that Blackburn was killed in was a P-40E. Legit or otherwise, the P-40 hauled out of the lake is not a P-40E. It is, or resembles a P-40B(H81-A3).

[JohnTerrell]

Here's the text accompanying the video, translated by Google:

"On October 18th, Beijing time, the video of the suspected American Flying Tigers fighters during World War II was discovered in the docks near Xiaoxianwan Village, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. The video shows that a black crane was lifted from a seaside crane in Xiangshan, Zhejiang Province. There are more than a dozen people wearing yellow vests and a drone at the beach. Some people broke the news that the P40 US military eagle fighter was discovered in the waters near Xiaoxianwan Village during World War II. Some netizens said that the Japanese fighters were salvaged in the video. On October 19th, Lu Media’s “New Beijing News” reported that the officially verified response said that the video transmitted by the network was filmed by a film and television drama, and was not salvaged by a fighter."

The last sentence is what I get hung up on.

[RobC]

Good call on the tailwheel, John. I would also note that there is no window behind the cockpit.

[Stoney]

wonder if they will ever find some P-66s?

[DH82EH]

The fact that it is shown with a complete nose profile (spinner) with no propeller makes me go hmmmm.........
If a P-40 ditches, without damaging the spinner, the prop would likely still be there.

[eallen]

Wait...everything on the internet isn't true??

[Courier Sportster]

I even think the seaweed placement seems a little too evenly spread. I also noted the spinner sans prop, and lack of rear window, but was not confident enough to make a mention of it. Tail-wheel placement passed me right on by. And wouldn't the fabric tail feathers be absent? Despite fueling our skepticism, it was nice of the hoist sling to give us a 360 degree rotation. So, why are they going to all this bother? What gives? It seems like some diabolical plan. The hovering drone seems somewhat sinister.

[airnutz]

I suppose it could be possible the tail feather fabric could be intact if they were buried in 10 feet of silt, but I was most curious about the lifting strap placement on a craft that had been full of such silt. It's possible a large amount of the fuselage silt could be vacuumed out, but the wings would be a different matter. With no additional lifting straps cradling the wing root area, one would expect it to fold right behind the cockpit and in the wings with the straps spread out like that. Also, lifting it so high from the water above the deck would be very risky with such additional weight. One would expect as brief a transition as possible. As noted, the scene looks very posed for a movie.

[Dan K]

Pretty sure they're filming the Airstrike sequel.

[Spitty]

Yippee ki-yay...

[Triplane102]

Man ! Those guys are Good ! I JUST KNOW they're going to find those Spitfires Yet !
( and the where 'bouts of Amelia, also !! )

[m50a1ontos]

Those wings look awfully flat....no dihedral?