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B17/B24 plexi thickness

Mon Oct 26, 2020 8:17 am

I purchased a Free Air gauge that is mounted in a section of curved plexiglass that has a thickness of 3/8 inch.

The dial is in centigrade and dated 43 and the item came from France.

I have been searching for the thickness of plexi on the B17 , B24 as examples to see what thickness of plexi they used but cannot see anything online.

I have just replaced the Perspex in a B17 G co pilots window and it was just under1 inch thick ( 16 +6 mm).

LITOT has a 1944 article - The windshield or front panels of ¼" thick transparent plastic are fixed and leakproof, while the side panels of the sliding type are shatterproof 3/16"-thick Plexiglas.

As free air gauges were in the bombardiers nose of B17G and roof cockpit glazing I cant find thicknesses to see if either were 3/8.

Thanks for any information

Re: B17/B24 plexi thickness

Mon Oct 26, 2020 12:14 pm

Some Harvard windscreens had a free air temp gauge at the top.

Re: B17/B24 plexi thickness

Mon Oct 26, 2020 12:52 pm

Thank you my wife has a set of Harvard canopies in the garden as a cold frame and as I reglazed them in polycarbonate - the plastic is not that thick.

I understand that C47 had them also. This is thick cast perpsex that is shaped in two directions.

Re: B17/B24 plexi thickness

Mon Oct 26, 2020 4:22 pm

I can't speak for the B-24, but the B-17 nose is formed from 3/8" thick material, but the formed thickness is1/4". This information is from Boeing drawing 15-11406 which is one of the versions for a G model. I would expect the others to be the same.

Re: B17/B24 plexi thickness

Mon Oct 26, 2020 4:32 pm

Thank you Sir
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