mhaselden Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Found this photo on the website of the Polish Aviation Museum. It shows the wreckage of a Halifax in the foreground with a Do17 in the right background and a light-toned airframe that seems to wear Type B RAF roundels in the left background. I was wondering if anyone had the background story to the image, including identifying the "RAF" airframe in the background. Many thanks,Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smackers Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) Maybe it's just me due to having AdBlockPlus and Noscript etc running but i don't see the specific photo you mention, just a gallery of images I think i found the one you refer to, it's no 99 of 111 Edited August 20, 2015 by smackers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewerjerry Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Hi Looks P-40ish to me, but i am viewing it on an iphone cheers jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smackers Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 I thought P-40 too, it does look to have a greenhouse type canopy like a P-40N and the rudder shape is about right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Agree it looks P-40ish but the scheme appears similar to the Hi altitude scheme some Spits in the MTO wore. More likely a P-40 in faded desert camo with C-type roundels & fin flash that the exposure/resolution has managed to lose the narrow white & yellow bands. I'm guessing an airfield in Italy after a landing accident or Luftwaffe raid which involved the Halifax. The Dornier probably a "left behind" Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 It is a short-tailed P-40, the wing shape can be seen. I suspect it may be in faded desert colours rather than anything more exotic. Or possibly rubbed down to bare metal as a hack. Is the aircraft behind it to its right another Halifax? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonC Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Going by the relation of the tailplane to the fin, it seems more likely to be a long tailed P-40. On the short tails, the leading edges of the two were more or less in line. Agree about the canopy and therefore late mark, which presumably would make it a Kittyhawk IV? J. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 You are of course right about the tail. Which makes it less likely to be an old hack, but possibly carrying the US Sand uppersurfaces? Not sure why it should... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 It looks like a long tailed P-40N Kittyhawk Mk.IV to me with two others behind it (although I thought that they were a Merlin engined Beaufighter Mk.II at first!) but although the two behind wear standard colours the light coloured one does appear to wear a light high altitude style scheme with B Type fuselage roundels and fin stripes,.....so very interesting for a Kittyhawk! Could it even be a PR conversion,......strang as the Packard engine was rubbish at altitude and as far as I know the Merlin engined Mk.II didn`t have the cut down rear canopy! Graham could well be right about it being a silver stripped down `hack' but that doesn`t really explain the roundel/fin flash combination nor the fact that this was a relatively new aircraft. Some Spitfire`s wore B Type roundels and fin flashes in Italy at some stage including those of 249 Sqn, so maybe there is a reason for the `strange' roundels? Possibly part of the` NW Africa Coastal AF' ? There are some great Halifax and Liberator photos on this site so thanks for the heads up Mark, Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonC Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) it even be a PR conversion,......strang as the Packard engine was rubbish at altitude Tony Allison rather than Packard, but yes. With no supporting evidence (!) I'd be tempted to agree with Graham about the possibility of US colours. Perhaps a 'loaner' of some sort? Edited August 20, 2015 by JasonC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Allison rather than Packard, but yes. With no supporting evidence (!) I'd be tempted to agree with Graham about the possibility of US colours. Perhaps a 'loaner' of some sort? Sorry Jason,...yes you are of course right,......Allison engine it is,.....fancy getting that wrong when my missus is called Alison,....dohh!! Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 my missus is called Alison,....dohh!! Any relation to Jane Doe ??? Sorry...... I'll get my coat. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Light coloured KIttyhawk IV you say? Not quite the same, but this is FX585 of 11 Squadron SAAF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Ye gods - is that meant to be Day Fighter with a Sky tail band? Note the 1945 roundel on the wing in the foreground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 That was my thought - sorry to hijack your thread Mark, FWIW I think the P-40 in the original photo is natural metal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
303sqn Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) Definitly it is P-40 N - for me it is stripped to NMF. The airfield is likely Campo Casale near Brindisi, where other photos were taken, likely summer or autumn 1944 when flights in help to fighting Warsaw were taken - if it might help. O was googling for Halifax accident there but not successful as yet. I only found "in addition one Halifax (of RAF not Polish Squadron) crashed during landing, all crew survived" - but no more details except the date - 4th August 1944. So very likely this photo was taken on 4th August 1944. Cheers Jerzy-Wojtek Edited August 20, 2015 by JWM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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