B-26 Hamilton Hey Maker II

[SzaboP]

Hi Britmodellers,

 

I'm looking for information and pictures of the B-26B flown by the 387th B.G. in 1945 named Hamilton Hey Maker II.

Her serial was 42-96205, coded KX-N in the inventory of  387th BG/ 558th BS.

There's a Kit's World decal sheet with her markings, and I want to portray this aircraft at the end of her career in 1945. All I found so far is a color profile in the Osprey book "B-26 Units of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces" by Jerry Scutts, so I'm pretty much stucked with my research here. The plane was in the inventory of the 397th BG before transferred to 387th.

If someone has a photo of this plane, or any idea of the original source where I can find it (books, websites, etc), and share the information with me, I would be more than happy! 😀

 

[elger]

A quick Google search of the serial number led me to this photo here:

 

http://www.americanairmuseum.com/media/1727

 

Here's another photo apparently, but there the aircraft's individual code appears to be S rather than N?

 

http://www.paluba.info/smf/index.php?topic=18695.15

 

 

[72modeler]

I wasn't able to find anything different from elger's post, but the link below might make for some interesting viewing, as it shows early Marauders being built- some of the fabrication and assembly methods used are very interesting, especially the riveting techniques. In one segment can be seen numerous completed aircraft without propellers; IIRC there was  a period of time during which Curtiss could not meet the demand for props- aircraft were either placed in outdoor storage, as seen in the film, or were test flown, props were removed and fitted to the next aircraft, and the process was repeated. The second link has some combat footage and at the end shows the ground crews scrubbing off the distemper invasion stripes from the upper surfaces. Films via Youtube.

Mike

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NESw-Pfp6cg

 

Edited June 20, 2020 by 72modeler
added link

[SzaboP]

On 6/20/2020 at 7:45 PM, elger said:

Here's another photo apparently, but there the aircraft's individual code appears to be S rather than N?

 

http://www.paluba.info/smf/index.php?topic=18695.15

Interesting photo, it shows the aircraft in the markings (X2-S) of the previous owner, 397th Bomb Group. Thank You elger!

 

Thank You for the interesting footages Mike! The first one is fascinating, as I'm working in the aviation industry, and  its very interesting to see how things changed on the production lines, and still, the basics are the same. The second one shows one main reason of my search, as I was wandering if this plane received an O.D. overcoat on the D-Day stripes, or were they removed by some thinner/solvent/fuel, which resulted some interesting weathering challenges. 

[gingerbob]

As I was reading through some ORBs this morning I came upon this comment (64 Sqn, Spitfire Vs, 4 June):

Quote

In the evening the business of distempering distinctive markings on to the aircraft began.  This job was spoiled by heavy rain which removed the distemper with an enthusiasm equal to that of the ground-crew who were putting it on.  Work was discontinued until early next morning when the weather cleared.

 

I know, perhaps not directly relevant, but I thought it was an interesting "detail".

[barneybolac]

On 6/20/2020 at 12:22 PM, SzaboP said:

Hi Britmodellers,

 

I'm looking for information and pictures of the B-26B flown by the 387th B.G. in 1945 named Hamilton Hey Maker II.

Her serial was 42-96205, coded KX-N in the inventory of  387th BG/ 558th BS.

There's a Kit's World decal sheet with her markings, and I want to portray this aircraft at the end of her career in 1945. All I found so far is a color profile in the Osprey book "B-26 Units of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces" by Jerry Scutts, so I'm pretty much stucked with my research here. The plane was in the inventory of the 397th BG before transferred to 387th.

If someone has a photo of this plane, or any idea of the original source where I can find it (books, websites, etc), and share the information with me, I would be more than happy! 😀

 

 

[SzaboP]

Thank You very much!