![]() ![]() This TU-8 is a beautiful example and we are extremely thankful for his donation.Īs the war dragged on, the USAAF eventually cut down on the number of tuning units carried by heavy bombers. Sean noticed that we were missing the TU-8 on the Parts Drive page of our website and wanted to help out. Today, some are easier to locate than others because some function on restricted frequencies. Thanks to Charlie Liberto – Hangar Thirteen’s radio honcho – we have been fortunate to locate five of the seven tuning units. Each unit covered a different frequency range, the idea being that you would plug the appropriate unit into the transmitter when needed. Five tuning units were stacked on the opposite wall, with another kept under the shelf and yet another plugged into the Transmitter. The SCR-287 was the largest of the B-17’s radio systems, being primarily composed of the BC-348 Receiver on the Radio Operator’s desk, and the BC-376 Transmitter on the shelf behind. The TU-8 was one of seven tuning units stowed aboard the B-17 for the SCR-287 Liaison Radio. The other recent donation is a TU-8-B Tuning Unit, donated by Sean Barton of Sullivan, Missouri. It is always exciting when pieces are completed that have not been seen since the war! The sheath arrived yesterday and we are extremely happy. We sent Mark some wartime OD canvas (the same canvas Megan used to make the bumper pads on the tail gun ammunition boxes) and he went to work. At no point did we run into any problems – the fit is absolutely perfect. Mark was incredibly patient and thorough, willing to work without the axe in-hand and even sending a practice sheath to ensure proper fit. When we asked if he would be willing to help with the crash axe, Mark was thrilled to participate! Wartime OD cotton duck is strong, smelly, and inflexible, but Mark’s expertise with leather meant that he had no trouble working with this material. Owner Mark Lewis is a US Army veteran and an expert in leather work who specializes in holsters and sheathes. So, we reached out to Beaver Mountain Works in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. While it may be a small thing, we at Hangar Thirteen love tiny details. For stowage purposes, Boeing designed a canvas sheath for the B-17’s crash axe. While modern Gemtor crash axes are sheathed in leather, wartime units were issued without sheathes. A superb design, this particular axe remains in production to this day. ![]() This axe was kept in the cockpit and was used to hack away obstructions in the event of an emergency. You might recall that around this time, two years back, we acquired a Gemtor 42D8331 crash axe. For more details, click here.Today I wanted to share a pair of exciting donations.įirst is a piece unique to the Boeing B-17 – the sheath for the bomber’s crash axe. The aircraft is equipped with a Garmin 250XL Comm/GPS, Garmin GTX-320 Transponder and Encoder. A total of 13,783 were built and only a few remain in flying condition.Īvailable: N4436J, Curtiss Wright P-40K had a ground-up restoration 205 hours ago by Pioneer Aero Restorations Ltd. They shot down 286 Japanese aircraft and only sustained a total loss of 8 aircraft of their own. Their mission was to protect supply lines and airfields in China. This complete restoration included new wiring, new control cables, new ceconite fabric, new hardware and new Redline brakes.For more details, click here.Ī rugged and dependable Fighter during WWII, this aircraft gained its fame through a group called the “Flying Tigers.” This American volunteer group consisted of three P-40 squadrons. This aircraft’s design had great advantages to most Japanese Fighter aircraft.Īvailable: N86572, Grumman “Eastern” FM-2 Wildcat had an outstanding 2002 restoration 188 hours ago. This is also the only Navy fighter in production throughout the entire war with a total of 7,898 built and only a handful remain in flying condition today. The FM-2 Aircraft was the only Navy Fighter to serve throughout the entirety of WWII: From the attack on Pearl Harbor until VJ Day. Nicknamed “No Guts No Glory,” the aircraft has only 150 Hours Since Major Overhaul and equipped with a Garmin 430 GPS. 15,683 aircraft were built and today, only a few remain in flying condition.Īvailable: N147PF, Republic P-47D was built in Evansville, Indiana in 1945. It was nicknamed the “Jug” and destroyed over 7,000 enemy aircraft during the war. The P-47 aircraft is the largest and heaviest fighter of WWII at nearly twice the weight of all other single engine Fighters. ![]()
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