My ref: “Jane’s Fighting A/C of WW II”, bring a question to mind. It states:
“A modification which had no bearing on the designation was the introduction of the Malchlm backward-sliding bulged cockpit hood on example of the P-51B/C & F6-A. This modification was undertaken in the British Isles.”
Now for the question:
Does anybody out there in Airpalne Wizard Land know whether these mods were done as the planes arrived or was this a retrofit after battle damage. Were the B/C’s scheduled in for this mod and the D’s came along before the B’C’s could get the retofit and it became unnecessary?
Probably more like, “D all of the above.” The razorback B and C model Mustangs remained in use to some extent throughout the war, even after the introduction of the bubble top D. The Malcolm Hood was a British idea for their Spitfires to give the pilot better visibility. The US forces obtained some of them and mounted them on the Mustang B/C. The total number of planes modified was relatively small, so I would guess it was a field expedient mod rather than a depot level thing.
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
Looking thru the ‘Mighty 8th’ book I noticed an awful lot of B/C’s that seems to suggest that this change was more than just a ‘sometime’ thing. Seems as though several fighter groups had these mods as early as May '44 and it appears to be more common than just a ‘let’s see if it works’ kinda thing. The D’s didn’t come into service until Dec '44 and B’C’s flew from '43 until the end of the war and I thought that it was a required field mod.
I have a C that I want to build as “By Request” and I noticed that in pics I doesn’t have that canopy and wondered why?
The ‘malcolm’ hood used on P-51B/Cs was not the same unit as that used on Spitfires. The hood used on Spitfires was much smaller than that used on the P-51 and was designed by the British firm R. Malcolm Company, Ltd.
The malcom hood used on P-51s was actually designed by NAA engineers working in the UK and the prime purpose was to increase visibilty. I do believe, however, that the P-51 canopies were manufactured by the firm mentioned above, hence the term ‘malcom hood’.
The original trials were, indeed, undertaken by the British with the test aircraft being a Mustang I, serial AG618, and this is probably the basis for the widespread misconception that these were Spitfire canopies modified for use on P-51s.
As to the installation of these sliding hoods on USAAF aircraft, it was a matter of supply versus demand. The canopies were in short supply and group, squadron and flight leaders usually had ‘first dibs’. The idea was, indeed, to fit as many P-51B/Cs as possible with the malcom hood but, as you correctly surmised, the introduction of the P-51D made this a non-necessity in the long run.
A note about these canopies which is often overlooked…
The malcom hoods had a metal frame only on the horizontal edges, not the vertical edges. The vertical edges were left unpainted and many a modeler seems to have been ignorant of this fact, painting the vertical ‘frames’ the same color as the rest of the aircraft. So if you do build a Mustang with a malcom hood, leave the vertical edges clear.
In 48th Squadron/Falcon have made sets with malcom hoods, but I dunno what current availability is.
Another interesting note which I didn’t mention before was the fact that some earlier P-47s also had a similar type of modification, but they were integrated into the existing canopy framework. Whether or not they were modified units as used on the P-51s, I do not know at the moment.
Here’s an example on a 511th FS, 405th FG Jug flown by the late Walter Grabowski…
I think I have one of the old Falcon canopy sets which has one of these P-47 canopies… will have to take a gander…
I have a picture of an RAF mustang from March 44 with the malcom hood, I’ld heard that NAA was opposed to the modification bacause it created more drag. I 've also read that Pilots liked it 'cause the stock canopy was pretty cramped even for less than tall pilots, the malcom gave them a little more head room.
This is why this Forum is a great place![:D]
There are no ‘stupid’ questions, just well researched answers for inquiring minds.
Thanks to all for the info.[bow][bow][bow]
And slurpees, the extra headroom was, indeed, appreciated by many a pilot. Another benefit of the malcom hood was that it was easier to open inflight than the standard canopy, affording better chances of escape if it were to prove necessary.
Here’s an excellent example of the clear edges on a malcom hood…
Hiya Steve,
Is that pix a new one or did you have that in your collection already…!!!. Just thinking([:0]), I bet ya somebody out there will argue w/ you and will say that the vertical frames were painted…!!! hehehehe[:p][:p][;)]
Flaps up, Mike
According to the info for the file I’ve had it since November 2002.
Well, there may have been one or more that were painted in the field, but I seriously doubt it.
Despite this and even though you’re half-joking, you’re actually quite right; no matter the subject, someone is always going to argue what is quite clearly an invalid point, even when there is irrefutable evidence as presented in that image. In that case I simply say, “You can see it the way you wanna see it, and I’ll see it the way it is…” and then ignore them…
Since we’re straying off topic a tad, here’s something to keep it ‘on track’. This is a good view of the track for the malcom hood…
I’ve a really good shot which shows this very well… canopy is removed I think. Can’t find it at the moment…
Here’s some more info ref the Malcolm Hood and it’s field mods.
The 3962 P-47D-1RE to -22-RE Farmingdale-built Thunderbolts, the 1461 P-47D-2-RA to -23-RA Evansville-built Thunderbolts, and the entire lot of 354 P-47G-1-CU through P-47G-15-CU Curtiss-built Thunderbolts all had the original framed sliding canopy that was first used on the P-47B. However, combat experience indicated that the the rear fuselage decking on these Thunderbolts provided a serious blind spot aft which was a real hindrance in air-to-air battles. In an attempt to improve rearward visibility, a few P-47Ds were fitted in the field with the RAF “Malcolm hood”, a Spitfire-like bubble canopy made in England which was made famous by its application to the P-51B and C Mustangs flown by both the RAF and USAAF. However, P-47Ds fitted with Malcolm hoods were quite rare, whereas P-51Bs and Cs with Malcolm hoods were quite common.
In the meantime, in search of a more lasting solution the USAAF fitted a standard P-47D-5-RE airframe (serial number 42-8702) with a bubble canopy taken from a Hawker Typhoon. In order to accommodate the bubble canopy, the Republic design team had to cut down the rear fuselage. This conversion was redesignated XP-47K, and was tested in July 1943. This modification was immediately proven to be feasible, and was promptly introduced on both the Farmingdale and Evansville production lines.
Ordinarily, the USAAF would have given such a radical modification as that which produced the bubble-canopy Thunderbolt a completely new variant letter (or perhaps even a new type number). However, the USAAF chose instead to designate it simply by giving it a new production block number in the D-series. Consequently, the first batches to feature this new bubble canopy were Farmingdale’s P-47D-25-RE and Evansville’s P-47D-26-RA. These batches also had the R-2800-59 or -63 engines, the paddle-bladed propeller, and the “universal” wing first introduced on the “razor-back” P-47D-20-RE.
