Neet thread !! any new updates from anyone??
does the offer still stand at this Date ? Hummm…
Hey Ron
What a great paint scheme and a great motivation for a build. It looks like Hans has the best chance of bringing this one home, but if you have any other cool schemes you want to see put to plastic, I hope you won’t hesitate to post a similar offer in the future!
Yeah, I’m still pluggin’ away at it, but it’s not on the front burner by any means…
Interesting. I’ve never seen a P-40 like that.
I also never knew that P-40’s were captured by the Japanese.
Was this bird ever shot down or distroied, or did it survive the war intact?
The Japanese captured quite a few P-40’s. They captured some very wornout B/C’s and E’s in the Philippines. I have read a story from Air Classics from the late '80’s or early '90’s about 4 US pilots ferrying 4 wornout P-40’s around the Philippines to Clark were they were patched up by the Japanese, and evaluated. The Japanese collected many brand new E’s in crates on the docks in Java, that they were even considering using them for home land defense purposes but abandoned the idea. Use Google Images, as there is a color picture of an abandoned E sitting on a Japanese home airfield taken after the Americans had moved in. There is an SBD, I think, next to it with it’s distinctive tail. I believe that this colored E was one of three on a freighter that ran the naval blockade of the PI, and were assembled in March, 1942 at Del Monte, Mindanao. They were used until the US quit using Del Monte as a staging base from Australia. As an aside, the Japanese captured 1 B-17D in the PI, and 2 B-17E’s from Java, and flew them in Japan evaluating them. In 1945, US intelligence noted from recon photos what looked like a new 4-engined bomber for the Japanese. They scaled out the wingspan to be 104 ft, which is that of the B-17. They never thought that they were captured B-17’s at the time.
Hey, guys!
I’m the fellow who began this thread some time ago. Yes, I’ll still send a print of my P-40 piece, 19 x 13 inches - signed and numbered - to everyone who builds this bird!
- Ron Cole
Grab a mailing tube, Ron… I’m firing this one back up…
Hey I forgot about this post.
~Hans~ Can’t wait to see more pictures.
I’m stealing this subject for our club’s theme build next month: “Horse of a Different Color”. One of the interpretations of the theme is a subject in livery other than its home country’s colors. And I have a stash of 1/72 P-40 kits, it’ll be good to put one of them together.
I never knew that about the Japanese capturing any of our aircraft. This is all new to me, with this info.
By any chance, does any one know the fate of the P-40 this thred was about?
Well considering they overran a huge swath of South East Asia, the South West Pacific, with lots and lots of Allied airfields with unserviceable or derelict aircraft, and more than likely enough aircraft parts to cobble together more than a few flying examples… B-17, P40, P-36, Hurricane, Buffalo…
Take a look at this link for more information
http://www.j-aircraft.com/captured/capturedby/b-17/captured_b17.htm
Very interesting, Stik.
Well, I know more about WWII than I did a few days ago. Interesting, how the Japanese captured some American aircraft, and didn’t use them for defence of the Japanese mainland.
The types that Japan captured would not have been of much use in 1945. The B-17 could not have been used against the B-29s in the same manner as the Germans used captured B-17s against the 8th Air Force. And as for any fighters… against the latest Mustangs, Hellcats, Corsairs, and Thunderbolts being flown against the home islands they would have not had a chance. Even a superb pilot such as Saburo Sakai would have been hard pressed to simply survive.
Check out this 1/72 decal sheet I found…
Huh, the Germans captured B-17s too? B really need to hit the history books hard, if I missed stuff like that
Yes they repaired a few that had been damaged and force landed in good condition. Some were used to help develop tactics for defending Luftwaffe fighters. Others were used to shadow incoming bombing raids broadcasting accurate heading and altitude to German defenses then breaking away. Shortly after accurate flak would would hit the incoming US bomber stream.
You forgot that some were used by KG 200 to drop German agents around Europe and the Middle East. For the Japanese B-17’s, Aviation History magazine has a nice article on them for this month.
Hearing about the B-17s in Japanese service is a first for me.
Alright, it makes sence now. The Germans would use captured B-17s to get an accurate reading on speed and heading, since the Americans were using the same aircraft, to get AA fire even more accurate.
Actually, it’s a little more than that… Using the captured Forts allowed the German aircrews an extra measure of passive defense in that, even if they were marked with German insignia (as most were), the shape of the aircraft was easily recognizable as a “Friendly” to both the American bomber crews and any escorting fighters and allowed them a longer time to “shadow” the formation than say, an FW-200 would…
You, as a aerial gunner or fighter pilot, can spot and ID a hostile from a far greater distance by its shape before you ever see what markings it has…