The Ongoing Mystery Aircraft Thread Part Deux.

[fabulousfour]

It is the Bee Line BR-1 Booth Racer

Over to Chris

[cthornburg]

Yes it's a DC3/C47
Why put it on here? I had this for a long time before I noticed it.

Chris

[lefty]

Been digging, Chris, and have soved some of the mystery. This started life as a C-47B-5-DK. Delivered to USAF, transferred to RAF, ended up with Jetairlines of Australia as VH-EQB. Here it is -

http://www.aussieairliners.org/dc-3/vh-eqb/vheqb.html

Don't know where the windscreen mod came from - presumably a bit of Aussie work ?

[cthornburg]

I was surprised I didn't notice earlier the windscreen. Seems a lot of work to modify. I know it was easy to spot but finding the story would be interesting. Over to you Mike.

Chris

[lefty]

Thanks Chris. Here's one that with a bit of tidying-up, would be quite a smooth machine.......

[Sopwith Chameleon]

Albatross W VIII 1918 ?

[lefty]

It is the Albatros -over to Not in Kansas Anymore....

[Sopwith Chameleon]

Thanks !
Pretty obvious what this started out as - but what exactly is it ? Where is it, and why was it there ?

[srgalahad]

A quick step back to the odd C-47 VH-EQB-
"This was the former RAF KJ881 based at the Woomera Rocket Range in SA.
It had an all white paint scheme towards the end of its military days and had heightened cockpit win-
dows so that a photographer could record missile firings and other tests as the ancient bird stooged
down range. These were left as is when civilianized."
http://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austcl/VH-EQB.html

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming...

[Moses03]

but what exactly is it ? Where is it, and why was it there ?

One-off Fairey Battle engine testbed (Monarch) being evaluated by the US at Wright field 1939.

[lefty]

I am, not for the first time, confused. The photos I can find of the Battle show what is patently the H-16 Prince engine rather than the H-24 Monarch. Definitely 16 stacks there.

Worse, the engine in the Fleet Air Arm Museum, labelled Monarch, looks very much like an H-16 too !

Any more takers for this intriguing puzzle ?

[Sopwith Chameleon]

It was at Wright Field in 1942 when the P24 Monarch 3,000 hp engine was under consideration as a potential power plant for the P 47 Thunderbolt ( what a beast that would have been ! ) before the project was cancelled ....

to Texas !

[Sopwith Chameleon]

I am, not for the first time, confused. The photos I can find of the Battle show what is patently the H-16 Prince engine rather than the H-24 Monarch. Definitely 16 stacks there.

Worse, the engine in the Fleet Air Arm Museum, labelled Monarch, looks very much like an H-16 too !

Any more takers for this intriguing puzzle ?

I've seen references to both - but most sources cite the Monarch ?

[Sopwith Chameleon]

It looks like the Monarch ....

[Moses03]

I was a little unsure as well Mike. I thought it was the H-16 at first.


Keeping the low wing monoplane theme going...

[cthornburg]

Mike and

srgalahad thanks for the info on the Big Eyed C47. It's finding info like that, that makes the history interesting. Plus the thrill of the chase. Compared to learning about the latest update on software in the current aircraft.

Chris

C

[cthornburg]

Yak-11

Chris

[Moses03]

Technically it is a license built Let C-11 but close enough.

Over to Chris.

[cthornburg]

Not in Aerofiles

Chris

[lefty]

If Chris will excuse me, a quick follow-up to the Fairey P-24 question. I received this from the Senor Curator of the FAA Museum at Yeovilton - I was wrong yet again !

Dear Mr Wilkinson,
Thank you for your enquiry regarding the Fairey P 24 engine at the Fleet Air Arm Museum….and a question we are indeed frequently asked.

We do have what is a (in fact the) Fairey P-24 Monarch in the collection, and where it looks at a first glance to be 16 cylinders if you count the exhausts, these are running out of shared manifolds. If you study an image of the beast you will see that the cylinder walls have 6 undulations per side wall (and what isn’t obvious unless you are next to the engine is 6 spark plugs per bank).

One of the rarest aero engines on the planet and we are very pleased an proud to have it in the collection (along with the other unique H-24 configuration engine in the Wyvern, the Rolls- Royce Eagle).

[Sopwith Chameleon]

Interest ING ! - Back to the mystery - From a company better known for hi-fi's and microwaves these days ....

[giruXX]

Gasuden Model 2 Trainer sesquiplane from

[cthornburg]

That's the one Uli on to the next one.

Chris

[giruXX]

Here is the next. It might have appeared here before, but I couldn't find it.

[lefty]

Didn't realise till I looked it up that this was the first military aircraft, from the de Havilland Company, the D.H.27 Derby.