Identify This Mystery Aircraft Piece:

[CamAero]

The prefix of the second number is 523.

That pretty much denotes it as C-54 / DC-4, far as I can tell.

http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/partmanu.htm

Would like to see a good a picture of one on the A/C though.

CA.

[CamAero]

Still not quite lining up...

Though it could be the outboard. The second P/N, ending in "-2 RH", suggests #4 engine?

[GyvAir]

Didn't find a perfect match, but the part number format looks right for it to be a Douglas part.

http://www.planestock.com/library/catal ... ts.cfm/280
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTA2NlgxNjAw/ ... .JPG?rt=nc

[GyvAir]

The prefix of the second number is 523.
That pretty much denotes it as C-54 / DC-4, far as I can tell.
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/partmanu.htm
Would like to see a good a picture of one on the A/C though.
CA.

Just noticed your post.
My take on the two numbers is the 5169508-403 is the part number and the 523-2RH is the serial number and position for the airframe it was originally built for.
The numbers in the chart from aviationarchaeology.com are referring to the root of the part number i.e. 516####-###.
Reading the chart, that would imply the part is from a Northrop Grumman P-61, which doesn't check out. (there is a very similar shape on the bottom of each tail boom.. to make space for the wheels though)
My guess is that it is a Douglas part and that the aviation archaeology chart just isn't comprehensive.
There are a number of different intake scoop shapes for the C-47/DC-3s, but I didn't spot an exact match.

[GyvAir]

Douglas A-20G, A-20J or similar?

[iflyforpie]

If you feel so inclined, you could go through USAAF serial numbers to see the fates of all the aircraft that were operated or procured by it. Some history is incomplete but known fates of the aircraft are listed..... Even Lend Lease machines were issued numbers too.

Cntrl-F is your friend.

http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.html

[CamAero]

It was probably this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_Dougl ... appearance

Another mystery solved.

[CamAero]

From a friend at Buffalo:

[GyvAir]

From a friend at Buffalo:

Does he have an A-20 IPC too?

[CamAero]

From a friend at Buffalo:

Does he have an A-20 IPC too?

No, I'm leaving that for you Gyv.

[CamAero]

GyvAir, got to hand it to you Bud;

I wrote Craig Fuller at aviationarchaeology.com

He sent me the IPC pages for the A-20 and I'd say it's a dead ringer.

What has been bugging me all along with the DC-4 / C-54 suggestion is that 'joggle' on each edge, both sides. I had never been able to get close to one though to confirm either way and attributed it potentially to ambiguities of the IPC.

The A-20's fairing pictured, covers that and also, the prefix in the first P/N, (516), jives out. The last of the P/N is not an exact match but as Craig points out, there were many variations within production runs.

The "523" in the second number second number also pointed me to the C-54. I suffered target-fixation for a while there.

The A-20 is a logical conclusion for where the piece was discovered, as there were many of them ferried through YT en route to Russia by the 7th Ferry Group during WWII. Many also saw service in Alaska, during "The Forgotten War"..

Hats off to you Gyv and iflyforpie.

Thanks guys,

CA

A-20 IPC attached as PDF:

[iflyforpie]

Awesome find!

I guess I have been looking at aircraft for so many years from a mech's point of view that I can usually tell a designer or engineer's 'signature' by an assembly and I know that even if it might not be for that aircraft, it would be for a similar aircraft and a similar purpose and most likely by the same manufacturer.

The concept is figured out on whatever aircraft was made first, and then simply scaled or adjusted for subsequent aircraft designs. Other examples I've come across are the flap systems and cabin doors on the 727/737 Classic/747; the retractable landing gear on the 172/177/182/210/337; many Bell and Sikorsky rotor heads, and the wing tanks on the Ercoupe and Piper Cherokee lines--even though there are virtually no interchangeable components larger than bolts on any of these.

[CamAero]

Awesome find!

I guess I have been looking at aircraft for so many years from a mech's point of view that I can usually tell a designer or engineer's 'signature' by an assembly and I know that even if it might not be for that aircraft, it would be for a similar aircraft and a similar purpose and most likely by the same manufacturer.

For sure, and most of us, as nerdy kids, built models and reveled in every little detail. I never built an A-20. Perhaps that was the problem.
Also, the DC-3s I was around as kid only had the short scoops. It was your catching the Douglas traits that steered us right.

On the note of manufacturers keeping the same ideas, every DeHavilland product, from the Heron to the Dove to the Chipmunk, to the Otter have the same tail; really, you could even say, without too much of a stretch, that it goes back as far as the Gypsy Moth.

Once again, thanks to you both.

Cheers,

CA.

[Antique Pilot]

Somewhere in my archives I believe I have a brief accident report on an A-20 at Teslin during WW2. Aircraft written off. I will be home in a few weeks and will try to find it.

AP

[grimey]

Somewhere in my archives I believe I have a brief accident report on an A-20 at Teslin during WW2. Aircraft written off. I will be home in a few weeks and will try to find it.

AP

July 24, 1943, A-20G, SN 42-54235 Pilot: Holben, Carl R.

from
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/ ... l1943O.htm
http://www.accident-report.com/world/na ... falls.html
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=105013

The pilot died in the crash:
http://www.usaafdata.com/?q=node/125125

[GyvAir]

Happy to help, CamAero.. that was an interesting search and a nice history review!
What put me on the A-20 track was a combination of you and Frozen mentioning it, plus when I was reading about the P-39, they were often mentioned together with the A-20 in regards to the huge numbers that were ferried through that part of the world during the war.
Tough to find a good photo of the top or bottom of any plane, hence finally resorting to the 1/72 model photos like the one I posted earlier. The detail on some of the better quality models is really quite good!

Spotted this video clip of the Teslin A-20 mentioned in the above posts while I was looking the other day:
http://www.alaskahighwayarchives.ca/pla ... -60b,4-4w4

[grimey]

Well there were 5 crashes close to the Alaska HW that I could find. 2 or 3 crashes at Teslin (I stopped looking after one earlier), another possibly at Aishihik (maybe it crashed/put down en route?), one at Pine Lake, and another at Kluane Lake. After searching the USAAF records, both for the pilot name and the aircraft serial no., only one seems to have been fatal. I don't know which the part is from, but I'd make a wild ass guess that it's the one piloted by Davis, only because there was some ambiguity over where the accident was and if the aircraft crashed at or near their point of departure or destination, they'd all be pretty far from Whitehorse. You could probably find out by getting the actual report from aviation archeology.

Teslin:
45/08/01 BYERS, WILLIAM E A-20K 44-718
*43/07/24 HOLBEN, CARL R A-20G 42-54235

Aishihik/Teslin:
44/03/30 DAVIS, GEORGE C A-20G 43-21264

Pine Lake:
43/11/03 PATRICK, ROBERT W A-20G 43-9074

Kluane Lake:
45/06/05 MEREDITH, T L A-20K 44-403

[CamAero]

Great work everybody.

It is however, unlikely that the source-identity of the airplane that lost its nac will ever be determined.

There were hundreds of A-20s through this part of the world through the War Years.

That video clip, GyvAir, I had heard existed but I was told I'd have to search archives to find it. Very cool you found it online. The airplane pictured, being hauled up the Pioneer Trail, actually would have had to go right past the spot where the piece was found.

Who knows, maybe it came loose and some disgruntled GI who thought he should be off killing Nazis instead of babysitting a crumpled ugly-duckling, tossed it off into the bush.

Anything's possible.

Cheers all.

CA