USAAF airbase - Big chunk of P51 Mustang !!
Article about: Hi all Another spare day, another dig Getting out lots at the minute due to these spare days. Long may it continue! I visited an old USAAF base that I have been searching for more than 5 yea
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USAAF airbase - Big chunk of P51 Mustang !!
Hi all
Another spare day, another dig Getting out lots at the minute due to these spare days. Long may it continue!
I visited an old USAAF base that I have been searching for more than 5 years now. I have more or less cleared it out but the dumps still exist, and it was at one of these I decided to chance my arm. It was a risk as last time we didn't find a great deal. However, I told myself to dig DEEP this time and not be such a girl, and it paid off!!!
After half an hour of hard graft digging down 4 feet, I had made my excavations wide enough to fit in the hole, and get to work through the main dump layer. There is a lot of rusty cans in this dump but, in amongst the cans are the bits I am after. The finds were quite steady at first and then seemed to dry up. However, I then spent 30 minutes trying to get a big chunk of something out of the dump. When it eventually came out the hole, I recognised it as aircraft alloy and was rather excited to get it home and give it a clean.
Sure enough, it was aircraft alloy !!!!
Group shot of the finds before cleaning.....
After I had cleaned some stuff, the toothbrushes and cutlery turned out to be civvy issue, with no military marks on them at all. Shame!
I found three soda siphon heads, as well as what looks like a spark plug and lead, a couple of other aircrafty type bits, a bit of British gas mask and a tube clamp made in Chicago
However, finding 4 20mm cartridges and 2 50cals made up for that
Interesting that all the 20mm carts were American made. NESCO - NATIONAL ENAMELING & STAMPING CO., Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA
And the 50s were as well
So, on to the P51 chunk.
When I got home and started cleaning it, I picked the right spot as I immediately found a code prefixed by 106, showing it to be from a P51. The longer code gave me more to go on. At first I thought it was something to do with the engine as the ovals looked just like Merlin exhaust manifolds. However, I soon discovered its true nature.
It is the guide for the inboard gun rounds to feed over the outboard ammo !!!
So, a nice bit of P51 from the ammo trays.
AWESOME !!!
And just in case you were in any doubt, I even got hold of the tech drawings for the part, confirming its use.
Cheers
Steve T
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no you made that from sardine cans Lol.great find.
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Very cool finds!....
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Thanks Gunny
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Do you ever go to work? lol
Great finds again! (but obviously not that great, because if they were, I would have received a Steve sweary phone call)!
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Very nice bit of aeroplane! It would look nice next to my P-51 instrument panel!
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Really great find Steve. Worth all your hard work !
Perhaps there's more to be found.........?
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Nice work! Always good to rescue a bit of P51.
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