Speakeasy forum: Intact WW2 plane found in Sahara Desert.

which is where every P-40 was built.

More picts: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2142300/Crashed-plane-Second-World-War-pilot-Dennis-Copping-discovered-Sahara-desert.html

My late uncle was a warbird mechanic in the European and Burma/India Theaters in WWII and I have his A&P manuals(airframe & powerplant) for the P-40,P-51,P-47 and P-38 Lightnings.I referenced the model number in the photos,Model H87A-3.It translates to an American designation of a model P-40E or a British designation of Kittyhawk MK.IA.The Allison V12 engine came from General Motors.

It's an extremely rare find with a story behind it and the Brits better move their butts to salvage it.Egyptian authorities removed the ammo for "safety reasons".For whose safety,the vultures that want to rape it for scrap value? The thing is in the middle of the Sahara and is a danger to no one!

It would be well deserved if those knuckleheads blew their butts to kingdom come while handling that ammo.Period correct armament for that plane was 6x.50cal with 155 rounds each of API ammo(armor piercing incendiary) which was steel jacketed with a magnesium core.It could be quite unstable after sitting in that heat all these years.

as anyone who's been in the service can testify,WP or White Phosphorus falls into the same category.You can submerge that crap in water and it still burns!

I researched Firefreeze worldwide years ago when I learned that Funny Car driver,John Force used it in the fire bottles of all his drag race cars to soak down the driver and buy time,it's also used at Indy & Nascar.Their headquarters are here in Jersey.

I went there and left with two 2.5gal stainless extinguishers filled with their product, "Cold Fire".One is sitting here in my kitchen and the other on the side of my box at work.We went outside and I saw the manager light a small cannister of magnesium.The only thing that put it out was the cold fire,co2 and dry chem had no effect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojzUgtVeYWc&feature=player_embedded

Wow, what a find.

and other vehicles, many nicely restored and painted at El Alamein. And in Burma they have discovered 24 Spitfire Mk 14s crated and buried. Apparently they're in reasonable condition.

And speaking of Buffalo, Bell Aircraft, manufacturer of the Bell P 39 Aircobra was based there. The Bell X-1 the first plane to break the sound barrier in level flight was built there too. The Russians loved the P-39 because the 37mm cannon which fired from the centre of the propeller could be skipped up off roadways or frozen ground into the underside of German Tanks where the armour was thinnest to destroy the tanks.

There are several flyable P-40's in the US, mostly out west from Nevada and California to Washington state.

Interestingly, at least to me, the P-40 scored no victories over Pearl Harbour. It's predecessor, the P-35 was the only aircraft to score a kill. All the other Japanese aircraft shot down fell to anti-aircraft fire.

Rob