P-43 Lancer Recovery Reported

[Bomber_12th]

And that's just about all the information there is at this time, that a P-43 (and a P-51) has been recovered from a site slated for construction in Australia. This is of course some amazing information, considering the fact that the P-43 has been believed to be a completely extinct type (one of those "Holy Grail" finds, in terms of WWII aircraft, if ever one were to be), with no surviving examples (barring a set of wheels and a couple of parts in a few collections). It seems the information about the finding/recovery wasn't supposed to have gotten out, but it has, and thus although a lot of information is being kept private (i.e. no photos for the time being), it is being reported that a P-43 and a P-51 have been recovered and are now in storage pending further inspection. It seems things might be kept rather "hush hush" for a while, but it is thrilling, for someone with a passion for WWII aviation, at the thought that a P-43 has been discovered and I look forward to seeing what else comes from it in the future, even if it is going to take months or years until more is divulged or shown.

The information has been posted here (special attention to posts by the users "Digger" and "Shelldrake"): http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=47367&start=15


(It's been quite an interesting year in the world of warbirds - the P-40 in the desert, the Burma Spitfires, the Flying Heritage Collection's airworthy Il-2, the abundance of Bf 109 restoration projects to airworthy, the first flight of a Mosquito in 16 years, etc.)

 

[FSX68]

Picture of P43

I never heard of much less even seen a "P43" till I seen your thread; so I googled it of course and here is what I found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_P-43_Lancer (Some good info/bio about it.)

It resembles the Navy's F6F Hellcat (that large stubby nose profile). Wonder if Grumman ironworks got their cue from the P43?

 

[Moses03]

I thought I had read somewhere that two mostly intact P-43's survived after the war in Karachi. I guess we would have heard something by now if they did indeed still exist in some way shape or form and not scrapped.

Always great to hear of something taken off the extinction list. Still holding out for the dodo or woolly mammoth.

 

[fsxar177]

Ahhh...the P-43, very interesting. What a year is correct!

Joseph

 

[TARPSBird]

I've always considered the P-35 and P-43 to be the predecessors of the famed P-47 Thunderbolt, sorta like the Douglas SBD came from the Northrop BT-1. Whatever the family tree, an intact P-43 is a great find. Now... will somebody please recover those submerged TBD's out in Jaluit Lagoon?

 

[Bomber_12th]

On another warbird forum it is being said that the recovered aircraft is a P-43B, USAAF Serial 41-31497, Order W535 –AC15850, RAAF serial A56-4.

To 1 PRU 27/11/42. Damaged in landing Accident 27/11/42. It was delayed at Oodnadatta due to faulty brakes though. Port wheel collapsed 09/12/42. It was being flown by FO Bond. The brake problem continued through its life until sent to 4 RSU and then 3 AD 01/43. Back to 1 PRU 06/01/43 after repairs and a wheel track alignment. Back to 5th AF 18/08/1943.

(It seems those that located/recovered the aircraft were hoping to find either a Boomerang or a Buffalo, and were surprised/shocked to find a P-43 instead (and P-51). There was initially a story that a Spitfire or two were going to be recovered in Australia in 2013, and now it is being rumored that that was all just a cover story so as to protect the site, with the airframe, such an ultra-rare type, being so prized. A lot of times people complain about why as much information is withheld as it is, so often, in these types of cases - one good reason I've seen already, is that several people on the internet, having not even seen the aircraft nor know anyone involved with it, are already stating where they believe it should go. For those responsible for the recovery and holding the airframes in storage, as soon as the information breaks, you end up with people at your door hoping to see it, or people calling you up hoping to buy it. Also, as soon as anyone knows that a rare type is going to be restored, those that withold any parts, drawings, or other resources for them, will often tend to jack up the prices on them.)

For those interested, here are a couple of photos of two different examples that were in RAAF service, A56-5 and A56-6 (posted to same forum as above information):

To say these aircraft look tubby is an understatement. : )