WIX Archives
Re: Interesting P-40 recovery story from Landings.com
Posted by Steve on Wed Apr 14, 2004 01:44:16 PM
In reply top Interesting P-40 recovery story from Landings.com posted by B Darnell on Wed Apr 14, 2004 01:07:59 PM
I saw this a/c sitting on the trailer in Tom Reilly's hanger maybe 10 years ago. Many of the panels were recently homemade, and as was some of the creative paintwork (i.e. shark's mouth). I haven't seen it since, and when I asked about it on a later visit the guide said it was taken for restoration by a relative of the owner. I may have a picture or two stored.
: Never heard about his one before.
:
:
: Anyone who has attended the EAA Sun 'N Fun Fly-In in Flori
: da over the past eight years has probably seen the battere
: d fuselage of a Curtiss P-40N that is displayed there.
: The fuselage, minus tail, sits on a trailer that enables i
: ts owner to haul it to various airshows and veterans gathe
: rings around the Southeast. It's a fixture at Sun 'N Fun b
: ut the plane does not belong to the EAA.
:
: It's owner is 65-year-old Hal Thompson of Arcadia, Fla. Wh
: en he's not towing it to shows, Thompson keeps the Warhawk
: fuselage in a shed he calls the Thompson Museum.
:
: "I've loved these planes since I was a little kid," he sai
: d, referring to the USAAF fighters he grew up with during
: WW II. In fact, his passion was so intense that he went th
: rough hell to acquire the P-40.
:
: He first heard the story of the P-40 that crashed in the m
: uddy headwaters of the Suwannee River in northwest Florida
: during WW II in 1995.
:
: "I met a man who lived near where it crashed," he said. "H
: e told me where it was and I went and got it, simple as th
: at."
:
: Well, not exactly, Thompson explained. Hauling a motorboat
: and trailer, he and three buddies drove from Arcadia half
: way across the state to a boat ramp at the mouth of the Su
: wannee.
:
: They motored six miles up river to the crash site and bega
: n digging by hand in the swampy mud flats for wreckage. It
: took four trips over two years to find, excavate and reco
: ver the bits and pieces that were left.
:
: Back in Arcadia, Thompson assembled them into a semblance
: of a fuselage, minus the engine, wings and tail. He built
: a structure to house the P-40 and other WW II memorabilia,
: including photos and a mannequin dressed in a USAAF pilot
: 's uniform.
:
: Fifty-Nine Years Ago
:
: The story of Thompson's P-40 dates back to a tragic mishap
: that occurred on March 24th, 1945. On that date, a flight
: of four P-40s took off from Perry Army Air Field about 45
: miles southeast of Tallahassee.
:
: They flew a routine formation training flight over the Gul
: f of Mexico, then headed back to base. As they approached
: the shoreline at the mouth of the river, they were at tree
: top level, Thompson said.
:
: About six miles inland, the flight pulled up to gain altit
: ude to approach Perry Field. That's when two of the planes
: collided.
:
: "Flight Officer Jenske's P-40 clipped the elevator of the
: plane in front of him," said Thompson. "Jenske bailed out
: of his plane and broke his ankle on landing, F/O Earl Good
: year crashed and was killed."
:
: According to Thompson, Jenske's plane crashed in a spot wh
: ere the Army and civilian souvenir hunters were able to re
: trieve most of the wreckage. Goodyear's P-40 crashed in th
: e swamp and only his body was recovered.
:
: The plane, with ammunition still in the wing guns, lay bur
: ied in the swamp for more than 50 years, until Thompson tr
: acked it down and recovered it.
:
: The Thompson Museum is located at 7115 SE Airfield Ave., A
: rcadia, FL 34266.