P-47 or agricultural?

Ok thanks for the information. I also know of a P-51 crash site close by near Newton village. Any ideas on that one?

Rob

I haven’t found one yet. I’ve got a folder from 2008 with over 700 P-47 pictures in it, but none of them were marked originally. I’ll add this P-47D to my searches. I occasionally browse through it and label the ones I can recognize, but so far I don’t have anything for 42-74683. One aircrew report lists it as having the code MX-? as well, so that may help in the search. The 78th FG and American Cemetery in Cambridge websites may have useful clues as well, but I haven’t found a picture yet from those sources.

Ah that’s interesting, good work DC. I originally put three miles as I was thinking of driving distance rather than flying distance, but that could very well be the one. That also puts the date of the crash as very near to my dads tenth birthday.

Any idea where I could find a photo of this particular P-47?

Rob

Here’s one that is listed as 3 miles north of Duxford, but it should be within the triangle you defined.

P-47D 42-74683 of 82FS, 78FG took off from Duxford for training flight.
Crashed 3 miles North of Duxford.
Pilot 1st Lt. Melvin R. Wright killed in crash.
December 10, 1943.
Buried in American Cemetery, Cambridge.

Thanks for the additional info.

It’s from a field between the villages of Little Shelford, Whittlesford and Newton so approximately a mile from Duxford airfield. My father remembered the crash from the war when he was around ten / eleven years old.

Rob

Rob,

How close (or far away) from Duxford? Was the crash site outside of Great Hormead near the old Hormead mills?

If so your part could be from P-47D 42-7963 HL-T “Dawson County Nebraska”, piloted by Flight Officer Archie “Sonny” F. Daniels of 83rd FS, 78th FG, who took off from Duxford on his 9th mission on the 11th of February, 1944. He had belly tank troubles and was trying to return to the airfield when he crashed. He had an English fiancée from Newtown who attended his funeral at the American Cemetery outside of Cambridge.

If this is your man, there is a great deal of information at this link about his part in what was a very busy day for so many. An interesting read even if it isn’t the one you’re looking for.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=116131

It’s an AN827. No idea of the -# without knowing what dia tube it’s for. -2D is 1/8in & it goes up in 16ths, -5D is 5/16th etc…

Blue just indicates it’s made from aluminum, steel would be black, stainless would be bare metal. Stainless has a J instead of a D in the -#, Steel doesn’t have a letter.

Thanks for the replies, both of you, as that pretty much nails it. It’s a former 78th fighter group aircraft from Dx as told to me by my late father but I’ve never been able to pin down an identity or the pilots name (who I understand didn’t get out).

Rob

It’s from an American aircraft.
The blue color means it’s part of the hydraulic or cooling system as specified by the American MIL-STD system.

There is no way to tell what exact type of aircraft it came from.
I have a similar fitting from a T-33, a friend who restores aircraft has several boxes of various shapes on hand (90 degree bend, X and T shapes, etc.) for his projects. I’ve seen some color codes fittings on vehicles, but usually custom retrofits. I suppose it could have come from a tractor with a hydraulic system…but if you know a Thunderbolt went down in that sport, there’s you answer.

The reverse is simply marked AN

https://archive.org/details/americannational98unse