jkendal wrote:Is it my imagination, or are those engine cowlings rotated????? Is that even possible????
And; what about the "CC" on the cowling nearest to the photo? Or is that a "watermark"?
Lastly are those antenna under the mission/kill markings?
Wow, Steve, really cool! Thanks!
Joe
The cowlings are not "rotated", they appear to be natural metal with OD anti-glare painted on. Note on the number three-engine how the cowl flaps are cut out for the exhaust stack. In any case, the forward part of the B-17 cowling (minus the cowl flap ring) can be removed as three seperate pieces and, if I am not mistaken, then re-installed in any order.
I take your points, but; they don't look natural metal to me.
Look at the inboard engine. If that is an anti glare panel, it extends roughly 2/3s of the way around the cowl. Additionally the weathering on the part that is purported to be natural metal is typical of a painted surface, not a NM surface.
With respect, I have NOT ever worked on a B-17, however; I have almost thirty years in Aviation Maintenance, and; it looks painted to me.
I did note the "cut outs" and that bothers me. However; there is something else about those cowlings that bothers me,and I can not put my finger on it.
Just like that POV on the background. With fuel being rationed, and access restricted.... I don't know.....it just bothers me.
Joe, that 'CC' marking is painted on the cowlings, and that's a pretty typical sea-search antenna array below the kill markings.
HTE, I can't see evidence of a nickname or nose art being painted over.
It's intriguing that an aircraft with only 14 missions displayed has credit for six enemy aircraft destroyed . . . surely there's a story there that we should have heard about.
