B-17 Parts Wanted - Australia

[woodley]

G'day from DownUnder

I am but a poor cousin who desires to build a B-17. I appreciate the reality of the task so please do not under estimate my comittment to this. I personally feel it is a shame that we do not have more
bomber types, either static or flying here in Australia. We have the Werribee B-24 restoration project in Melbourne Victoria and that is an amazing example of what can be done. We alo have a partial
airframe of a B-25 in Darwin, Northern territory, but very few people know or don't appreciate that we had a large number of B-17's operating out of the Northern parts of Queensland during WW2.
In fact, even fewer people would know that the only known MIA on Australian soil came from a B-17 trying to return to its base. The Wreckage of theis B-17 located just North of Weipa in the Gulf country of Queensland. There are a number of potential wreck sites that may produce some minor bits and pieces but I am looking for larger sections, components etc. I am doing some research on another B-17 not in Australia but I will keep that a secret for now.

So, while I have numerous parts for B-24 including engine mounts, rear turret shell, Rudder etc etc I have only managed to secre a few smaller parts from private sellers or from Ebay. Not the best way to commence a project as I am a killer for provenance, but I was hoping that somewhere out there, there could be someone who needs B-24 or P-40 parts in exchange for B-17 items. I appreciate there is an inbalance in the values of such items but hope this site may yield some leads for me to follow up.

If you have anything B-17 that you wish to sell or trade, please contact me via this site and I will do my best to complete a deal, but remember, we Aussies are your poor cousins so be kinf

Peter Smythe
peter@reevers.com.au

[DryMartini]

Well, I have some Hydraulic actuators for a B-24 bomb bay door, for trade for B-17 parts....
Not quite the direction you were headed in, though.

We have some extra B-17 parts around. Mike may be interested in exchanging for P-40 stuff.
PM me.

[woodley]

Hi All - my second go at this so apologies for any doble ups.

I've had 2 great responses from sellers and have now secured a significant holding of Fortress spares and can be a bit cheeky and say I am well on my way to establishing a sound platform from
which to base a serious rebuild of the type. I now have many hard to find internal and external fittings, for example I have cockpit windows, seats and other fittings but need a cockpit to put them in.
So its time for me to step up to the plate and be serious about this. So I am now looking for any "body parts" from any section that will aid me in my efforts to rebuild a B-17 here. Doesn't matter how
small or damaged the part is, its all good for reference material or for incorporation into the rebuild.

If anyone has any leads or pieces they'd like to sell please drop me a line at peter at reevers dot com dot au and we can take it from there.

below image of 1 of 3 engine mounts I now have ( I hope this works this time)

many thanks to those who have responded with suggestions and advice its been very much appreciated.

Seasons greetings to all

Peter

[woodley]

Tried to include the following images as well. Just a few items I have picked up along the way. Any help identifying either piece would be appreciated.

[DryMartini]

The first photo is the wing terminal, commonly called a "Tuning Fork".
This one is from a B-17B/C/D, denoted by the scalloped rear edge.

The skin is tougher. My first thought is that is from an early B-17
horizontal stabilizer, but I have absolutely no proof right now.

[partschaser]

Bill

You've been buried in those B-17 drawings way too long! Being able to identify the 'tuning fork' as from an early B/C/D sure makes you an expert in my book.

Bill K.

[woodley]

Thanks very much for the assistance.
If that is correct, B/C/D is of use for an F model? as this is the focus of my attention so far. Although we did have some earlier types arrive in Australia,
I thought they all moved on and E's and F's filled the gap?


Peter

[DryMartini]

If that is correct, B/C/D is of use for an F model? as this is the focus of my attention so far.
Although we did have some earlier types arrive in Australia,
I thought they all moved on and E's and F's filled the gap?

There are slight differences between the early model wing terminals, and the later models.
As if it can be used in an "F" model, it depends on what you want to do with your "F".
Static? - probably no problem. Flying? - You would need to have an engineer check it out.

[woodley]

STATIC! whats that?

Nope my approach is go for a flyer and if you fall short then a static is what you end up with? - happy to listen to others views.

Additionally I have also secured a large cache of B-17 parts easily filling a 20ft container and on the water as I type. This will add to our inventory

quite significantly. I have a second level of negotiations in process for more parts but as expressed before, most are fittings and hang on bits, hence my

eagerness to aquire the big stuff now and I am sure you all now, every little bit helps. Regarding the image of the skin I posted before below is a close up

of some hand written numbers which appear to indicate the location - well to me anyway.

[Lucky 13]

Peter did you get your self a jig so you could assemble the fuselage on it.

[woodley]

No Jigs yet, still focussing on the hard to get stuff.

Scored several tail wheels, retract motors and worm shafts for same, all NOS.

Currently got people helping me with other items aka MLG (I have wheels, brakes etc) exhaust sets (I have only partial sets at the minute), looking for yokes and pedals but have just about everything
else (would consider a better quadrant) no issues with windows but some better roof panels or frames would be good. Got some nice items out of the UK plus a full set of props (12 blades) 6 of which are NOS but looking for hubs and other bits there, negotiating for control surfaces and have secured about half the material I need for a ball turret.

I'll need more body work, bulkheads etc before I'll need jigs, its a catch 22 situation, the money I spend on jigs cold get me some nice pieces etc.

But overall its coming along nicely.

Peter

[woodley]

Howdy

thought I would update the site with my new arrival of parts. 70% B-17 with T6 and a few B-24 stuff mixed in for good luck. I've been extremely lucky dealing with a great fella who lives along way from me and I had no way of inspecting the parts, having said that I was provided with all the paperwork I wanted and as many images as I needed to help me feel more secure about the purchase.

And a pic - just because I want to show off - but to give everyone an idea of how things are progressing.

Peter

[woodley]

Need help to identify this seat. See pics, thanks in advance - Peter

[DryMartini]

It's not B-17.
I don't think it is even Boeing.

[woodley]

It apparently comes from an early Convair T-29A being the Military version of the commercial 240 series liner.

The T-29A was used to trainer navigators and I have been supplied with a number of pics. Its also the same as the Navigators seat in a B-24.

Thanks

Peter