Help In Identifying an Aircraft Panel.

[Milkcup1986]

Hi, I have recently found this item whilst metal detecting in an isolated field in Oxfordshire. I can see from the quality of the riveting and the parts marking and inspection stamps on each part that this is an aviation panel possibly off a military plane. Could anyone please identify what this item is and what aircraft it is off?
Kind regards,
Danny Jones, Henley-On-Thames

 

[Airframes]

Hard to tell without some dimensions, but it looks like it could possibly be a gun or ammunition bay cover. The Interior Grey Green paint suggests WW2 to early 1950s period, probably the latter if that's a bare alloy outer finish.
Someone here might be able to identify it by the part number shown in the second pic.

 

[Milkcup1986]

Hard to tell without some dimensions, but it looks like it could possibly be a gun or ammunition bay cover. The Interior Grey Green paint suggests WW2 to early 1950s period, probably the latter if that's a bare alloy outer finish.
Someone here might be able to identify it by the part number shown in the second pic.

Thanks for your quick reply.That's a good start as I now know its defiantly off of a military plane .Could this part have fallenl off in flight as I found it in the middle of a field buried in the ground ,?.

 

[Milkcup1986]

Thanks for your quick reply.That's a good start as I now know its defiantly off of a military plane .Could this part have fallenl off in flight as I found it in the middle of a field buried in the ground ,?.

Hi I have measured the panel and it is 12.750 inchs x 5.125 inches.(325 mm x 130 mm ).The part mark seems to be 114T4260-2.Also the other number looks to be 6626702516 OL 43329.Also there is a circle with OMA 193 00 or CO.I hope this information can be of some help.Kind regards Danny.

 

[Airframes]

Hm. Possibly a tad small for an ammo or gun cover then.
My first thought was Meteor, and there are similarities, but the size suggests not. That semi-circular 'flange' was what made me think gun bay cover, or possibly camera bay cover.
It's not the sort of thing that would normally fall off in flight, but I guess it's not impossible.
Have you looked into any crashes in the area ?
As mentioned, the serial numbers might mean something to someone, but I'm afraid I can't help there.

 

[nuuumannn]

Hello,

just looking at the hardware in use, the fasteners, anchor nuts etc, I think it might be a bit more modern than Meteor, Terry; the hardware is the kind of stuff still in use today, of US origin. That doesn't necessarily mean it was from an American aircraft, but the nuts and stuff are definitely off-the-shelf today. The circular markings will be inspection stamps and those stringers riveted to the panels will have their part number on them, probably one of the numbers you listed, Danny.

 

[Airframes]

I did think the fasteners looked more modern than the Meteor era Grant, but it was the use of the grey-green interior paint which made me think late 1940s to early 1950s. After this period, colours changed to either zinc primer or light grey in the main.
The enlargement below, of part of the Meteor F8 at DX, shows similar fasteners on the front of the gun panels, and on the battery hatch, but of course these are very possibly recent additions, as the remainder are the earlier type, 'slotted' fastener, as evidenced by the alignment marks either side of the fastener holes. Note also that the aircraft is finished in the 'High Speed Silver' of the period, and not bare metal.
That green paint could be green zinc primer, and the serial/part numbers do seem to be more like US arrangement, rather than British.
With a bare metal metal finish, it could be from any number of USAF types, although I'm thinking perhaps F-100 ?

 

[nuuumannn]

Could be; good detective work Terry. The Meat Box gun panel fasteners look like your common everyday Dzus fastener or camloc type thingy opened with a flat blade screw driver.

 

[Airframes]

Yep Grant, they are, apart from those at the very front, top and bottom, on each gun access panel, which look like commercial 'Phillips' or 'Pozidrive' screws/bolts. (they're easier to see in my original pic, which has been cropped and reduced in size to meet the forum requirements.)
During preparation for static display, It was probably a case of "I'll get the bl**dy thing to stay closed, over the gun ports - pass me a couple of those over-sized Phillips-head screws"!!