P-47 Cockpit Floor Corrudated or Flat?

[Bucksnort101]

Can anyone give me a definitive answer to this. Been trying to research which model P-47's had corrugated cockpit floors and which had flat or smooth floors.
Seems to be no consensus, some places I read everything up until the P-47d-26 models had corrugated and later had smooth floor, other sources say they were corrugated up until the d-30 model. Other sources just stat the early D models had corugated and later D models had smooth floors, not helpful at all.
Anyone have any hard data stating whatmodel had what?

 

[Airframes]

All the various sources I have Greg, state that the floor was corrugated up to the D-25. from D-26 on it was smooth, sheet metal. Apparently this was a labour/time/cost saving exercise, after it was found that the ribbed floor, originally to provide strength and rigidity, wasn't really neccessary. I think there might have also been minor changes to the internal structure of the mid section, allowing a sufficiently strong 'flat' floor to be utilised.

 

[Bucksnort101]

OK, just seems when you try to search on-line for the answer you get conflicting informatiion. Guess the Thunderbolt I'm building in the Heavy Hitters Group Build is going to have the incorrect cockpit floor, think that aircraft was a D-27? Maybe they had to replace the cockpit floor due to battle damage

 

[Airframes]

Sshh, Greg! Don't tell anyone, and they won't know! Actually, in 1/48th scale, not much of the floor is clearly visible, not the 'ribbed' bits anyway. I beleive even the superb Hasegawa 1/32nd scale kit is incorrect for one of the options provided in the kit. Of course, it could have been a 'D-25, updated to 'D-27, couldn't it?!!! (winks knowingly!)

 

[Bucksnort101]

Sshh, Greg! Don't tell anyone, and they won't know! Actually, in 1/48th scale, not much of the floor is clearly visible, not the 'ribbed' bits anyway. I beleive even the superb Hasegawa 1/32nd scale kit is incorrect for one of the options provided in the kit. Of course, it could have been a 'D-25, updated to 'D-27, couldn't it?!!! (winks knowingly!)

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!!

 

[B-17engineer]

Wayne won't be very happy about this!

 

[Airframes]

Wayne won't know if we don't tell him....Doh! He can read though!

 

[Crimea_River]

Wouldn't be hard to fix if you wanted to. Just full in the troughs and sand or glue on piece of card.

 

[Airframes]

Could do that, but that section of the floor would be a scale two or three inches higher. In 1/48th scale, I'd leave it, or cut/file off the corrugations, and 'plate over' with thin plastic card if I was being really thorough!

 

[Bucksnort101]

I'm leaving it as is. Looked in several references at home, and on-line and some still say D-25 up, one says D-28 up, and yet another says D-30 and up.