Which Fuel Drop Tank?

[spijkerfestijn]

Does enyone know which type of drop tank this is?
Is it German or Allied and Which type of Aircraft carried it.
We thought it was RAF of US but these seem all have countersunk parts

 

[herman1rg]

Any ID Numbers or Letters on it?

 

[spijkerfestijn]

Any ID Numbers or Letters on it?

Sadly no signs found on the thing. Do you know where we have to search for these markings. It looks as if a small sign rectangular plate was attached on the thing but sadly we now only see the place where that marking was attached. When I browse over the web the shape looks like the type which was fitted underneaht german Figther planes. Perhaps there is some documentation about the different types

 

[herman1rg]

This may help
http://www.avia-it.com/act/cera_una_volta/echi/CUV_Echi_2016/Seg_art_giu_16/Drop_Tanks_USAAF.pdf

 

[spijkerfestijn]

This may help
http://www.avia-it.com/act/cera_una_volta/echi/CUV_Echi_2016/Seg_art_giu_16/Drop_Tanks_USAAF.pdf

Thanks, based on the information so far I think it's a German or perhaps an early Allied type. (based on the fact parts are not countersunk )
the thing was connected on 4 places to the aircraft. The type marking was placed just in front of the connection part in front

 

[stona]

When I browse over the web the shape looks like the type which was fitted underneaht german Figther planes.

I'm 95% certain that it is not a WW2 era German tank. I'm familiar with most German tanks and the construction and various other things do not look German to me. Never say never, but...

It's difficult to scale from the images, but maybe a US 75 gallon tank?

 

[Airframes]

Again, without dimensions, it's tricky to say, but it also has the appearance of a 1950's era tank, as used on such types as the Vampire, Meteor etc.

 

[cvairwerks]

A close look at the nuts on the mounts and measuring them should tell you if it's US or foreign. Also brush the junk off the forgings and look for either part numbers or inspection stamps on them. The feed fitting dimensions will help too.

 

[Oilit77]

If the filler cap can be removed there should be a gasket (using that to name the sealant on the inside of he cap) that should be lifted and perhaps some data will be revealed where it came from with some research. Be very careful removing the gasket as you could destroy information on the inside of it.
Considering its age and how long it stayed 'lost' any cleaning method to uncover information is a slow process and it could be necessary to soak the cap before removing the gasket to give it some flex. Have fun and I hope you get the answer you wish for.

 

[MiTasol]

The two hangers look American. How far apart are they?

That will determine if they fit on a US bomb shackle.
The general shape is similar to the 52 gallon P-40D to N tanks but they were usually pressed steel. The filler appears too far forward to be P-40 though
This diagram however shows a riveted alloy tank on a P-40 so it may be an early P-40 tank.

If it is American see if you can track down an earlier version of this manual - dated say 1942/44 - as that will show all the tanks in use at that date

 

[spijkerfestijn]

I'm 95% certain that it is not a WW2 era German tank. I'm familiar with most German tanks and the construction and various other things do not look German to me. Never say never, but...

It's difficult to scale from the images, but maybe a US 75 gallon tank?

Sorry for the long delay but I wasn't able to visit the workplace up until now. We found some numbers on the tank and the length is approx 2 meters
the numbers were on one of the bronze mountings. 1-2 and 1648 see pictures. On the bottom there was a strange square plug... I don't know if that was original attached.
I hope this information helps to identify the tank

 

[spijkerfestijn]

The two hangers look American. How far apart are they?
View attachment 575022
That will determine if they fit on a US bomb shackle.
The general shape is similar to the 52 gallon P-40D to N tanks but they were usually pressed steel. The filler appears too far forward to be P-40 though
This diagram however shows a riveted alloy tank on a P-40 so it may be an early P-40 tank.
View attachment 575023
If it is American see if you can track down an earlier version of this manual - dated say 1942/44 - as that will show all the tanks in use at that date
View attachment 575024

There 36

cm apart mountings are bronze and the small one on the back contains text 1-2 1648

 

[MiTasol]

This is the USAAF B-7 shackle that the P-39 and P-40 tanks hang from. The spacing centre to centre is 14" or 355.6mm. Given the distortion in your tank, and the much clearer photos of the hangers, I think it is 99% certain that this is an early American tank for a P-39 or P-40. The A-36 and P-51 use a different shackle but use exactly the same spacing. I do not know what the original Mustangs used, being designed to a British specification, but I would expect an American shackle, if any, was fitted. There are several photo collections on this forum centred on Aircraft Picture Requests and Aircraft Pictures

I would suggest browsing those and if you do not find what you are looking for post a request linking to this thread so people can see why you are looking. If you find a photo of your type of tank fitted to an aircraft please post it or a link here.

EDIT
The square plug on the bottom of the tank is the tank drain plug.

 

[vikingBerserker]

I'm curious, could that shackle also carry bombs or were they strictly for drop tanks?

 

[MiTasol]

Hi VB

It is the same shackle and for P-40s you can find many photos with a bomb on it for example in post 189 on page Curtiss P-40 and post 214 on Curtiss P-40

They even use the same sway brace system on US aircraft and the manual jettison handle is called bomb release from memory I will check and post label when I get time

 

[MiTasol]

Unfortunately I cannot find the placard drawing. Item 10 is the bomb arming control, item 20 is the bomb and tank release handle. Early P-40s could carry six (from memory) small bombs under each outer wing

Blueprint extracts showing both bomb and tank on the shackle

 

[spijkerfestijn]

I want to thank you all for your help. At least I now know for sure it's not a German one. The number 1648 tell's it's American. And this last post shows details of a tank which looks quite similar as the one we have. On the images in this forum I only found drop tanks where the fuel inlet is sunk into the tank. The drawing shows a tank with an inlet mounted on the tank, just like ours. So it seems to be an early P-40 drop-tank. Again thank you all for you effort.

 

[MiTasol]

Well I have to say the chances are now very low that it is a P-40 tank so I would suggest a P-39 tank is most likely.

I have tracked down some P-40 tank photos and gone into the details of the blueprints further and as far as I can tell none of the P-40 tank variants had short filler necks. Basically the same tank was used on the Hawk75A-5 export aircraft (hence the 75- part numbers on most parts and the 87- numbers only on the hanger fittings).

I will chase up P-39 tank details as and when time permits.

 

[ThomasP]

Hey guys,

There is a P-40E (currently owned by P40 Kittyhawk LLC in Beaverton, OR) that (back in 1988) was carrying a DT that matches the configuration of the one on this thread.

See: "Curtiss P-40 Warhawk"

Currently it is fitted with a pressed steel(?) tank. Maybe check with them, or possibly Avspecs Ltd in New Zealand who (I think) recently did some restoration work on it.

 

[MiTasol]

Hi
Did a quick look in the P-39 -2 and found this picture of the P-39 aux tank and the filler fits spijkerfestijn 's photos. A look at the blueprints for the 15-662-060 tank assembly shows the right profile as well as having the vent and delivery fittings in the correct positions so I am 99% confident that this is a P-39 auxiliary tank