P-51D cockpit floorboards

[CRAZY IVAN5]

I know the floorboards were made of wood , the question I have would they be painted over with "interior green "then as they got scuffed would the wood show through? I 've seen restored "stangs and they were varnished wood , but would they be like that when they were in service? I know more dumb Mustang questions but I gotta ask.

[MikeMaben]

Sure, they were wood, painted with a mixture of black paint and a fine grit sand, apparently the same stuff

they used on walkways (even tho there were no painted walkways on P-51s.) Yes it wore thru , kinda like

my attempt ...

 

...not worn completely thru to the wood.  HTH

[John1]

Here a pic of a very weathered (and completely original) F-51D cockpit.   

[CRAZY IVAN5]

On 9/29/2024 at 6:56 AM, John1 said:

Here a pic of a very weathered (and completely original) F-51D cockpit.   

It LOOKS like the wood was initially painted interior green then over painted with that "anti skid " black . Good photo as it shows an unrestored cockpit which is helpful as I'm doing an "in service" aircraft.

[Juggernut]

According to the blueprint, the Birch plywood flooring was coated only with anti-skid black.  No varnish, no primer, just anti-skid paint.   If I can find my snip of the print, I’ll post it here.

 

 

 

Edited October 1 by Juggernut

[TAG]

Voilà!

 

 

As you can see, they could come in different shades of IG or DDG or even in YZC, so feel free to add some interest to your cockpits.

 

HTH,

- T

[MikeMaben]

I think John's pic is from the Korean war era.

[John1]

Correct - It was an F-51D that had the cockpit repainted black, as did many Mustangs that were overhauled for use in Korea. That said, the floorboards would be identical to a WW2 vintage P-51.  

[CRAZY IVAN5]

7 hours ago, John1 said:

Correct - It was an F-51D that had the cockpit repainted black, as did many Mustangs that were overhauled for use in Korea. That said, the floorboards would be identical to a WW2 vintage P-51.  

Thank you very much for the info! As you've pointed out there was a fair amount of variations in cockpit colors ,I'll just pick one and go with it . Do you think that the cockpits would've been painted black on the Israeli 'stangs ? I can't find any pics to tell me one way or the other . They probably ran the gamut as they got them from different sources. I am using the K-14 for the gun sight[ the kit gives 2 options]. I told yoous guys that I'd be asking a lot of stupid questions. 

[John1]

3 hours ago, CRAZY IVAN5 said:

Thank you very much for the info! As you've pointed out there was a fair amount of variations in cockpit colors ,I'll just pick one and go with it . Do you think that the cockpits would've been painted black on the Israeli 'stangs ? I can't find any pics to tell me one way or the other . They probably ran the gamut as they got them from different sources. I am using the K-14 for the gun sight[ the kit gives 2 options]. I told yoous guys that I'd be asking a lot of stupid questions. 

Lol, they aren’t stupid questions and they are probably identical to what I was asking when I did my F-51D build a couple of years ago.  As far as black cockpits, I can’t recall when Israel was flying P-51’s but the black cockpits were painted during overhaul of USAF Mustangs late 40’s through early 50’s.  If the IDF was flying them earlier, I’d suggest going with WW2 spec green pits.   

[CRAZY IVAN5]

3 hours ago, John1 said:

Lol, they aren’t stupid questions and they are probably identical to what I was asking when I did my F-51D build a couple of years ago.  As far as black cockpits, I can’t recall when Israel was flying P-51’s but the black cockpits were painted during overhaul of USAF Mustangs late 40’s through early 50’s.  If the IDF was flying them earlier, I’d suggest going with WW2 spec green pits.   

As near as I can tell, they started using them late 1948, so it COULD go either way.  I'm going with the K-14 gunsight because I'm sure by the time the Israelis got ahold of them they were all refitted,[I wanna say the Mustangs got them in 1944]. I'm a little confused about the sights though . It seems like there were different models [?]. Some had 2 glass plates [ one vertical the other slanted at ~45 degree angle , some had only the slanted glass plate, still others had both with some kind of cover over top[ looks like a small car port; only way I can describe it ]. I've been all over the internet and can't get a definitive . I'm guessing the Israeli 'stangs had the single slanted type.

[John1]

I think you are spot on regarding the K-14’s.   As far as which style, I can’t help there.  Hopefully you can find a pic of an IDF Mustang that shoes the cockpit area clearly enough to determine which arrangement the used (if I had to take a guess,, I say either one was probably in use).  I think the sight with the metal cover over it may have been more of a British thing but I’m not an SME on this.  

[R Palimaka]

There are a couple of photos here, showing the K-14 on Israeli Mustangs. I have to look at my references at home but I think the sunshade was retractable.

 

Ventura Publications Israeli Mustangs

 

Another article talks about the first four Mustangs smuggled into Israel having arrived de-militarized with gunsights removed. Interestingly the Israelis installed Czech-made Revi sights cannibalized from damaged S-199s. Can't vouch for the source, it comes from an independent researcher.

 

Early Israeli Air Force Mike's Research

 

Hope this helps a little bit.

 

Richard

[CRAZY IVAN5]

7 hours ago, R Palimaka said:

There are a couple of photos here, showing the K-14 on Israeli Mustangs. I have to look at my references at home but I think the sunshade was retractable.

 

Ventura Publications Israeli Mustangs

 

Another article talks about the first four Mustangs smuggled into Israel having arrived de-militarized with gunsights removed. Interestingly the Israelis installed Czech-made Revi sights cannibalized from damaged S-199s. Can't vouch for the source, it comes from an independent researcher.

 

Early Israeli Air Force Mike's Research

 

Hope this helps a little bit.

 

Richard

Good info ,thank you! As far as the first  'stangs having Revi sights, entirely possible. The Israelis were and are a very resourceful bunch . I had the chance to talk to a pilot who flew the Avia and he described it as putting a saddle on a wild boar then trying to ride it like a pony. It was a "mule" that ended his flying career ,was seriously injured in a crash, recovered but couldn't fly anymore. From the pics that I can make out , it looks like the K-14s had just the single slanted glass ,think I'm gonna go with that and dare anybody to call me a liar.