Saturday, September 30, 2017

F8F-2P Propeller Hub

Note: The answer didn't take long - see comment below.


I recently took a close look at the propeller on this F8F-2P:

It appears to have an extension on the propeller hub. Moreover, the extension looks like a censored detail.

This same hub and appearance of censorship is on other -2P photos.

I did find one that showed the feature, uncensored or at least not painted white.
I didn't see this extension on hubs of F8F fighters in a quick survey of other photos.

The pod under the wing of the F8F-2P in the top photo is not a mystery. It contains a trimetrogon camera* capability:
Lightening the picture reveals a port on the right side. My guess is that there was also a port on the left side and one on the bottom.

*

Trimetrogon cameras in a B-17

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 30, 2017 at 4:41 PM

    A quick check of Steve Ginter's massive Bearcat book shows a number of photos of Bearcats with this beer can looking thing on their prop hubs. Steve says they are 25lb weights that were clamped to the hub to bring the CG back in line whenever heavy stuff - like cameras on the P-models - ended up in the aft fuselage. Not all the Bearcats sporting the weights in the book are recce birds, but most were. Seems to me to be a less than elegant solution to the CG issue, altho it apparently did the job. Can't imagine what would happen if the thing came off in flight.

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    1. TailspinOctober 1, 2017 at 7:39 AM

      D'Oh! I have that monograph and missed that explanation. Thanks very much for bringing it to our attention.

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