I/D NEEDED   10/15/07

These are pix of some flying machines that have been kicking around for a while
awaiting identification, clarification, or more information. Since someone out there
knows more about these Whatzits than we do, we hope he or she will email us so the
birds get their rightful place on Aerofiles' pages. Click the pix for larger image.

Andrew Seybel 01: "This has to be a development ship. A late model F6F-3 with the -5 antenna and -5N armament (cannon substituted for inboard .50). However, gun fairings suggest an early -3 and red insigne bars only add to the confusion. I read that some -3Ns were modified in the field to carry the 20mm, but that doesn't explain the more vertical radio mast or the gun fairings." COMMENTS Andrew Seybel 02: "Looks like an early -3, but no guns. Possibly XF6F-4 before the cannon installation?" Here comes Blocher again with his #3. One of two from 1927, it looks familiar, but then they all do after a while. Has a bit of Taylor Chummy look to it. COMMENTS Blocher #4 from 1927. No data or location. COMMENTS Leave it to Eric Blocher to dredge up the real oddballs. Twin-boom, twin-tail but what? It starts off like a Fairchild 24R up front, then goes off in another direction.

Shriver We received two photos of this rare bird, but data are lacking on what looks like a Curtiss copy with droop ailerons. Take a look at it on the Sa to Si page, see if any bell rings. Tod Shriver, himself, is documented on the Early Birds web site. Looks like one of the swept- wing Standards (an H or J?) with a Curtiss R nose, but balanced rudder (Fokker?) and tower radiator don't compute. COMMENTS A leftover from our old Whatzit page, captioned Aero-University. Not a PT-19 mod, as was a frequent guess, but more likely is a student project from the '30s. COMMENTS From out of the mists of 1913 comes this critter with no name, no location, no data, no nothing. Click it for a triple-pic, which will probably be of no help, either. Pic identified as a Yackey, but a Yackey what? Doesn't seem to fit anywhere. COMMENTS

John Diele contributes this mystery ship spotted on a late-'30s used car lot. This one rings a small bell, but I couldn't match it with anything in Aerofiles. Markings on tail too blurry to decipher. COMMENTS EXPOSED! "Fresh air" open-sides, could be an early Taylor Cub, but what year, what model, what engine? COMMENTS EXPOSED! Modified SPAD. Name of 'DeMarcay Pursuit' does not surface, so it could be foreign. French? COMMENTS