WWII Aircraft tool roll

[daradke]

Howdy! This summer I helped my parents downsize to a senior living complex, Pop's 92 and Mom's 80. In going thru a lifetime of accumulated stuff I got a lot of my Dad's, and my Dad's, Dad's tools. This tool roll was just one of the many things I now have. I believe is a prototype tool set for the Bell P-39 Aircobra. Seems like it's mostly complete with only the grease gun being used. Found that in my Dad's Proto box he kept at the airport. If anyone has any info I would like to hear.

 

[daradke]

Page 2

 

[ZRX61]

I'm a warbird mech/restorer, I'd love to have it.

 

[daradke]

Page 3

 

[daradke]

Page 4

 

[3baygarage]

Pretty neat find. Some Williams wrenches in there. Can you make out any other names? The eyebolt looks like a Williams from here as well, assuming the tiny diamond marking has a W inside of it.

That flex head allen wrench is different.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I believe is a prototype tool set for the Bell P-39 Aircobra. Seems like it's mostly complete with only the grease gun being used. Found that in my Dad's Proto box he kept at the airport. If anyone has any info I would like to hear.

First of all, this 15-475-011 Special Tool Kit would be incredible given its completeness - with the original drawing tucked into a pocket, no less, regardless of the provenance. The fact that it was your Dad's makes it beyond special, and priceless. My Dad was also a WWII vet, Navy, and we found so many things he never talked about, including his ship's home-made newsletters, for which he provided all the artwork. All I can say is, it figures that it was tucked away in a toolbox and you don't know much about it. When I hear the guys in the 'Band of Brothers' type movies and documentaries, all I can think is, it must have taken a lot of cajoling to get them involved, because my dad and my uncles had no interest in talking about the war.

Re: the drawing. It was used to track changes to the kit. I have analyzed many from the Willys-Overland factory for the evolution of the jeep toolkit and a chapter in a book I co-authored on that subject. Every time there was a change to the kit, the drawing was updated, and the change annotated by date. You have posted a zoom on the change block and the whole middle. Would you please post a zoom on the lower right? That is where the most helpful identifying information will be. It will include the name and part number (judging by the pouch, and the watermark on the drawing, looks like 15-475-011) of the kit as well as dates and responsible agencies and other helpful information.

Is that how you're connecting this toolkit to the "Peashooter" (P-39)? Does it say P-39 on the drawing? Did you search on the part number? Or are you using a priori information with respect to your Dad's wartime career? Also, what are you using to infer that it was a "prototype" kit? The P-39 was tested as early as 1937 and involved in the war very early. On top of that, the drawing is from late 1943.

The kit looks to me like it was specifically used for maintaining .50 cal machine guns. I see multiple references to ".50 cal" on tools and the pouch. (Very interesting how they re-purposed a Williams water pump wrench for a .50 cal adjusting nut!) My understanding is that the P-39 had two .50 cal MG's early war (slotted in each wing near the fuselage), and then four (4) late war. Do you see a ".37mm" anywhere on the pouch or the tools? The P-39 was famous for its nose cannon. Perhaps there was a separate kit for that gun.

Love it. Trying to help.

Please post that lower right corner of the drawing.

EDIT: The drawing is the key.

 

[snapmom]

Any other planes had the 50 cal?

 

[wrenchguy]

Most awesome!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Any other planes had the 50 cal?

Every fighter, bomber, and torpedo-bomber had at least one 50 cal Browning M2 fixed mounted MG. The 37mm cannon on the nose of the P-39 was unique and only possible because of the mid-fuselage mounted engine, behind the pilot.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Is that a reference to .30 cal in the drawing? That could help identify and date it as well as the change dates. I was wrong about the armament evolution. Here is a para from Wiki.

"The complete armament fit consisted of the T9 cannon with a pair of Browning M2 .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns mounted in the nose. This changed to two .50 in (12.7 mm) and two .30 in (7.62 mm) guns in the XP-39B (P-39C, Model 13, the first 20 delivered) and two .50 in (12.7 mm) and four .30 in (7.62 mm) (all four in the wings) in the P-39D (Model 15), which also introduced self-sealing tanks and shackles (and piping) for a 500 lb (230 kg) bomb or drop tank.[22]"

 

[y'sguy]

WOW, amazing piece of history right there.

 

[daradke]

First of all, this 15-475-011 Special Tool Kit would be incredible given its completeness - with the original drawing tucked into a pocket, no less, regardless of the provenance. The fact that it was your Dad's makes it beyond special, and priceless. My Dad was also a WWII vet, Navy, and we found so many things he never talked about, including his ship's home-made newsletters, for which he provided all the artwork. All I can say is, it figures that it was tucked away in a toolbox and you don't know much about it. When I hear the guys in the 'Band of Brothers' type movies and documentaries, all I can think is, it must have taken a lot of cajoling to get them involved, because my dad and my uncles had no interest in talking about the war.

Re: the drawing. It was used to track changes to the kit. I have analyzed many from the Willys-Overland factory for the evolution of the jeep toolkit and a chapter in a book I co-authored on that subject. Every time there was a change to the kit, the drawing was updated, and the change annotated by date. You have posted a zoom on the change block and the whole middle. Would you please post a zoom on the lower right? That is where the most helpful identifying information will be. It will include the name and part number (judging by the pouch, and the watermark on the drawing, looks like 15-475-011) of the kit as well as dates and responsible agencies and other helpful information.

Is that how you're connecting this toolkit to the "Peashooter" (P-39)? Does it say P-39 on the drawing? Did you search on the part number? Or are you using a priori information with respect to your Dad's wartime career? Also, what are you using to infer that it was a "prototype" kit? The P-39 was tested as early as 1937 and involved in the war very early. On top of that, the drawing is from late 1943.

The kit looks to me like it was specifically used for maintaining .50 cal machine guns. I see multiple references to ".50 cal" on tools and the pouch. (Very interesting how they re-purposed a Williams water pump wrench for a .50 cal adjusting nut!) My understanding is that the P-39 had two .50 cal MG's early war (slotted in each wing near the fuselage), and then four (4) late war. Do you see a ".37mm" anywhere on the pouch or the tools? The P-39 was famous for its nose cannon. Perhaps there was a separate kit for that gun.

Love it. Trying to help.

Please post that lower right corner of the drawing.

EDIT: The drawing is the key.

Hey Lugz! What a wealth of knowledge! Well, my Pop was in the Air Force after WWII. Something about wrecking his motorcycle into a gas pump at a filling station, and the judge gave him the option of enlisting or jail. He ended up a Tech Sgt. responsible for upper wing surface and landing gear maintenance on B-36's in Minot or somewhere in Maine.

But back to the tools, I assumed P-39 due to being for the Bell Aircraft Co. And being a prototype due to the repurposed wrenches and hand stamping. I'm attaching the pics you requested. Thanks!

 

[cvairwerks]

15-794-011-2x was the standard tool kit for certain P-39N and Q models. Look at the effectivity table to the left of the title block.

Note: The trailing digit after the 2 written on the outside is not readable. You could run the BOM table to determine what that digit should be.

 

[woody 73]

OP very nice set you have take good care of it for the next generation too enjoy.

 

[MR.X]

could you break that down for the shade tree set? "standard tool kit"...what would that include and not include for a WW2 aircraft? Are we talking operator/ crew level stuff or?...would a roll like this be stowed onboard or? ...Clearly the (Allison) engine would have a separate kit but.....?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

But back to the tools, I assumed P-39 due to being for the Bell Aircraft Co.

Good point. I wasn't sure how many different aircraft they made. (You're welcome. And sorry for my dyslexic transcription of the actual part number! )

And being a prototype due to the repurposed wrenches and hand stamping.

Fair point, but that kind of thing was more common than you might expect (whatever met the specs!), and I would have a hard time characterizing a tool-set already issued in several iterations for a few years (1941 through 1943) as a prototype, but quibbling over terminology is not my intent. As I suspected, the drawing main data block pretty much nails it as a P-39 kit. I'm at work on my phone, and I look forward to studying it in more detail on my laptop at home later, but it appears to be a mid to late war kit (drawing created in 41, last updated in 43...), it still seems to be exclusively armament related to me, as opposed to engine or landing gear, etc, almost like an armorers kit for a USAAF ground crew vs tank depot, and it's awesome to behold as the backstory!

 

[daradke]

Good point. I wasn't sure how many different aircraft they made. (You're welcome. And sorry for my dyslexic transcription of the actual part number! )


Fair point, but that kind of thing was more common than you might expect (whatever met the specs!), and I would have a hard time characterizing a tool-set already issued in several iterations for a few years (1941 through 1943) as a prototype, but quibbling over terminology is not my intent. As I suspected, the drawing main data block pretty much nails it as a P-39 kit. I'm at work on my phone, and I look forward to studying it in more detail on my laptop at home later, but it appears to be a mid to late war kit (drawing created in 41, last updated in 43...), it still seems to be exclusively armament related to me, as opposed to engine or landing gear, etc, almost like an armorers kit for a USAAF ground crew vs tank depot, and it's awesome to behold as the backstory!

I appreciate all the info you can provide. I don't know enough to quibble since my Pop thought it was a kit to service Ranger engines.

 

[daradke]

Pretty neat find. Some Williams wrenches in there. Can you make out any other names? The eyebolt looks like a Williams from here as well, assuming the tiny diamond marking has a W inside of it.

That flex head allen wrench is different.

Williams is the only name I see. And it looks like you're right about the eyebolt. Good catch!

 

[ttpete]

One of the wrenches was for a water pump. There was also a reference to a nose wheel. So it might be for a liquid-cooled aircraft with tricycle landing gear.

It was late enough in the war that it could also have been for a P-63 Kingcobra, most of which went to the USSR.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Great piece of history. Love that diagram.

 

[930dreamer]

If used for M2 machine gun, should have a headspace and timming gauge.

 

[MR.X]

One of the wrenches was for a water pump. There was also a reference to a nose wheel. So it might be for a liquid-cooled aircraft with tricycle landing gear.

The 2 Williams wrenches originally designed for water pump use that I'm seeing in the pics both seem to be repurposed for this kit.

 

[MR.X]

If used for M2 machine gun, should have a headspace and timming gauge.

Would there be a kit for operating the 50 cal (with the cleaning rods and ruptured cartridge extractor and HS and timing gauge) that was separate from tools for mounting armament on the aircraft? and was that included in a kit with other airframe tools? Obviously the P-39 Allison V-1710 engine's would have their own kits. It would be nice for an expert to kind of give an overview on how all that was handled. BTW, many vintage tool discussion regulars have undoubtedly had Allison tool kit items pass thru their hands and many probably have them in their possession now. For example the commonly seen Snap On 71N 1/2" drive ratchet stamped 2251 is an Allison toolkit item.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

So this kit is for the machine guns on the plane. What a fantastic kit to have in that condition.

 

[pancho400cid]

Absolutely amazing set!

 

[ZRX61]

Any other planes had the 50 cal?

Pretty much all of them

 

[ZRX61]

Page 4

Pic 4 are jack pads.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

One of the wrenches was for a water pump. There was also a reference to a nose wheel. So it might be for a liquid-cooled aircraft with tricycle landing gear.

The P-39 had a tricycle landing gear, famously, but the water pump wrenches were re-purposed for the .50 cal post adjusting nut, as I pointed out in post #7.

The 2 Williams wrenches originally designed for water pump use that I'm seeing in the pics both seem to be repurposed for this kit.

Correct. Thanks for the backup.

It was late enough in the war that it could also have been for a P-63 Kingcobra, most of which went to the USSR.

Did you see the drawing title block close-up I asked him to post? It is riddled with P-39 variant references. It's a P-39 kit, Pete.

If used for M2 machine gun, should have a headspace and timming gauge.

Would there be a kit for operating the 50 cal (with the cleaning rods and ruptured cartridge extractor and HS and timing gauge) that was separate from tools for mounting armament on the aircraft?

Concur. I don't think it was used for operational maintenance. I could be wrong, but the kit appears to be for accessing the guns, making simple adjustments, and lubrication.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Pic 4 are jack pads.

Per the pouch, and the drawing, part number 12-794-001, specifically wing jack pads.

EDIT: The only tools that aren't explicitly for the .50 cal guns or a trigger motor by name (and there are several of those), mention the wing by name. Wing jack pads, wing hinge bolt wrench, wing beam wrench. Which is where the .50 cal guns were mounted. And then there's a surge valve wrench, a pilot drain wrench - (both of which may point to hydraulics), the mooring and hoist eyebolt, and the lube gun - for a shock dampener.

For the best at-a-glance overview of all the kit's prescribed tools in one place, by name, see the pouch flap in post #1 Pics 5 & 6, and the drawing list in post #13, Pic 2.

 

[daradke]

The P-39 had a tricycle landing gear, famously, but the water pump wrenches were re-purposed for the .50 cal post adjusting nut, as I pointed out in post #7.

Correct. Thanks for the backup.


Did you see the drawing title block close-up I asked him to post? It is riddled with P-39 variant references. It's a P-39 kit, Pete.



Concur. I don't think it was used for operational maintenance. I could be wrong, but the kit appears to be for accessing the guns, making simple adjustments, and lubrication.

Here's a link to a good article on the development of the P-39.

https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=140

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here's a Snap-on ad from 1944 and a zoom on the tool kit they were supplying to Bell for general maintenance on the P-39.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here are a few excerpts from a free preview of a P-39 pilot's manual.

Maybe this kit was for basic flight line level preventive maintenance (gun lube, surge valve, mooring, etc). I defer to more expertise.

 

[Provincial]

While the government ordered many tool kits for the airplanes and other fighting vehicles, most went overseas, and likely few returned to the States. That would explain why there aren't as many survivors. Another reason may be that the kits were broken down and either sold off piecemeal or repacked individually (or in groups of one item) if kept in government inventory.

A kit like this is a rare snapshot into the support effort that kept the fighting equipment operating.

I can see where this kit would have been for general airframe maintenance, with specific kits for the engine and other systems. Repairing and maintaining the guns would have been done by armorers who had specific training and tools. There was (and is) a lot of specialization in the military.

 

[ZRX61]

If used for M2 machine gun, should have a headspace and timming gauge.

Still got mine & the bat wing

 

[ZRX61]

Per the pouch, and the drawing, part number 12-794-001, specifically wing jack pads.

I can't read most of the print without downloading & enlarging the pics... but I've jacked up enough WWII fighters (including P63's)

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

Amazing that the pouch and tools were preserved so well, having the papers with them is even more unlikely and amazing. That stuff should be in a museum. Thanks for showing it to us !


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[cvairwerks]

could you break that down for the shade tree set? "standard tool kit"...what would that include and not include for a WW2 aircraft? Are we talking operator/ crew level stuff or?...would a roll like this be stowed onboard or? ...Clearly the (Allison) engine would have a separate kit but.....?

This is the maintenance kit for the installation and removal of the guns on N and Q model P-39's. Everything is there to do the installation and removal as well as the necessary items to jack the aircraft to preform the gun harmonization.

 

[MJOPE]

Thanks for sharing and preserving our history. Awesome drawing as well as kit. Truly amazing.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I can see where this kit would have been for general airframe maintenance

Did you look at the specific pieces and their names, Jock?

I can't read most of the print without downloading & enlarging the pics... but I've jacked up enough WWII fighters (including P63's)

I wasn't correcting you. It was more of a statement of befuddlement hoping you would clarify. But I figured it out. In post #1 pic 5 there is a part "12-479-01, JACK PAD ASSEMBLY WING." I was reading it like nomenclature, backwards, and thinking it was associated with the other wing related tools. I'm tracking now.

This is the maintenance kit for the installation and removal of the guns on N and Q model P-39's. Everything is there to do the installation and removal as well as the necessary items to jack the aircraft to preform the gun harmonization.

Hi cv,
I blundered my way into this same assessment since my first post on this thread, clarified in post #29 when I finally had a chance to fire the photos at home, based on no experience with aircraft maintenance, just intuition, so I appreciate the much more expert confirmation. Questions, though. Did those variants have a pair of 50s in the nose and in the wings? Secondly, what do you make of the surge valve (oil system?) wrench and the mooring eye bolt. Those and maybe a few other miscellany were giving me pause.