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Two P-40 Warhawks Collided Mid-Air 78 Years Ago, Their Remains are Now Nearly Restored

The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, New York, is a warehouse-sized facility filled with artifacts from the Curtiss Airplane and Motor Corporation, the brainchild of Hammondsport's favorite native son Glenn H Curtiss.
Curtiss P-40 Glenn H Curtiss Museum 16 photos
Photo: Benny Kirk/autoevolution
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But of all the pieces in this vast collection, perhaps none is more miraculous than a project they're undertaking that has its own building delegated to its progress. It's a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, one that somehow survived an accident that would've sent most other airplanes to the scrap yard. There's no coming back from a mid-air collision for both the pilot and the airplane.

At least, that's what movies and TV shows have told us over the years. But this Warhawk sure did. But it was no miracle, no divine act of intervention. It's a group effort that requires dozens of volunteers and countless thousands of hours of labor invested. The story behind it all is one of catastrophe, love, loss, passion, dedication, and an internal sense of vision.

It all begins with what once very long ago was a very ordinary Curtiss P-40 Warhawk pistoned engined fighter. Well, actually, it's more like the remains of two planes merged into one. The reason why will soon become clear. On March 24th, 1945, merely a month or so from VE Day, 2nd Lt. Roy C. Rom took to the skies over Perry Army Air Field in Florida for a routine training mission during a particularly Floridian sunny afternoon.

Rom flew that afternoon in a formation of three other Warhawks; the group was flying as the crow flies up the snaking Suwanee River, surrounded on either side by vast swamps. For reasons ostensibly lost to history, two of the four aircraft collided in mid-air. Critically injured and falling fast, Rom opened the canopy of his stricken fighter and bailed out. He later succumbed to his injuries.

Curtiss P\-40 Glenn H Curtiss Museum
Photo: Benny Kirk/autoevolution
The plane eventually crashed into a coastal swamp adjacent to the wider Suwanee River less than 20 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, with the other crashing close by. There the two planes sat, slowly being broken apart by the Floridian swamp's infamous mosquitos, alligators, and rust-exacerbating river water for the next 40 years. That was until both wrecks were salvaged by a recovery mission led by Florida native Hal Thompson.

Using little more than some shovels, a series of water pumps, and raw manpower, Hal Thompson and his team methodically drained the immediate area of both crash sights to the point their remains could be brought back to dry land. From there, a stunning Frankenstein-like project was begun to try and piece the best components from both airframes into a fully restored single Curtiss P40, which could serve as a memorial for both lost pilots that day.

Slowly and methodically, Mr. Thompson sold off pieces of the wreck to two consecutive investors, one in Ohio and one in Iowa. Both of whom continued the process Thompson himself began. The process consisted of choosing bits and pieces of each airframe that were strong and well preserved enough to find a home on the finished airplane.

At this point, layers of a cardboard-thick type of paper with wood support frames could be added to the backsides of each piece. So as to act as structural integrity for both the individual component and the airframe as a whole. Of course, to do this correctly takes years, if not decades, and a sufficient enough accident could result in the permanent loss of the airframe.

Curtiss P\-40 Glenn H Curtiss Museum
Photo: Benny Kirk/autoevolution
It was a task that volunteers at the Glenn H Curtiss Museum cordially took on when the staff purchased the airframe and the rest of the remaining parts back in 2011. Seeing the plane in the flesh, especially when you learn the story behind it, is nothing short of astonishing.

With working exterior lights and a fresh coat of paint in the same colors, it flew into the ground wearing. Nowadays, the museum's crew is on the precipice of bringing this plane spectacularly back from the dead. By the time the plane is all finished and put back together, the entire suite of exterior lights, interior dials and switches, and even the hydraulic landing gear is set to be fully operational.

The Allison V-1710-39 engine that 2nd Lt Rom's airplane went down with will also be fitted for a more authentic look. Of course, like most of the airplanes in this museum, this P40 will never fly again.

But somehow, at least with this example, permanent grounded status sort of seems appropriate. Why? Well, must we really tempt fate twice?

Curtiss P\-40 Glenn H Curtiss Museum
Photo: Benny Kirk/autoevolution
Click here for more from our trip to the Glenn H Curtiss Museum here on autoevolution.
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