how could a "badly smoking" P-47...stop to loose smoke?

[Flyingkag]

Hey all,

I asked such a question for a couple of years, but maybe some news members on forum or "old rabbits" have an idea about such a question today?

In one P-47 crash history, the wingman of the MIA pilot said in the MACR that last time he saw his leader, he was "at about 4000 feet, in a slight turn, his P-47 smoking baddly".

BUT a witness on the ground (14 on that time), who witnessed the same crashing P-47 on that day, said that the plane was NOT smoking as it flow over him at low altitude, (100 meters high), and he saw it fly down and down and crash on teh ground; He says that the plane was NOT smoking before hitting teh ground,and is 100% sure of that fact.

Could it give a mechanical /technical explanation about the "badly smoking plane"..."stoping of smoking"... if we try to consider that both statements should be corresponding with what happened "really" on that day?

(...pure speculation with statements, sure! Truth is rarely black or white, but most of times a mix of greys) )

Thanks for any help!

Mathias

[Kutscha]

Could be oil smoke and if there was no oil left there would be no smoke.

[Bill Walker]

Oil smoke resulting from a vaporizing oil leak (as opposed to an actual oil fire) can be quite defuse. The display teams spend a lot of time getting nozzle design and flow rate just right to produce consistent smoke trails. It is possible that a long smoke trail was visible from a distance, like from a wing man at higher altitude, but much less visible to a ground observer when the aircraft passed at low altitude. Also, to his wing man, who was familiar with the P-47, any smoke would be "smoking badly".

[Flyingkag]

really interesting answers! thanks guys!
Mathias

[RSwank]

Another possibility is the background. The man in the air would have been looking down toward the ship that crashed and if the smoke was light grey it may have shown up very clearly against the dark earth background. The man on the ground was looking up and if the sky was overcast (and grey) the smoke would have blended into the background and possibly not been very visible. The other pilot would also have seen the whole long smoke trail against the earth which probably stretched for miles, while the man on the ground only saw a very short part at the end of the path.

[Flyingkag]

Thanks Rswank!

Your explanation could help to explain these both WWII statements; thanks for the help!

Mathias

[ssg keay]

Not knowing the specifics of the pilot/crash location I would also think that the fire burned out prior to the crash. Also the time between the wingman seeing the smoke and the eyewitness seeing the Thunderbolt coming down has not been specified. Is the pilot still missing?

[Flyingkag]

thanks for the post,

In that case, the pilot (Lt Buchanan, 367th FS, KIA on december 16th 1944, grave in Saint-Avold cemetery), was "last seen 4000 feet, smoking badly, in a slight turn". Shortly later, his plane was witnessed by a german 14 old guy, who saw him coming slowly down and down and crash (nearly horizontaly) in his own family fields, without any smoke pouring out of the plane before hitting the ground.

Possible he flew 2 or 3 minutes between that statement of the wingman and the final crash...and the fire/smoking would have stoped as he still was in the air?

Thanks for your kind help! Mathias