Fabricating a WWII Warplane

See Foreword for an introduction to the purpose of this project.

Forming the group.
A blueprint of the plane showing the specifications of one of the parts in the photo on the left. The photo on the right shows the part, as installed. We obtained blueprints from the Smithsonian, and did a lot of microfiche research for other specifications.
The Project Tomahawk workshop under construction. The mockup is being built on the downstairs floor.
On the horse and mule wreckage-retrieval trip, the group holding a long piece of the crashed airplane.
The fuselage from the original Pearl Harbor plane retrieved from Hawaii and sitting in the workshop.
Kent in the frame of the plane, taking measurements.
One of the annual project open houses for the general public to observe our progress. The tooling, assembly fixture and fuselage parts were all manufactured in this shop.
Installing the handhold frame on the airplane, under construction.
Rich Pranin was one of our young supporters and trainees. Shown here with Kent Lentz, holding a casting to be installed in the newly manufactured engine cowling for the aircraft.
Alex Prosser, one of our master fabricators, next to the aircraft in its final stages of construction at Torrance Airport. Patterns for aircraft test parts and patterns, and promotional t-shirts displayed on the wall above.
The finished 284 on the airport, courtesy of Collings Foundation.

The Wanderling Website

The Wanderling has a lot of information on P-40B World War II warplanes and the website is always being updated with interesting content. The following video is courtesy of the Wanderling’s website, which we are honored to share.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBrjdobW2p0

Aircraft Wrecks In the Mountains and Deserts of the American West

G. Pat Macha and his son, Pat Macha, Jr., contributed to many stages of the Project Tomahawk effort and are in some of the photos displayed on this site. Pat’s website includes his books, articles and videos. We are delighted to feature their work here.