Hello from the UK with a new PT-22 project

[Montgomery]

Hi all, we're here to introduce ourselves and a new PT-22 restoration in oxfordshire, UK.

My name is Mike Maddams (restorer) and this is the account of Andrew Montgomery (owner and restorer). We'll both be using the account to hopefully share and gain information throughout the restoration and into the aircraft's second life as an airworthy machine!

So, the plane...

Model: ST-3KR

Serial number: 1711

Manufacture date: 1/12/42 (12 Jan)

As it stands, the fuselage is the typical polished aluminium and in fairly good condition, so for that reason we were planning to finish her in the classic 'army air corps' scheme.

Over the last few weeks however, as I've been stripping out everything internally for prep and re painting, and specifically the instrument panel lord mounts, the original interior colour appeared. From what I can tell, these mounts have not been removed since the plane was built in '41/42.

This green colour was the first thing to catch my attention and after speaking to my colleague (Sam) we thought it may be US NAVY interior green. In haste, we started to search the fuselage and within moments we were discovering navy blue in most of the panel gaps, and notably beneath the position of the very screws I had just removed to detach the panel mounts. Whilst searching we found evidence of the anti glare green drab colour used on the top deck too.

So basically, is there anyone out there who can help us with our investigation into;

-the few PT-22s (+/-100) supplied to the navy called the NR-1

-whether we may have one of these here?

It does have an Army Air Corps data plate with the designation 41-15682

So did the WD just generically plate them up with Army plates regardless of their final destination? I.e. Navy Air Corps

Post war registration seems to have been N57912

Any info or photographs out there?

Also, are there any good books on The PT-22 or Ryan aircraft up to the end of the war?

Thanks for your time in reading this splurge and any help will be most appreciated.

Cheers, Mike and Andrew

[kennethchapman]

Hello and welcome fellow Ryan owners.

Just a quick look at Ev Cassagneres book reveals that the S/N for your aircraft shows that it is indeed a U.S. Army PT-22, not a Navy NR-1.

Most pictures of the NR-1 show that they were painted very similarly to Army paint with bare fuselage, yellow wings and tail but no rudder stripes like the Army used. No blue paint.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Kenny Chapman

41-20966 S/N 2175

[Montgomery]

Thanks Kenny....... we still can't understand why we have ( Wildcat ) blue under bolt heads on the fuselage that have not been removed

since it was built.....

Maybe just an anomaly!!!

regards

Andrew Montgomery