ID this crashed aircraft part?

[Bill, KD0HG]

A B-17 went down in 1943 near here. 8 airmen were lost.

This is what remains of the plane...What are the wheeled thingies to the right?
Landing gear?

[n3lrx]

It's an Engine.. (Or what's left of one) The ring is the fuel injection system, the round things are the fan hubs.

[n3lrx]

I take it back, those are bolts.. I thought it was the injection ring.

[KL7OF]

My guess is ...Engine mount left and the turbocharger turbine wheels right..
Pratt and Whitney 1820 radial engine

[W2PFY]

Me thinks that wheel on the ground is the landing system

[Bill, KD0HG]

Thanks, all.
I'm putting a visit to the crash site on my summer hiking agenda, it's not too far from here.

[WA1GFZ]

I say front or rear engine case for the left. Right don't know. I thought the Wasp had carbs at least the single bankers. I thought the Germans were the only guys running FI.

[w3jn]

The B-17 used Wright Cyclone R-1820s and were carbureted, not fuel injected.  The piece to the left is what's left of the ignition harness; the wheel-like thing could be part of the turbocharger or the landing gear.  Looks like someone nabbed all the aluminum already.

[W1RKW]

Image of a B-17 engine

http://www.fca-houston.org/images/LoneStarTour/B24Engine.jpg


JN beat me to it.

[WA3VJB]

Bill I think a guy I used to know from high school visited this same wreck.Eight are Believed Dead in Bomber Crash Near Signal Mountain

Fort Collins Express Courier, October 20, 1943

Headed by Sheriff Ray M. Barger, a score of men, including Army officers and soldiers from Lowry field, left here at 5 a.m. today to reach the rugged 11,000 foot northeastern corner of Rocky Mountain National park where an Army Flying Fortress bomber crashed and burned Monday night, carrying at least five and perhaps eight fliers to their deaths.

The sheriff's party planned to enter the nearly inaccessible area four miles west of Signal mountain in the region of the Mummy range, by horseback from the John Derby ranch, just north of the crash scene along Pennock creek.

Following the sheriff at noon today were two other officers from Lowry field, who arrived to survey the crash and determine plans for salvaging the wreckage.Site Description:.
The wreck is located at the bottom of an opening created by the rockpile of a rock ridge that projects from above timberline down into treeline. Altitude is about 10500’ Local residents hauled big pieces away for aluminum scrap in the 1950's. Remaining are engines, landing gear legs, a piece of a wing and small pieces.
MORE:
http://coloradowreckchasing.tripod.com/PingreeB17/PinB17.html
We were last in touch about 20 years ago, but he still lives in Ft. Collins.
Retired Navy Captain, hobbyist flier, was once WB4UWH.
I went and visited him out there once, didn't go see the plane, but went mountaineering in his Jeep.
Great fun.

[WA1GFZ]

Did the Wasp runwater injection? I have to check my old P&W book.
Bob, I just heard Pratt has a museum in East Hartford in one of the old hangers.
My Dad has taken me to all their air shows so must have seen most of the stuff.
He still won't tell me how much strap comes out of a J58.

[Bill, KD0HG]

Tnx, Paul.

Well, I'm a licensed pilot. I recently became aware of the crash site, and I really want to see it. It's a beautiful area in the summer and I thought that a quick prayer for the 60 years ago lost airmen would be in order.  The XYL and I might do it on horseback.

Based on everyones postings, it looks like all that remains is the ignition harness of one of the engines, I'm sure the Army removed the crewman remains a long time ago. And the site seems to be looted for the metal over the last half-century.

The story of the B-17s and their Merlin engines is a fascinating one. I can only imagine what those quad 2,0000 HP guys sounded like on takeoff. Wow.

When I was going through flight school 25 years ago my instructor told me that one of his goals was to keep me from trying to drill a hole though a mountaintop in the future.
How true. I have tried to land a 182 into a gusty 50 MPH wind at Boulder...And the ground speed is zero- LOL. The plane just stops flying and you land on the ground- hard. Popped two radios out of the stack...The Rockies are not very forgiving to pilots.

[Ed/KB1HYS]

there is a B-17 flying in New England somewhere... it used to be parked at Lawrence Airport, (massachusettes) they still take it around to airshows.  last time I saw it at one, you could by a ride for 300 or so dollars. 

Loved the sound of those round engines.

[WA1GFZ]

B17 flew into the last P&W air show. It was cool and damp. sounded beautiful at idle. The the F15 showed up and lit the cans just before it went over us.
Nothing beat the F14 drive out of a vertical stall though

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

My guesses:

Pair of round items on right: landing gear as someone stated. Probably just the braking mechanism since the wheels were magnesium IIRC.

Rings on left: too big to be the ignition harness since the harness fits around the inner crankshaft housing. No tubes reaching up to where the cylinders were. I first thought it was part of the engine mount, but radials are generally bolted on from the rear. So...

Aluminum around the outside appears to be what remains of the engine cowling, so I'm guessing at least one of the rings (2 are visible) is part of the mechanism for opening and closing the side cowl flaps. Looks like some kind of rollers and arms attached to it. Pretty stout construction, too.

Merlin: V-12 liquid-cooled engine built by Rolls Royce, used in the Spitfire, Hurricane, and many others, including the Lancaster bomber. Built under license here by Packard and others, used to replace the Allison V-12 in the P-51 Mustang, etc. Made a big difference at altitude.

Wasp was made by Pratt & Whitney, Cyclone by Wright. Would probably require an old salt to tell them apart side-by-side. Don't recall water or alcohol/water injection being used on these radials, but probably/maybe?

Bill, there used to be some bits of a C-47 on Pike's Peak just south of you, no idea if anything is left. Think it was a post-WWII crash from a pilot who misread his range maps or such. Bet there's a few more out there, too. We have the remains of a B-24 up atop Camel's Hump here in VT. Many stories there.

there is a B-17 flying in New England somewhere... it used to be parked at Lawrence Airport, (massachusettes) they still take it around to airshows.  last time I saw it at one, you could by a ride for 300 or so dollars. 

Most likely the Nine-O-Nine from the Collings Foundation, they have a place in Stow. Great group. They also have the only flying authentic B-24 in the world. I flew with them back in the early 90s, one of those things in life you never forget. Used to be your $300 ride was either 45 minutes around the area they were displaying the aircraft at, or between destinations, which could be a looong flight. They curtailed the latter in favor of members-only. And I think the current price for a hop is $400 or more. Still worth it. You cannot hear yourself speak inside with all 4 engines roaring, regardless of what you see in the movies.

http://www.collingsfoundation.org/

They have a flying ME-262 jet now, albeit with a GE engine retrofit. A really good group of folks who keep the aircraft flying and bring them around to the smaller, hometown airports for all to see.  Museums are great, but nothing compares to the actual sights/smells/sounds of a warbird in flight. It certainly gives you a lot more respect for what so many guys went through in WWII, as well as the WASP pilots who ferried new aircraft around.

[K1MVP]

 Used to be your $300 ride was either 45 minutes around the area they were displaying the aircraft at, or between destinations, which could be a looong flight. They curtailed the latter in favor of members-only. And I think the current price for a hop is $400 or more. Still worth it. You cannot hear yourself speak inside with all 4 engines roaring, regardless of what you
 

Todd,
3 to $400 to ride,--I think I "would pass" on that.--as far as riding in a "noisy" airccraft,
I did that a few times,(no charge of course) courtesy Uncle Sam,--try flying for a
continuous 10 hour flight from Vermont to Panama in a C-130.
Ya can`t even talk to the guy next to you without shouting.--4 big turbos humming
away.
Another long flight was a C-47 "Gooney Bird" ride from Vermont to San Antonio,
Texas,--5000 ft and slow as can be.
The thing that made it "fun" was that the pilot,(a captain) was a ham radio op, es
I could listen to him on AM using the ART 13, as we were flying.(that was back in
1960)                                     
                                       73, K1MVP