B-17G Part from “Tondelayo” wreck?

[Jennison]

Hi: This piece has a tag stating that it's from the March 4, 1945 crash of B-17G "Tondelayo" in England. The tag also states that the piece is a "bomb hook". I've looked at every part of the B-17 bomb suspension system and do not see this anywhere. Can someone possibly let me know what this is and whether it's really from a Flying Fortress? I also include a photo showing the part number.

Thanks very much!

 

[bse7entn]

That does not look like it's from a B-17.
Part number is also not correct for B-17. Should be in format x-xxxx or xx-xxxxx unless it's a vendor produced component, which you'd need to know the vendor to look up. But this looks like structure so that shouldn't apply.

 

[Jennison]

Thank you very much. I have come to the same conclusion after looking at diagrams and parts lists. As for it being a "bomb hook" for any aircraft, the bomb would have to weigh ounces, not pounds, for it to stay in those jaws.

Jennison

 

[bse7entn]

Right, bomb hooks don't have an opening at the bottom. I can see there are rods to control opening/closing on the outer bolts of the hooks. The top rod in the third pic is broken a the bolt hole, but that doesn't give me a clear indication what this was for.

 

[MiTasol]

Certainly like no bomb release hook I have ever seen and it looks far too large.

Can you please measure the size of the gap (red arrow) so that we have an indication of the part size? To me it looks like some two inches/5cm.

Are there any other part numbers? Usually they are about 3/16 high and metal stamped into the alloy

Can you take photos from the direction of the yellow arrows to provide more internal detail?

Most US bomb hooks have two jaws and when closed each ring is about 1/2 inch wide. This is one of the lighter ones but the basic concepts vary little. Note there is one hook that passes fully under the ring on the bomb so it can sway from side to side without forcing the jaws. On the item you have any rocking of the "bomb" would force the jaws open.

Also the bolts in photo 4 appear to be stainless steel. Are they magnetic? Most stainless is non magnetic.

Also please look for marking on the bolt heads and measure the head size of the bolts across the flats. Standard US bolts have specific markings on the head. British bolts use different markings. I do not know what markings German bolts had but other members do. Narrowing the part down to a country of origin would be a good start.

The USAAF serial for Tondelayo may also help

Two larger US racks

Some B-17s had glider tow hooks - that is definitely not one of those either.