What's with the name?
Any connection to the old model plane design of the same name??
Do you mean "Sniffer"? It's the only funny named model I can remember....
So what does "Lil Snorkey" mean?
Lil Snorkey was a P-47M that got its name from her mechanics. She would
belch, misfire, backfire and generally give the crew chief (and the waiting
pilot) fits of nervousness about airworthiness...but at altitude, she was
smoother than any other Jug. So, the wrench-benders at Boxted airbase (56th FG, 61st Sqdrn) scrawled Lil Snorkey on her nose. No leggy pinups, no Lil
Abner cartoons, Just paint. Here's a photo of Bob and Lil Snorkey.
Lil Snorkey was assigned to Lt. Robert Hoefflein. How do I know this? My Dad, Ernie Treff, was a replacement pilot and therefore was not assigned his own ship. He flew Lil Snorkey many times and never had a bad mission in her. Here's a photo of Ernie in his mission regalia:
Dad lost two engines on takeoff, sheared a prop shaft at 30,000', and had a plane shot out from under him over Germany (he evaded by himself over a 2 week period) and made it back to England to fly again. But
none of this happened in Lil Snorkey.
Being a mere mortal, I need all the luck I can get. If she was good to Ernie, then hopefully, an RV by the same name will be good to me too. Dad is 84 and doing quite well, still has his medical....but I want to get her fully airworthy and tested to give him a ride while he can still climb into the rear cockpit...
Art Treff
Asheville, NC