John D. Landers and his Big Beautiful Doll
Text: Vladimír Šulc
Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz
Cat. No. 70173
The downing of an Me 262 Schwalbe over Hohn Airfield in northern Germany on March 30th, 1945, was described by Lieutenant Colonel John D. Landers in his report after returning from escorting bombers over Hamburg as follows:
‘We were escorting 1st Force, 3rd Division, bombing Hamburg. I led the group and after the target was bombed, we, Shapoo Squadron, turned north towards Kiel.’
We were at 7,000 feet heading north near Rendesburg when I spotted an Me 262 flying south at 1,000 feet. The time was 1408h. As we descended to its flight level (within range), the jet began a slow left turn. I gradually approached at 400mph. The jet completed a 180-degree turn and led us over Hohn Airfield, where there was weak and inaccurate flak.
I opened fire from 700 yards and got hits. The jet slowed down but again made a wrong turn. I opened fire again, this time from 400 yards, and got a few good hits. The Me 262 made a sharp left turn and my next burst hit it in the cockpit area.
As I flew over it, the jet leveled off and began to slide slightly. My wingman, Lieutenant Thain, got behind it, hit it with a long, accurate burst and finally overshot it. The enemy plane continued to slide, then crashed and burned. The pilot did not bail out.
‘I claim one destroyed Me 262 shared with Lieutenant Thain Jr. of the 84th FS.’
Signed JOHN D. LANDERS O-431968, Lt Col. Air Corps, Commanding Officer.
There is nothing to add to this description of Landers' last kill. With it, he ended his combat score at 14.5 aerial victories. However, he left his mark on history not only as one of the few pilots who became aces in two theaters of operations, the Pacific and the European, but also as a man with good taste. His planes are among the most colorful and elegant among the famous machines of World War II. They are therefore popular themes for aircraft models of all scales, flying and static, paper, metal or plastic.
His two P-40E Warhawks, ‘Skeeter’ and ‘Texas Longhorn’, which he flew in 1942 in Australia and then in New Guinea with the 49th FG, and in which he achieved four of his six officially recognized victories in the Pacific, are already popular subjects for modelers. In Europe, with the 8th AF, he continued his active service from April, 1944 with the rank of Major, initially with the 55th FG as CO of 38th FS at Wormington, based in Great Britain.
Landers shot down five German aircraft flying a P-38J Lightning, including three Me 410s on July 7th, 1944, shortly before converting on to the new P-51D-5 Mustang. These featured the new 55th FG color scheme, a yellow-green checkerboard pattern on the nose, and a green-yellow-green spinner. The P-51D-5, Serial Number 44-13923 CG-O, was probably Landers' first Big Beautiful Doll. It is not certain, but some sources state that one of his P-38J Lightnings was already so named.
In November, 1944, John Landers was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. He served as Commander of the 357th FG at Leiston from October 11th, to which he transferred together with his Big Beautiful Doll. It had only required a change of the colours of the checkerboard pattern and spinner to red and yellow, and the code letters to B6-0. On December 2nd, Landers handed over command of the unit to Colonel Irwin Degne and left for the United States. On Christmas Eve,1944, the first Big Beautiful Doll was lost after a collision with another P-51D while escorting bombers over Babenhausen. Its pilot, Lieutenant Wendell Helwig, was killed in the collision.
John Landers returned to Europe in February of 1945 to take command of the 78th Fighter Group on the 22nd of the month. He took with him his most famous and colorful Big Beautiful Doll, P-51D-20NA 44-72218 WZ-I. He flew it until the end of his European service. During this time, the aircraft underwent at least three modifications.
The final change came with Landers' appointment as Commander of the 361st FG, when it was repainted in the colors of that unit, respectively the colors of the 375th FS. The lettering on both sides of the nose remained, but the nose was painted yellow, the rudder blue, as were the main canopy frame and the wingtips. The code letters changed to E2-I. It served with him until his return to the States in October, 1945. John D. Landers retired to civilian life in December, 1945. After the war, he worked in construction, and in 1979 he moved to Granbury, Texas, where he died on September 12th, 1989 at the age of 69. He is buried in the Greenwood Mausoleum at Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth. His Big Beautiful Doll remains a testament to American aesthetics applied to USAAF fighters during the final months of World War II.