Strana 45
#7477
BOXART STORY
The Mustang, known by the iconic name
"Chattanooga Choo Choo," was a P-51D-5NA with
serial number 44-13535, manufactured in the
spring of 1944 in Inglewood, California.
It was assigned to the 20th Fighter Group
on July 4, 1944, as one of the first Mustangs to
arrive at the unit in Kings Cliffe. Unexpectedly,
the aircraft served with this same unit until the
end of the war, completing 107 operational sorties.
Its first regular user was Lt. Frank Roark of
the 79th Fighter Squadron, who named it "Wilma"
and took part in the 20th FG's first “P-51 only”
mission on July 24, 1944 (the unit had previously
used P-38s and was gradually being re-equipped
with Mustangs). The objective was to support the
invasion forces in northern France. Wilma opened
its combat score against Luftwaffe aircraft on its
seventh mission. On August 9, while escorting
bombers to Munich, the 20th FG encountered
Reich defense fighters. Lt. Roark shot down an
Fw 190 in the ensuing battle.
Further victories came in the form of aircraft
damaged and destroyed on the ground, with
various pilots taking turns at the controls of
Wilma. One of the important missions in which
44-13535 participated during this period was
Operation Frantic VI, when the 20th FG escorted
3rd BD bombers to the Soviet Union. Their target
was factories in Chemnitz, and it was in this area
that the 20th FG took over the bombers from
another escort unit to continue eastward. It was
September 11, 1944, and although it was one of
the most intense days of the entire air war over
Europe, the 20th Fighter Group did not encounter
any German fighters during its mission. However,
the operation meant another claim for 44-13535 –
the aircraft joined the Mustangs that were allowed
to visit the Soviet Union (or rather its Ukrainian
part) and Italy during their operational career.
At the end of the year, Wilma received a fillet on
the leading edge of the fin to enlarge the vertical
stabiliser surface and thus improve the aircraft’s
lateral stability, this modification was added to
a number of Mustangs from the D-5 production
block. For a certain period, the aircraft also carried
green camouflage paint on its upper surfaces.
However, this was removed after plans to relocate
some of the VIII Fighter Command units to the
continent were canceled. Similarly, the invasion
stripes were gradually reduced. On the contrary,
a new 20th FG identification was added in the form
of black and white "keyboard" stripes on the nose.
Another change, not only in the form of the aircraft,
was that Frank Roark completed his combat tour,
and Wilma was assigned to Lt. Richard Black, who
renamed it "Black's Bird."
In mid-February 1945, the aircraft got another
permanent user. It was Lt. Edward Pogue,
who renamed the aircraft again, this time to
"Chattanooga Choo Choo," as a reminder of where
he came from and, above all, Glenn Miller's 1941
hit song.
Lt. Pogue's second mission in Chattanooga Choo
Choo on February 20, 1944, was another success
for the aircraft. And that is the subject of Piotr
Fokrasiewicz's current illustration. On that day,
the 20th FG was to attack rail transport in the
Nuremberg area. The unit arrived there around
11:50 AM and began searching for targets on the
main lines leading out of the city.
The 79th FS report on the ten-minute attack
states, among other things:
“After our squadron
had strafed transportation targets in the area
Lt. Jones, leading Blue Flight, sighted an airfield
on which there were approximately 35 He111s,
8 Me110s, 1 Me410, 1 Me109 and 1 Fw190. The airfield
was strafed from 12:35 until 12:45. Blue Flight led
by Lt. Jones made two passes, Red Flight led by
Capt. Hollins made three passes, Yellow Flight led
by Capt. Kies made two passes and White Flight led
by Major Meyer made two passes. Light flak was
encountered coming from the woods north west
of the airfield. It was moderate and inaccurate.
Capt. Kies was wounded in the right leg by a single
.30 cal projectile. Planes were dispersed and an
attempt had been made to camouflage them by
covering them with boughs from trees and mesh
netting”
Among the successful pilots was Lt. Pogue in
his Chattanooga Choo Choo. He fired 530 rounds
at his targets and destroyed two He 111s. His 79th
FS destroyed 22 aircraft and another 15 were
damaged in the attack.
Lt. Pogue scored another success against
ground targets on April 13, 1944, when he damaged
a Bf 109 in Jagel. He then damaged a He 177 at
another airfield near Hutzfeld. This was the last
confirmed victory for the pilots in the cockpit of
44-13535. The aircraft made six more combat
flights, the last of which was on April 21, 1945.
During its operational service, this Mustang flew
a total of 107 combat missions throughout
occupied Europe, was flown by 35 different pilots,
and destroyed five enemy aircraft and damaged
four others.
(Sincere thanks to Mike Murray, the 20th
FG historian, for valuable details about this plane)
Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz
Chattanooga Express across Europe
Text: Jan Zdiarský
INFO Eduard
45
February 2026