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Marking Options P-40E Pacific Star 1/48

P-40E-1, 41-25164, Capt. Ben S. Irvin, 9th FS, 49th FG, Darwin, Australia, 1942


Lt. Ben S. “Bitchin’ Ben” Irvin served in the Philippines and after the Japanese invasion he continued fighting in Java with the 17th PS (Provisional). He managed to shoot down a Japanese bomber on February 18, 1942, during defense of the Dutch naval base at Soerabaja and added one Zero a week later. He left Java for Australia and joined the 9th FS of 49th FG on March 17. He was promoted to the rank of Captain as he took command of the 9th FS on August 28 and led the unit until October 31. During that time, the 9th FS moved from Australia to New Guinea. Just a few days after the Flying Knights, as the 9th FS was nicknamed, settled at the base near Port Moresby, the order was received that all the pilots who took part in Philippines and Java campaigns, should return to USA. Thus, Irvin relinquished the command of 9th FS on November 1, 1942, and returned home, leaving behind his personal P-40E-1, which was adorned with a large Pegasus on the left side and named “The Rebel”. The pilot who inherited the plane added the name “Bessie” on the vertical tail port side. On December 26, 1942, 1/Lt John D. Landers took off with “The Rebel” as one of twelve P-40s. He led White Flight on a patrol mission over Dobodura and was shot down in an ensuing combat with Japanese Ki-43-I Oscars from 11 Hikō Sentai. Pilot bailed out and the plane crashed into the jungle, where it rests until today.       

The way of “The Rebel“ into the ranks of 49th FG was rather tortuous, as it was built for Lend-Lease contract for RAF as ET488, but delivered to USAAF, which planned to hand the plane over to  NIEAF, but instead, it ended with the RAAF as Kittyhawk A29-92. But this serial was cancelled two days later and the plane returned to the USAAF, where it was assigned to 9th FS (known as the “Flying Knights“) of the 49th FG. Irvin decorated his P-40E with Pegasus on the port side of the fuselage and named it “The Rebel“. He flew it during the time he led the 9th FS from September 19 to November 3, 1942. 

 

P-40E, Lt. Robert Harry Vaught, 9th FS, 49th FG, Darwin, Australia, 1942 


Lt. Robert Harry Vaught was born on June 15, 1918, in Johnson City, Tennessee. He served as a Flying Cadet from February 21 to October 31, 1941 and joined 49th PS of 14th PG after he was rated a pilot on October 31. He changed the unit for 49th PG on December 16 and moved to Australia. His first victory came on March 28, 1942 (Mitsubishi 97 bomber), two Mitsubishi 96 went down under his guns on December 7. Vaught’s nickname “Snake Bite Bob” came from an incident which occurred on July 16, 1942. That day he took off from Livingston Strip and found out he had a snake on the floor ready to bite him. He conducted several violent maneuvers, which immobilized his passenger, so he was able to grab it behind the head and realizing it was a venomous one, he threw it from the cabin. Vaught’s ill-fated day came on March 5, 1943, when, now with P-38G-13-LO, he took off from Dobodura Airfield on a mission over Salamaua. He shot down two Zeros but, as one engine of his P-38 was damaged in the combat, he decided to divert to Wau. On the final approach, the other engine failed as well and the pilot was seriously injured in the ensuing crash. Vaught was sent back to USA and did not return to flying, although he stayed in service until 1959, retiring as Lieutenant Colonel. He died in June 1978. His P-40E was decorated with the shark mouth and “Flying Skull“. The name “Bob’s Robin” was painted on both sides of the fuselage. A red circle of the older national insignia slightly showed on fuselage as well as on the wing.   

 

P-40E, Col. Bruce K. Holloway, CO of 23rd FG, Kweilin, China, 1942


Bruce Keener Holloway was born on September 1, 1912, in Knoxwille, Tennessee and graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1937 and received his pilot wings in 1938. Holloway then served with 6th PS, 18th PG, in Hawaii prior to his studies in aeronautical engineering. After that, he was sent to Chungking, China, to begin his combat experience as a fighter pilot with the Flying Tigers of the American Volunteer Group. When the AVG was disbanded in July 1942, the 23rd FG was formed and Holloway assumed command of the group in January 1943 from Robert L. Scott. During his stay in China, Holloway shot down 13 enemies and returned to USA in 1944. He stayed in the service, graduated from the National War College in 1951 and progressed through ranks and key positions of USAF. Already a General, he took command of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe in July 1965 and stayed there until his assignment as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, position he held from August 1, 1966. Still not at the end of his career, he became commander-in-chief of the Strategic Air Command on August 1, 1968, and kept that post until retirement on April 30, 1972. General Holloway passed away at the age of 87 in Orlando, Florida on September 30, 1999. His P-40E portrayed here sported several repairs and changes to the original markings, including fresh overpaints by British camouflage colors and repair by Olive Drab on the starboard side of the nose, including the spinner.    

 

P-40E, Lt. Col. John S. Chennault, 11th FS, 343rd FG, Umnak Island, Aleutian Islands, autumn 1942


As one of ten children of famous Claire Lee Chennault, the leader of the Flying Tigers of American Volunteer Group, John Stephen “Jack” Chennault, born on May 20, 1913, in Eudora, Arkansas, followed the steps of his father and became CO of the 343rd Fighter Group. The unit was activated on September 3, 1942, in Alaska and Lt. Col. John Chennault became its first commander eight days later. He kept the position until November 16 of the same year. He managed to shoot down one Zero and also heavily damaged a Japanese submarine. However, he probably achieved both victories flying P-38. The 343rd FG became well-known as the Aleutian Tigers with stylized tiger heads adorning the noses of their P-40s. In a baren and small outpost on the edge of the Pacific, the 343rd was tasked with the elimination of the Japanese from the Attu and Kiska islands in the western Aleutians. Under Chennault’s command, the 343rd FG showcased remarkable effectiveness in air combat, embodying the same spirit of adaptability and tactical ingenuity his father had demonstrated. John Chennault passed away on December 4, 1977, at the age of 64. 

 

41-36396, P-40E-1, Lt. Robert E. Smith, 16th FS, 23rd FG, China, autumn 1942


Robert Eugene Smith, nicknamed “Gene”, entered Army Air Force prior to World War II. The move was rather purposive as he intended to pay back for his previous studies but he quickly became one of the most successful pilots in the early days of the 16th FS, 23rd FG, shooting down four enemies. During one mission his plane went down near a small village. The villagers, not knowing who or what he was, started to come after him. Luckily, he had a small flag that he waived letting them know that he was an American and on their side. In the spring 1944 Smith was then with the 394th Fighter Squadron, 367th Fighter Group, in England. He claimed a Bf 109 damaged on June 17, 1944, but five days later he was killed when his P-38 was shot down by flak near Cherbourg in France during a strafing mission. His plane crashed on the beach in Normandy with Smith in the cockpit. During his stay with 23rd FG, he flew P-40E-1 which carried the obligatory shark mouth and also the name KatyDid on its nose. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] [endif]


P-40E, Capt. George E. Kiser, 8th FS, 49th FG, Darwin, Australia, 1942 


Born on May 8, 1918, in Pocatello, Idaho, George Edward Kiser joined the Army Reserves and was commissioned a 2nd Lt and rated a pilot on December 20, 1940. He joined 17th PG of 4th Composite Group on December 31. After escaping Philippines, where he managed to shoot down two Zeros, he served in Java with 17th PS (Prov) and subsequently joined the “Black Sheep” Squadron, as the 8th FS of 49th FG was nicknamed. Kiser’s day of fame came on April 27, 1942, when he intercepted an enemy formation of twenty-four bombers near Darwin. Although chased by escort fighters, he engaged the bombers, disrupted their formation and destroyed two of them. In ensuing fighting with the enemy fighters, he shot down one. This bravery ensured him the Distinguished Service Cross alongside other decorations he was awarded in the course of his service. Altogether he amassed nine aerial victories. After the war he transferred to the USAF and retired as a U.S. Air Force Colonel. George Kiser passed away on April 1, 1991 (aged 72). The P-40E from his days with 49th FG was in standard Olive Drab/Neutral Gray camouflage, sporting on the port side of the fuselage a cartoonish lion with a praying Japanese pilot in right front paw, while the left one was stepping on a destroyed Zero.  

 

P-40E, Capt. William J. Hennon, 7th FS, 49th FG, Darwin, Australia, 1942 


William Joseph Hennon was born on Jun 13, 1919, in Hennepin County, Minnesota. He received his pilot wings at Kelly Field, Texas, in 1941 and had been in the Philippines with the 21st Fighter Squadron when the war started. Over Java he shot down five Japanese aircraft. Escaping to Australia from the Java campaign he was allocated to the 7th FS, 49th FG, where he added two more victories. On the rudder of his Warhawk, there was a cartoonish Bunyip applied by ground crews in recognition of the support that the local Aboriginal community had given in rescuing pilots from crash sites all around the Northern Territory. The Bunyip is a mythological water dwelling fearsome beast that lives in creeks, rivers and billabongs. Later in 1942 the 7th Fighter Squadron adopted the “screaming demon” as their unit emblem and they applied it to the tails of their Warhawks and later P-38 Lightnings for the remainder of the War. It is not known what color vas the front of the propeller cone. We tend to the Insignia Blue, but a red color is also a possible option. “Bill” Hennon returned to the USA with other veterans of Philippines and Java campaigns at the end of 1942 and joined 326th FG but transferred to 21st FS of 352nd FG as its CO on December 28, 1942. On March 31, 1943, he was on a routine flight with a BT-14 trainer from Farmington to Groton, Connecticut (a distance of a mere 75 miles), to pick up fellow pilot Frank Greene, who had just been released from the hospital. Hennon disappeared enroute and was never found. He was 23 at the time.


P-40E, A29-78, No. 76 Squadron RAAF, Gurney Airfield, New Guinea, August 1942 


No. 76 Squadron was formed at Archerfield Airport, Queensland, on March 14, 1942, as the second RAAF’s unit operating P-40s. The squadron completed its training in June, when it received its full complement of 24 fighters for 38 pilots. The squadron deployed to the front lines of the New Guinea Campaign during July 1942 and pilots flew their first combat mission on July 22 under the leadership of Squadron Leader Peter Turnbull (who died in a crash on August 27 that year). The portrayed aircraft was obtained from USAAF in standard Olive Drab/Neutral Gray camouflage. To mimic the British camouflage, the upper surfaces received additional fields of Earth Brown, and the nose was adorned with the name “Bloody Mary”. The insignias, originally US ones, were replaced by British cockades, these were changed on the upper surfaces for the Australian ones at the time the aircraft was sent to New Guinea. The flash on the vertical fin was at the same time lowered by fresh camouflage paint on the upper part. The aircraft was destroyed in a ground collision with Hudson (A16-218) on No. 1 Strip on August 15, 1942.     

 

P-40E, A29-63, No. 82 Squadron RAAF, Bankstown, Australia, 1943 


No. 82 Squadron was formed on June 18, 1943, and was armed with P-40s, as RAAF had received 399 of these aircraft so five new Kittyhawk-equipped squadrons could be formed. It operated from bases in Queensland and New Guinea. The squadron conducted training at Bankstown until April 1944, then moved to Townsville for further training. The move to Port Moresby came at the end of August 1944 with another move to Noemfoor in mid-September. There, the No. 82 Squadron, which just became operational, joined Nos. 76 and 77 Squadrons forming No. 81 Wing. Its pilots then usually conducted attack missions against Japanese ground targets. In March 1945 the unit moved to Morotai, providing escorts to Allied convoys. The relegation of First Tactical Air Force to areas of operation bypassed by the main Allied thrust towards the Philippines and Japan led to poor morale, culminating in the so-called Morotai Mutiny in April 1945. The aircraft portrayed here was used during training in Bankstown in 1943. It sported the painting of an Aboriginal man throwing his boomerang, downing a Zero with it. The aircraft was camouflaged with RAAF colors of Foliage Green and Dark Earth with white tail. Period photos show the aircraft nicely polished with minimum weathering. 

 

P-40E-1, NZ 3095, No. 15 Sqn RNZAF, New Zealand, 1944


In October 1942, No. 15 Squadron RNZAF was sent to Tonga to take over 23 P-40s from the USAAF 68th Fighter Squadron, thus releasing the American squadron for frontline service.  These P-40Es (NZ 3091 - NZ 3098, NZ 3100 and NZ 3108) and P-40K-15s (NZ 3090 and NZ 3099) were ex-RAF contract aircraft kept by the USAAF at the beginning of the Pacific war and were in a sorry state of repair (five never received RNZAF serials). Most of the serviceable aircraft were sent forward to defend Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands in February 1943 and ten survivors returned to New Zealand later that year. These aircraft became known as the “Tonga” P-40s. After their return to New Zealand, they were repainted in Foliage Green and (NZ) Sky Grey as were many locally based aircraft at this time. 

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INFO Eduard is a monthly scale model-historical magazine published in Czech and English by Eduard Model Accessories since 2010. The magazine is available for free on the Triobo platform and can be downloaded in PDF format. Eduard is a manufacturer of plastic models and accessories with over 30 years of tradition. Throughout its history in the plastic modeling industry, Eduard has become one of the world's leaders. Further details about the company and its product range can be found at www.eduard.com. You can subscribe to the INFO magazine and receive product information for free at: https://www.eduard.com/cs/info-eduard/

 

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