Markings for STRAFER 1/48
COL A
B-25J-27, 44-30866, 1/Lt. Thomas Evans, 82nd BS, 12th BG, 10th AF, Fenny, India, spring 1945
This aircraft was purchased thanks to the fundraising campaign conducted by employees of the Oak Ridge (K-25) plant in Tennessee. The plant was part of the Manhattan Project, and when each employee donated their two Sunday overtime pay checks, $250,000 was raised - enough to buy one Mitchell. Factory representatives then christened the plane with a bottle of champagne at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville on March 18, 1945, with the name "Sunday Punch". This name referred to the Sunday punch card paychecks. After shipment to India, the aircraft was assigned to the 82nd BS, where the staff added a drawing of a scantily clad girl to the lettering. And when one of the pilots, 1/Lt. Thomas Evans, learned that the ship had been purchased thanks to the campaign conducted in his home state, he requested her assignment. By the end of the war, Evans had flown 14 of his 28 combat missions with her. One of these was the May 27 attack on Takli Airfield in Thailand, when they made a total of 2,580 km (1,600 miles) flight and the subsequent attack in poor weather conditions.
COL B
B-25J-10, 43-28136, 71st BS, 38th BG, 5th AF, Luzon, Philippines, 1945
This Mitchell originally served with the 388th BS, 312th BG where it received a drawing of a pink heart with a naked girl. At that time, it had a glass nose. In mid-June 1945 the ship was transferred to the 71st BS “Wolf Pack”, part of the 38th BG, and subsequently underwent conversion to a solid gun nose. The nose was then decorated on both sides with the unit's emblem, a drawing of a wolf's head. The aircraft was not assigned to any particular pilot, and, interestingly, there are no records of operational flights for either the 312th BG or the 38th BG. It is therefore possible that it served as a liaison aircraft for the needs of the staff. There is, on the other hand, a record of an accident in 1946. By that time, however, the aircraft had been stripped of both the wolf's head and pink heart artwork.
COL C
B-25J-20, 44-29509, Capt. Link Piazzo, 17th RS, 71st RG, 5th AF, Lingayen, Philippines, 1945
The aircraft named “My Buck” belonged to the 17th RS (Reconnaissance Squadron) which was nicknamed “Reckoners”. It was a heavy reconnaissance squadron of the 71st Reconnaissance Group which was activated on March 2, 1942, and conducted anti-submarine patrols on the US West Coast until September of that year. From April 2, 1943, the group was in process of rearming to B-25s and moved to New Guinea in January 1944. Although it was a reconnaissance squadron, the pilots also routinely conducted bombing and attack missions in support of ground troops. Even during long-range reconnaissance flights, their Mitchells were fully armed so they could attack ground targets they found enroute. The unit moved to the Philippines in November 1944 and flew reconnaissance missions over Luzon from there. On April 27, 1946, the unit was deactivated. The “My Buck” ship looks quite new considering the numerous mission symbols painted on her fuselage. Also, the border of the Olive Drab and Neutral Grey colors is unusually shaped. It is possible, therefore, that she received a new paint job at the unit for some reason.
COL D
B-25J-10, 43-28150, 1/Lt. Chauncy Kershaw, 48th BS, 41st BG, 7th AF, Kadena, Okinawa, July 1945
The 41st BG was activated on January 15, 1941, with pilots training on B-18 Bolo and A-29 Hudson aircraft. Later, the group was equipped with Mitchells and patrolled the US West Coast during 1942 and 1943. In October 1943, it moved to the Hawaiian Islands, where it was assigned to the 7th Air Force. After completing the final phase of training, the unit then moved to the Gilbert Islands and conducted attacks on enemy positions and installations on the Marshall Islands. After February 1944, it moved several times, primarily conducting attacks on enemy vessels. After a break on Hawaii, where crews trained rocket firing, the 41st BG moved to Okinawa. This ship originally served with a glass-nose and bore the name “Per”. She retained this name even after conversion to solid-nose version, the renaming to “Ruff’n Reddy” did not occur until August 1945 when this aircraft was assigned to 1/Lt. Chauncy Kershaw. The pilot himself was the author of both the drawing and the name. While still named “Per” , the aircraft had fuselage machine guns fitted but no longer has them in the pictures where it carries the girl’s drawing.
COL E
B-25J-6, 43-27957, Capt. Ervin J. Werhand, 823rd BS, 38th BG, 5th AF, Kadena, Okinawa, July 1945
This ship was originally named “Little Princess Deanna” and was assigned to Capt. Zane E. Corbin. He was succeeded by Capt. Ervin J. “Joe” Wehrand who renamed the ship “Bugs Bunny”, an animated cartoon character best known for his starring roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. The name of the 823rd BS was "Terrible Tigers", and the noses of their aircraft were decorated with a tiger painting. This unit, along with the 822nd BS, was activated in Australia in April 1943 as replacements for two squadrons that had been withdrawn from the 38th BG “Sun Setters” composition. However, the 823rd Squadron did not reach its full strength until the end of June that year when it moved to Port Moresby, New Guinea. By August, the unit was already engaged in offensive action against the Japanese at Cape Gloucester, New Britain and received a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for this activity. The second time they received DUC, in June 1944, it was for attacks on Japanese airfields, ports and ships on New Guinea. From October 1944, the "Terrible Tigers" operated from the Maluku Archipelago in eastern Indonesia, from where they attacked targets in the Philippines in support of Operation Leyte. Then, on November 10, the pilots of the 823rd BS dispersed a large enemy convoy, for which they received their third DUC. In February 1945, the unit moved to Okinawa, from where it attacked targets in southern Japan until the end of the war. It was then part of the occupation forces until September 1946, when it was inactivated as the 38th BG was transitioned to peacetime status with two squadrons.
COL F
B-25J-30, 44-30934, 1/Lt. Charles E. Rice, Jr., 449th BS, 345th BG, 5th AF, Kadena, Okinawa, July 1945
The most significant mission of the Mitchell named “Betty’s Dream” was escorting two white Betty bombers aboard which Japanese peace envoys traveled to le Shima on August 21, 1945, after the previous surrender in Manila. The aircraft was assigned to 1/Lt. Charles “Pop” Rice, Jr. who later became the unit's operations officer. The Betty's Dream ship was only briefly with the 449th BS, having been assigned to the unit in June 1945, so it showed just little sign of war wear and tear. The typical drawing of a bat on the nose referred to the unit's name, “Bats Outa’Hell”.