Markings for P-51B 1/48
P-51B-10-NA, s/n 43-6934, Capt. Henry White, 328th FS, 352nd FG, 8th AF, Bodney, Great Britain, June 1944
The 352nd Fighter Group was formed on September 29, 1942 and activated three days later on October 1. Its first commander was Lt. Col. Edwin M. Ramage. The 328th, 486th, and 487th Fighter Squadrons, all initially flying P-47s before rearming to P-51B, were part of the group. During June and July, the group moved from the USA to the UK. The first commander of the 328th Fighter Squadron was Capt. J. H. Posten, the most famous of the commanders was Maj. G. E. Preddy, the most successful American P-51 fighter pilot with 26.83 confirmed kills. Capt. Henry White flew a total of 89 operational sorties with the unit, recording two kills. He achieved the first on May 28, 1944, and the second on July 18. The entire squadron scored 143 kills, 14 were destroyed probably and 35 damaged by its pilots on the ground during the war. Captain White’s P-51B bore the distinctive livery of “Blue-nosed Bastards of Bodney”, as the 352nd FG was nicknamed after the blue noses of its aircraft. On the left side forward of the cockpit, a painting of a girl in a red bikini and the name “Dallas Darling” adorned the nose. Full invasion stripes are portrayed here.
P-51B-10-NA, s/n 42-106472, Lt. Carlton Fuhrman, 486th FS, 352nd FG, 8th AF, Bodney, Great Britain, June 1944
The aircraft, named The Flying Scot II / Vicious Virgie J. G., was first assigned to Lt. Murdoch R. Cunningham, Lt. Carlton Fuhrman subsequently took it over and on September 12, 1944, it was written off on landing when it crashed into Lt. Glennn Wensch. The entire 486th FS shot down 114 enemy aircraft confirmed, five probably and 21 were damaged. Lt. Fuhrman, however, was not among the winners of any of the air combats.
P-51B-10-NA, s/n 43-6688, 1Lt. Arval J. Roberson, 362nd FS, 357th FG, 8th AF, Leiston, Great Britain, June 1944
“Robby” Robertson joined the ranks of the Army Reserves in June 1942 and was officially an Army pilot on May 20, 1943. He was assigned to the 362nd FS, with which he subsequently flew 76 missions. In all, he scored six confirmed victories over German fighters, with another remaining unconfirmed. During the Korean War, he credited himself with another 100 combat missions as a member of the 12th FBS/18th FBG. Already at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he added 26 more missions with the C-47. Robertson retired in 1973 as the last commander of Otis Air Force Base before its closure. His P-51B Mustang, serial number 43-6688, was the first of two aircraft named the Passion Wagon (the other was P-51D 44-13691), and Robertson achieved all of his kills with it.
P-51C-1-NT, s/n 42-103309, Lt. William B. Overstreet, 363rd FS, 357th FG, 8th AF, Leiston, Great Britain, June 1944
“Bill” Overstreet became particularly famous for his story of chasing a German Bf 109 through the arches of the Eiffel Tower. The dogfight was supposed to have taken place sometime in the spring of 1944, but it is questionable whether the passage through the Eiffel Tower actually took place. Nor is the exact date of the duel known, and there is no mention in German records of such a strange event as a fighter plane crashing into the streets of Paris ... Overstreet was, however, an aggressive and capable pilot, and on September 3, 1944, for example, he took part in a top-secret mission in which a remote-controlled four-engine bomber attacked a heavily defended German heavily protected submarine base hidden in the cliffs. He subsequently flew other secret missions in support of the French Resistance, often landing behind enemy lines. His Berlin Express, with which he was to fly under and through the Eiffel Tower, bore a partial coat of olive drab paint on the upper surfaces, while the sides and undersides were left in a natural metal and aluminum paint.
P-51B-10-NA, s/n 42-106448, Cpt. Henry W. Brown, 354th FS, 355th FG, 8th AF, Steeple Morden, Great Britain, June 1944
“Baby” Brown was a fighter ace with 14.2 kills, damaging three other aircraft. On the ground he destroyed 14.5 and damaged 10. He achieved four wins with the Thunderbolt, the others on the Mustang. He became the 355th FG’s fifth ace fighter on April 24, 1944, and by May 13, he even held the status of the most successful fighter of the entire group. Returning from leave, he then became the most successful fighter of the entire 8th Air Force in late August after destroying eight aircraft on the ground and seven in the air in a 30-day period. Further increases in his score were halted by a German flak hit that forced Brown to make an emergency landing on enemy soil on 3 October 1944. His commander, Maj. Chuck Lenfest (5.5 kills), landed nearby to rescue him, but his Mustang bogged down in the mud and both pilots eventually fell into captivity. He remained in the service after the war and led the F-111 development program at Nellis AFB. Later he was commander of the 48th TFW and deputy commander of operations for the 7th AF during the Vietnam War. He retired in 1974 and died on 19 February 2008 at the age of 85.
P-51B-15-NA, s/n 42-106924, 2nd Lt. Ralph K. Hofer, 334th FS, 4th FG, 8th AF, Debden, Great Britain, June 1944
Light-hearted, perhaps undisciplined, but all the more courageous and charismatic was “Kid” Hofer, one of the USAAF’s most successful fighters. The nickname was based on his youthful appearance and flowing and by Army standards long hair as well as his prevailing good humor. Until his death, he destroyed 15 enemy aircraft in the air, damaging two and destroying another 14 on the ground. On July 2, 1944, “Kid” participated in the escort of bombers to Budapest from the Italian base Foggia. Prior to reaching the target area, a group of Bf 109 entered the scene and the aerial battle started. Hofer’s leader had to make an emergency landing due to a malfunction and watched from the ground as a Hungarian Bf 109, sitting on the tail of his Wingman, opened fire. Hofer’s Mustang was apparently only damaged and so he tried to return to the base. Near Mostar, he decided to strafe a German airfield, his P-51B “Salem Representative” was hit by flak and “Kid” Hofer was killed.
P-51B-5-NA, s/n 43-6425, Maj. Jack T. Bradley, CO 353rd FS, 354th FG, 9th AF, A.2 Criqueville, France, June 1944
Jack Bradley became an Army pilot with the rank of 2ndLt on August 27, 1942, and was assigned to the 384th FG/353rd FS on January 18 the following year. After moving to England, he achieved his first kill out of 15 confirmed (plus three probable and 12.66 damaged) on December 20. With “Margie Maru” carrying code FT B, he achieved his first success on December 30, when he contributed a third of the damage to Do 217. Bradley was promoted to Captain in mid-January and took command of the 353rd FS at the end of the month. He kept the position until June 30, when he left for the USA for leave and took the post again on his return. He subsequently served as deputy CO of the 354th FG and at the end of the war, already at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, became the CO. After the war he stayed with the Air Force, retiring from the Reserves in December 1962. His Margie Maru is shown in a state where it bore the symbols of 15 kills, the invasion stripes on the fuselage were painted very carelessly. The aircraft was subsequently given the designation FT W and the name “Edgewood’s Entry”.
P-51B-10-NA, s/n 42-106647, Capt. John R. Brown Jr., 382nd FS, 363rd FG, 9th AF, Staplehurst, Great Britain, June 1944
Prior to the combat, John Brown had managed to destroy four aircraft and damage one in various accidents, so he claimed himself to be only three-fifths of an aircraft away from becoming a Luftwaffe ace. He flew successively in the 356 FG and 362 FG, both with P-47s, then briefly became commander of the 382nd FS/363 FG, flying the P-51B. He was shot down with his “Big Mac” on August 8, 1944, while leading a formation of eight P-51s in an attack on ships in Bedonet Harbor. It was his 99th mission. He made an emergency landing near Quimper after being hit by flak from a destroyer but managed to escape capture and slip back to the Allies within a week. He subsequently became commander of the 437th FS/414 FG, with which he moved to Guam, where he flew P-47Ns. After the war, he became an air attaché in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and completed a secret mission in the USSR. During his wartime career, he scored one aerial kill, destroyed four enemy aircraft on the ground, and damaged eight.
P-51B-15-NA, s/n 42-106763, Capt. George R. Rew, 374th FS, 361st FG, 8th AF, Bottisham, Great Britain, June 1944
The 361st Fighter Group was activated on January 28, 1943, subsequently joining the 8th Air Force at RAF Bottisham, England. Initially flying P-47s, it rearmed to P-51s during May 1944. Although its pilots primarily provided long-range escort to bomber formations, they did not neglect attacks against ground targets, either by strafing or bombing. This is evidenced by one hundred of painted bomb symbols under the cockpit of the “Scarlet Kate” Mustang flown by Capt. George Robert Rew, who later commanded the 374th FS. The entire 361st FG achieved 226 aerial victories during World War II, and on the ground its pilots destroyed another 106 enemy aircraft.
Mustang Mk.III, FB382, S/Ldr Eugeniusz Horbaczewski, No. 315 (Polish) Squadron, RAF Coolham, Great Britain, June 1944
Eugeniusz Horbaczewski was born on September 28, 1917, in Kiev and educated in Brest-Litovsk. He joined the Polish Air Force in 1937. In September 1939 he fled to France via Romania and from there he came to the UK. After completing his training with the RAF, he was assigned to No. 303 Squadron in late 1940 and in early 1943 was selected for a special Polish Flying Team, formed by Stanislaw Skalski and operated under umbrella of No. 145 Squadron. Over Tunisia Horbaczewski became the most successful pilot of this group, achieving five victories in less than a month. After the Team was disbanded he was assigned to No. 601 Squadron operating in the Mediterranean area and in early July to No. 43 Squadron which he commanded from August. On his return to the UK in February 1944 he took command of No. 315 Squadron, flying Mustang Mk. III. On August 18, 1944, he was shot down in the Beauvais area and killed, having previously shot down three Fw 190s in the combat himself.