Markings for P-40K Warhawk 1/48
COL A
Capt. Ray Melikian, 7th FS, 49th FG, New Guinea, 1942
Ray Melikian was born on June 7, 1918 in Fresno, California. He was of Armenian descent. After completion of his military training in August 1941, he was sent to Australia and assigned to 7th FS. His P-40K named “Swing it” was lost in December 1942, when flown by 2/Lt. Dillworth, a rookie pilot, who had to conduct emergency landing. The aircraft was then used as a source of spare parts. At the time, there were two victory marks under the windshield, Melikian later added a third victory to his credit and was promoted to the rank of Major. He conducted 228 missions during WWII and was known for having excellent eyesight. He passed away on October 25, 2013.
COL B
Maj. Glade B. Bilby, CO of 64th FS, 57th FG, North Africa, spring 1943
Glade Burke Bilby was born near Skidmore, Missouri, on December 1, 1918, and was one of the first to volunteer when World War II was declared. Thanks to it, he got into fighting early in the war. He got nationwide acclaim when he dropped the first American bomb on the Germans in the American campaign to aid General Montgomery in North Africa. It was said that Bilby flew his plane so low that the Germans took off their helmets and threw them at his plane. His P-40K was adorned with the rather weird painting of a fish with horns and thorns and was named “Blue Demon”. Glade Bilby shot down three enemy planes in the period from October 1942 to January 1943. He was discharged from service in 1946 but reenlisted a year leater. He acted as an instructor in the Naval War College at Newport. On November 11, 1957, he conducted a night training flight in formation with another jet. The planes crashed and Col. Bilby died as well as other two airmen.
COL C
42-9768, Maj. Edward M. Nollmeyer, 26th FS, 51st FG, Kunming, China, winter 1944
Edward “Big Ed” Nollmeyer was the Commanding Officer of the 26th Fighter Squadron, part of the 51st Fighter Group. His P-40K serial number 42-9768 underwent several changes in appearance, which peaked in the form shown here with the bunny emblem on the port side of the fuselage and shark mouth with inserted squadron badge. The 51st Fighter Group was activated on January 15, 1941, and equipped with P-40s. While training for combat, the unit served as part of the defense force for the west coast before it moved to India in March 1942. The pilots defended the Indian terminus of the Hump route and airfields in that area. They also flew strafing, bombing, reconnaissance, and patrol missions in support of Allied ground troops during a Japanese offensive in northern Burma in 1943. The group then moved to China in October 1943 to defend the eastern end of the route over the Hump, guard air bases in the Kunming area, harass Japanese shipping in the Red River delta, and support Chinese ground forces in their drive along the Salween River. The 51st FG returned to India in the fall of 1945 and sailed for the US in November where it was deactivated a month later. Ed Nollmeyer made a name for himself in the epic combat on December 22, 1943, when he managed to shoot down two Zeros as confirmed, three probably and also damaged two others.
COL D
Lt. Paul J. Eastman, 90th FS, 80th FG, China, 1944
The 80th FG was called the Burma Banshees, and most of its aircraft were decorated with a skull on the nose. None of them were the same, although they sometimes differed only in details. The primary role of the group was to provide air cover for bases involved in air supply operations to units in China via the Himalayas (Hump operations). Later, from October 1943, the group was tasked with providing air support to units in northern Burma. Paul J. Eastman was one of the pilots to conduct the task, his P-40K was adorned with a stylish skull on the nose and named Caroline. He later changed his P-40 for a P-47. Walt Shiel wrote a book based on his story and memories from the war times titled Rough War.
COL E
Capt. Dallas A. Clinger, 74th FS, 23rd FG, China, May 1943
Dallas Adellon Clinger was born on June 2, 1916, in Saint Anthony, Idaho. After completing training in 1941, he was transferred to the 16th FS. He achieved his first victory in aerial combat on July 31, 1942, when he shot down an A6M. He followed this up by shooting down a same type aircraft on November 12 of that year and concluded his score with the 16th FS on December 26, 1942, shooting down a Zero again. He scored two more confirmed kills during the war. Clinger remained in the service after the war and retired in 1953 at the rank of Major. He died on December 16, 1988 (aged 72). His P-40K was adorned with a similar cartoon as on his previous P-40E, i.e., the peeing cowboy painted on both sides of the rudder. The 16th FS P-40s had their wheel discs decorated with a blue field with white star and probably with a red circle in the middle and this coloring most probably stayed after Clinger’s move to 74th FS. The canvas with the cartoon was removed from the rudder and Clinger had it displayed in his pub.
COL F
42-46220, Maj. Gordon R. Hyde, 78th FS, 15th 18FG, Midway, 1943
18th Pursuit Group was organized in Hawaii in Jan 1927 and redesignated 18th Fighter Group in 1942. Before World War II the group engaged in routine flying and gunnery training with several aircraft types. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the group, which had recently converted to P-40s, sustained severe losses. The group, assigned to Seventh AF in Feb 1942, had to be re-equipped before it could resume training and begin patrol missions. The 78th FS was part of 18th FG until March 16, 1943. After that date it was transferred to 15th FG, as the 18th FG moved to the South Pacific. In January 1943 the pilots of 78th FS conducted a historic long-range, over-water flight to reach Midway in January 1943 and also the return flight. These routes lasted over seven hours of flight each. The 78th was providing aerial defense of the atoll. The 18th FG aircraft were marked with a color bands around the fuselage behind the canopy and also sported big numbers behind the cabin (this plane was 358). Both markings were overpainted with Olive Drab when the planes were sent to combat. This makes the camouflage of this aircraft interesting. The most interesting though is the large Bushmaster snake head painted on the nose of the aircraft. First iteration of the Bushmaster squadron emblem appeared after the 78th FS began receiving Curtiss P-40K Warhawks while on Hawaii. This aircraft was sent to Gilbert Islands on board USS Brenton in December 1943 as a replacement of destroyed P-40Ns of 45th FS. There it crashed and Lt. Verne B. Snyder died in its cockpit on December 28, 1943.
COL G
EV421, Maj. Daniel B. Hauptfleisch, No. 2 Squadron SAAF, North Africa, late 1942
No. 2 Squadron of South African Air Force was formed in January 1939 and equipped with Hawker Hartbees. From its establishment, the unit was involved in every single combat action in which the SAAF took part. The Flying Cheetahs, as the unit was called, made a name for itself in the battles for East Africa, before distinguishing itself in North Africa as part of the Desert Air Force, and later in Italy. The squadron was reformed in Kenya on October 1, 1940, flying Hurricanes and Gladiators II. After it moved to Egypt, the unit received Tomahawks IIb in April 1941 and Kittyhawks were received from May 1942. In 1943 the squadron moved to Sicily, then Italy, where they were re-equipped with Spitfires which they flew until the end of the war. Maj. Daniel Benjamin “Hoefie” Hauptfleisch was commanding officer of Flying Cheetahs in late 1942, flying his Kittyhawk adorned with the unit’ s badge, the outline of Africa continent with jumping antelope. In 1943 Hauptfleisch was moved to No. 5 Squadron.
COL H
FR312, F/O Maurice N. Matthias, No. 112 Squadron RAF, Cutella, Italy, April 1944
No. 112 Squadron was a unit of the Royal Air Force which served in both first and second World War. After the Squadron was re-formed on May 16, 1939, on board the aircraft carrier HMS Argus, its first destination was Egypt. It was the first unit on the Allied side to adopt the shark mouth on their aircraft, which secured them the name “The Shark Squadron“. This happened after the unit received their first Tomahawks in July 1941. This aircraft having a nose more than suitable for the painting of the shark mouth. The unit was the first in the world to become operational with this type and used its successor, Kittyhawk, until June 1944, when it started to receive Mustangs III. After the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943, the squadron moved to the island and onto the Italian mainland in September. The squadron remained in Italy at Lavariano as part of the occupying forces, until disbanding on 30 December 1946 at Treviso. This aircraft took part in combat over Rieti airfield on April 7, 1944 when it was flown by F/O Maurice Neville Matthias.