BUILT

s/n 44-14223, Lt. Col. Elwyn G. Righetti, CO of 55th FG, 8th AF, Wormingford, United Kingdom,

December 1944–March 1945

Elwyn Guido Righetti, also known as “Eager El”,

was not only the 55th FG top fighter ace but also

the most successful strafing ace in the whole ETO.

Righetti joined the 338th FS, 55th FG in October

1944. At the age of 29, he was already a matured

pilot, however he lacked the combat experience.

Despite his age he was eager and aggressive, so

he was able to boost morale of his rather tired

group. One of Righetti’s “hobbies” was destroying

the locomotives. He also managed to shoot down

two Mistels and destroyed several Me 262 jets on

the ground. Unfortunately, Righetti’s outstanding

achievements were cut short right before the

end of war. On April 17, 1945, exactly on his 30th

birthday, Righetti was shot down by flak while

raiding the airfield near Dresden. He successfully

performed the emergency landing and advised

his friends over the radio “Tell the family I’m okay.

Broke my nose on landing. It’s been a hell of

a lot of fun working with you, gang. Be seeing you

a little later.”Since then no one ever heard about

Righetti again. Supposedly he was murdered by

the enraged German civilians. During his short

combat career, he scored 7.5 kills and destroyed

35 enemy aircraft on the ground. He flew two

personal Mustangs (44-14223 and 44-47222),

both of them were decorated with the inscription

KATYDID and grasshopper artwork on the port

side of the fuselage.

Accessories used:

644030

648486

648503

648522

648572

648742

P-51D-10 LööK (Brassin)

P-51D exhaust stacks w/ fairing (Brassin)

P-51D wheels oval tread (Brassin)

P-51D cockpit (Brassin)

P-51D 108gal drop tanks (Brassin)

P-51D wheel bay PRINT (Brassin)

648742 P-51D wheel

bay PRINT (Brassin)

June 2023

INFO Eduard

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