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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