Strana 35
P-51D-25, 44-73623, Maj. Harry C. Crim (later Flt.Off. Theo Gruici), CO of 531st FS,
21st FG, 7th AF, Iwojima, July/August 1945
P-51D-25, 44-73379, 2nd Lt. William G. Hetland/ Lt. Hinkle, 457th FS,
506th FG, 7th AF, Iwojima, June 1945
My Ach’in was delivered from Guam in late May
1945 as a replacement for destroyed aircraft.
Flown by Major Harry Crim it was his second
aircraft at 531st FS. Harry Crim, the CO of 531st
FS was an old-timer who flew P-38s over Tunisia
in the MTO in 1943 and became top-scoring pilot
of 21st FG with six aerial victories. He claimed
his first kills, Ki-45 and Ki-61, on April 7, 1945,
during the well-known VLR Mission over Tokyo.
Later on August, My Ach’in was flown by Theo
Gruici, who replaced the mission symbols with
another pin-up girl on the starboard side of the
aircraft. The number 300 was replaced while
the aircraft was moved to Guam to no. 3623 after
the end of the war.
When the 457th Fighter Squadron was activated
on October 21, 1944, the Allied offensive in the
Pacific brought American bombers within
striking distance of the Japanese homeland.
With the capture of Iwo Jima in March 1945, the
U.S. Army Air Force gained an outpost to provide
fighter escort for long-range B-29 bombers.
Late the following month, the 506th Fighter
Group, consisting of the 457th, 458th, and 462nd
Fighter Squadrons, arrived. On Iwo Jima, the
506th Fighter Group, in addition to assisting
in the defense of the island, participated in VII
Fighter Command’s attacks on enemy-held
neighboring islands. One of the Mustangs used
by the 457th Fighter Squadron was an aircraft
named “Lil Ole Meanie II”, which was regularly
flown by Lt. Hetland and Lt. Hinkle.
KITS 07/2025
INFO Eduard
35
July 2025