KITS 08/2019

44-13535, Lt. Edward F. Pogue, 79th FS, 20th FG, Kings Cliffe, United Kingdom, 1945

‚Pardon me, boy, is that the Chatanooga Choo Choo...?‘ was very often heard throughout the forties in dance halls in the United States and England, especially on bases

of the USAAF. Mustang MC-R, with the aircraft letter underlined, was flown by Lt. E.F.

‚Pogie‘ Pogue at the end of 1944, and already had a long and rich service career behind her that saw a list of 20th FG pilots in the cockpit. The aircraft carried names like

‚Black’s Bird‘ and ‚Wilma‘, but it was under the name of ‚Chatanooga Choo Choo‘ that

the airplane made her mark, a name taken from the popular song by Mack Gordon

and Harry Warren and made famous by Glenn Miller.

As the names of the plane changed, so did its appearance. The original 20th FG markings consisting of black and white stripes on the nose behind the spinner were later

supplemented by vertical black and white bands, the 20th Fighter Group identifier.

The black square on the tail indicated service with the 79th Fighter Squadron. The

application of the invasion stripes also went through an evolution. During the course

of its service career, the aircraft received the wing fillet that became typical of later

block P-51Ds, although as of the end of summer, 1944, the aircraft is documented

with the original tail. Later on, the serial number of the aircraft also made a return on

the fin and rudder. The illustration here captures the look of the aircraft as it appeared

in the spring of 1945, by then carrying the name ‚Chatanooga Choo Choo‘ on the left

side and ‚V-2‘ on the right. By this time, the invasion stripes had been removed, and so

were the ETO quick identification markings. The underlined individual aircraft letter

indicated that, at the time, there was already an airframe coded MC-R flying. During

this period, it was flown almost exclusively by Lt. Pogue and according to available

sources, was used in achieving all of his victories on the ground, six destroyed and

four confirmed damaged. Lt. Pogue’s most successful combat mission came on April

10th, 1945, when he destroyed three He 111s and a Bf 109, while damaging another

of each. After the end of the Second World War, Lt. Pogue piloted F-80s in Japan and

later flew F-84s during the Korean War. He ended his career as a Lt. Colonel. For his

outstanding service, he received nine Air Medals and two DFCs, among others.

INFO Eduard - August 2019

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