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Markings for ACES of The Eighth 1/72

P-51D-5, s/n 44-13321, Maj. George Preddy Jr., 487th FS, 352nd FG, Bodney, United Kingdom, July 1944

The future fighter ace with the highest score achieved on Mustang among all the pilots was born on February 5, 1919, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He had completed the pilot training before the War and tried three times to enlist in the US Navy in 1940. But he was refused every time. For the fourth try he applied to enlist in the USAAC and was accepted in 1940. He completed the fighter training consequently and after his assignment to 49th PS was dispatched to Australia. Flying P-40E in the defense of Darwin he was credited with two Japanese airplanes damaged. In July 1942, after the mid-air collision during the training flight, he was wounded and sent back to the United States. As of September 1943, his next combat assignment awaited him in Europe with 352nd FG, where he was flying P-47 Thunderbolts providing cover for heavy bombers of the 8th AF. In April, the unit converted to P-51 Mustangs. In June, the war photographer snapped Maj. Preddy’s aircraft sporting seventeen kills painted on the aircraft nose in the form of the white crosses. The aircraft lacked any camouflage and sported the blue-painted nose, same as other 352nd FG aircraft. The fuselage and wings were still carrying so-called invasion stripes.

 

P-51D-10, 44-14221, Maj. Pierce W. McKennon, CO of 335th FS, 4th FG, Debden, United Kingdom, April 1945

Future Second World War twelve kill ace Pierce Winningham McKennon was born on November 30, 1919, in Clarksville, Arkansas. Although his ability to play the piano awarded him a scholarship at the University of Arkansas, he did not complete studies and entered USAAF in 1941, with the wish to become a fighter pilot. After two months he was let go due to his nausea, but he refused to give up on his dream. He joined the RCAF, where he finished his training and was assigned to an Operational Training Unit in Europe. He was reintegrated into the USAAF on February 22, 1943, with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, and was assigned to the 335th FS, which was flying P-47 at that time, but were later replaced by Mustangs. He was not only an excellent pilot, but due to the piano playing skills he was also a regular invitee to social functions. His final sortie came about during a squadron-wide raid on an air bases around Prague, when his aircraft was hit in the canopy, and a piece of Plexiglass narrowly missed his eye. After the war, he stayed with the Air Force, serving as an instructor. He died together with a student pilot in a crash of their AT-6D near San Antonio, Texas, on June 18, 1947. 

 

P-51D-10, 44-14733, Capt. Ray S. Wetmore, 370th FS, 359th FG, East Wretham, United Kingdom, March 1944 

Ray Shuey Wetmore became one of the most successful Mustang fighter pilots, as he scored 21,25 aerial victories. He was born on September 30, 1923, and upon commissioning in March 1943, he joined the newly formed 359th Fighter Group which was sent to England in October that year. As a member of the 370th FS he scored his first 4.25 victories during February and March 1944. All of them were achieved on the P-47. After retraining to P-51 Wetmore achieved status of ace after he shot down two Bf 109s on May 19, 1944, and by the end of May 1944, the number of Wetmore’s victories raised to 8.25. In a little over a year, he shot down 15 enemy aircraft and was promoted to the rank of Captain. He added more during his second tour of duty, his last victory came on March 15, 1945, near Wittenberg. His victim was a very rare bird, the Me 163 Comet. When chasing this rocket plane, speed of Wetmore’s P-51D reached 600 MPH (965 km/h)! During both operational tours he flew 142 combat missions. His final score was 21.25 aerial victories, one damaged aircraft and 2.33 destroyed on the ground. This made Wetmore the highest scorer within 359th FG and eighth best of all American flying aces in Europe. All of Wetmore’s aircraft sported the “Daddy’ s Girl” name on the nose. He continued to serve with US Air Force after the war. His last appointment was CO of the 59th FIS at Otis AB. On February 14, 1951, Maj. Wetmore took off from Los Angeles in F-86 Sabre to fly it to Otis AB. When he was on his final approach, the plane violently raised nose, then turned towards the ground and crashed. He was reporting handling problems prior to the crash.

 

P-51D-20, 44-72218, Lt Col. John D. Landers, CO of 78th FG, Duxford, United Kingdom, March 1945

John Dave Landers was born on August 23rd, 1920, in Joshua, Texas. He joined the Army Air Force in April 1941. After undergoing pilot training, he was assigned to the 9th FS in Australia in January 1942, a unit that flew P-40s. In the Pacific theatre, he gained six aerial victories and in January 1943, he was called back to the United States. There, he served as a flight instructor, but by his own request, he was reassigned to a combat unit in April 1944. That combat unit was the 38th FS based at Wormingford, which flew the P-38s and re-equipped with the P-51s from July 1944. After being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel rank, he took over command duties of the 357th FG, which he led from October to December 1944. After some downtime in the United States, he returned to Great Britain and was named CO of 78th FG, holding this post until the end of the Second World War. In December 1945, he left the military and worked in construction. John Landers passed away on September 12, 1989.

 

P-51D-5, 44-13316, Maj. Leonard K. Carson, 362nd FS, 357th FG, USAAF Station 373 Leiston, Suffolk, Great Britain, June 1944

The second top scoring Fighter Group of the 8th USAAF and the top scoring FG equipped with P-51D Mustangs was 357th FG, credited with 609 German aircraft destroyed in the air and 106 on the ground, with their own losses of 128 aircraft. Altogether 35 aces served with the unit. The most successful of them was Major Leonard Kyle “Kit” Carson with 18 aerial victories. He became 362nd FS CO on April 8, 1945. The key to the success of the unit was its fighting academy, called Clobber College, where the experienced pilots taught the newcomers the fighting tactics. The 362nd FS received their P-51Ds just a few days before D-day. Most of the unit’s early Mustangs had upper surfaces camouflaged Dark Green with Neutral Grey bottom surfaces, or Dark Green upper surfaces over the aluminum/natural metal bottom surfaces with border between green and NMF surfaces high on fuselage sides. The colors were probably RAF paints from RAF stock. The “Nooky Booky II” wore full D-day stripes, as the aircraft was delivered to the unit probably around June 6, 1944. The previous name of this plane was “Mildred”. 

 

P-51D-15, 44-15152, Maj. Donald J. Strait, 361st FS, 365th FG, United Kingdom, February 1945

Donald Jackson Strait was born on April 28, 1918, in East Orange, new Jersey. He was a baseball player during high school studies, but also was interested in aviation. He took the bother to ride his bicycle eight miles (13 km) to observe flying aircraft and speak to pilots at the Caldwell Wright Airport. He enlisted with the New Jersey National Guard in 1940 and flew observation planes as member of the 119th Observer Squadron prior to entering US Army’s aviation cadet program in 1942. He completed his training in March 1943 as a pilot of P-47 Thunderbolt and was assigned to combat duty in England. He became member of the 356th FG and flew his first operational missions in October 1943 with P-47 he named “Jersey Jerk”. He later gave the same rather unflattering name to his Mustangs. From October 1944 he led 361st Squadron and continued in that role for the rest of the war. Altogether he flew 122 missions and achieved 13,5 aerial victories. Later after the war, in 1968, he was hired by Fairchild- Republic company as an expert for the development of A-10 Thunderbolt II. He passed away on March 30, 2015.          

 

P-51D-10, 44-14223, Lt. Col. Elwyn G. Righetti, CO of 55th FG, 8th AF, Wormingford, United Kingdom, January 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 that he was okay, just had broken his nose. 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.


P-51D-10, 44-14164, Lt. Urban L. Drew, 375th FS, 361st FG, Little Walden, October 1944

Urban Leonard Drew was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1924 and received his education at Wayne University and the University of Michigan. He graduated with a degree in Political Science. Three months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Drew enlisted in the USAAF and entered the Aviation Cadet Program in October 1942. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and awarded his pilot wings on October 1, 1943. Instead of combat, he was trained as an instructor for the P-51 Mustang and served in this role with the 56th FS. He went overseas in May 1944 and was assigned to 375th Squadron of the 361st Fighter Group “Yellowjackets”, stationed at RAF Bottisham and later at Little Walden. During his tour Drew completed 75 missions and after leading the A Flight, he was promoted to the role of CO of 375th FS. He was credited with six aerial victories, one destroyed on the ground and one damaged enemy aircraft. He added one special victory, when he destroyed the Blohm & Voss BV 238V-1, the largest aircraft in the world at the time. Another interesting achievement came on October 7, 1944, when Drew shot down two Me 262 jets at Achmer. He remained the only pilot who managed to do so in one mission. He was assigned to the 413th FS of 414th FG flying Thunderbolts at Iwo Jima in 1945. After the war he helped to organize the 127th FG of Michigan ANG and became first the deputy Commander and later was appointed first Adjutant General of the state of Michigan. He stayed in the position until the end of his active duty in 1950.  Urban L. Drew passed away on April 3, 2013.        

 

P-51D-5, 44-13761, Capt. Jack M. Ilfrey, 79th FS, 20th FG, 8th AF, USAAF Station 367 Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire, Great Britain, autumn 1944

Captain Jack Ilfrey became an ace in North Africa, where he claimed 5 kills (plus two damaged enemy aircraft) while flying P-38F “Texas Terror”. He joined 20th FG, 79th FS at USAAF Station Kings Cliffe in England on April 20, 1944 and served as an Operations Officer from June 14, 1944. He claimed two more Bf 109Gs on May 24, flying P-38J “Happy Jack’s go Buggy”. He was shot down behind enemy lines in France on June 12, but he successfully evaded capture walking and cycling 150 miles to Allied lines in Normandy with a help of French civilians. He became 79th FS CO on September 7, leading the unit until December 9, 1944. He completed 142 combat missions over ETO and MTO. The 20th FG did not replace their P-38Js with P-51Cs until July 1944, changing them for P-51Ds shortly afterwards. The early Mustangs of the 20th FG are known to have upper surfaces overpainted with green color, probably with RAF Dark Green, with irregular splitting line between green upper surfaces and silver/natural metal bottom surfaces. The 20th FG was nicknamed “Loco Busters” because the unit made significant number of attacks against railroad network.

 

P-51D-10, 44-14372, Capt. Kirk B. Everson, 504th FS, 339th FG, 8th AF, Fowlmere, United Kingdom, April 1945

Kirk Everson’s war career took off in 1945 only. Regardless, he achieved great successes in the numerous diving strikes on the German-occupied airfields. The Mustang he regularly flew was inherited from Richard C. Penrose who had christened it “Beaver Chant” nad Everson renamed it “Mery Belt”. On April 4, 1945, he shared a victory over Me 262 above Parchim. Three days later he shot down a Bf 109 nearby Celle. On April 10, during the strafing attack on the Neuruppin airfield, he destroyed three enemy aircraft and on April 16 three Fw 190 fell victims to his guns at Klatovy airfield. On the following day Everson re-appeared over the Klatovy airfield and this time he claimed the destruction of seven airplanes.

 

P-51D-5, s/n 44-13677, flown Lt. William G. Cullerton, 357th FS, 355th FG, Steeple Morden, United Kingdom, 1944

William Cullerton, a native of Chicago, was born on June 2, 1923. He volunteered for the air service on America’s entry into the war, underwent training and flew P-51B and P-51D Mustangs with the 357th FG. On April 8, 1945, he was hit during an attack on the field at Ansbach and was forced to belly-land. He was discovered by German soldiers who shot him in the stomach and left behind. He was found by a German farmer, who, thinking this was a German pilot, took him to the nearest hospital, from where the American was able to escape. After the war, he married Elaine Stephen and in the fifties, he formed Cullerton Co., a maker of outdoor and fishing products. He died on January 12, 2013. Over the course of the Second World War, he destroyed 21 enemy aircraft, five in the air and sixteen on the ground. His aircraft appeared as it was delivered, with the nose and tail painted at unit level in light blue. The nose bore an inscription relating to his fiancée Miss Steve.

 

P-51D-25, 44-73060, Col. Glenn E. Duncan, 350th FS, 353rd FG, Raydon, United Kingdom, April 1945

Glenn Emile Duncan was born on May 12, 1918, in Bering, Texas. He enlisted in the aviation Cadet Program of the USAAF on February 9, 1940, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and awarded pilot wings on October 5, 1940. He served as instructor pilot prior and in Panama prior to conversion to P-47 and his assignment to 361st FG and successively to 353rd FG in England. He scored his first victory on September 23, 1943 and was promoted to the rank of Full Colonel in November 1944. He became the ace on December 20 that year when he destroyed a Fw 190 over Rastede. By June 7, 1944, he had accumulated 15,5 kills but a month later he was hit by AA fire and forced to belly-land near Nienburg, Germany. Duncan escaped captivity and joined the Dutch resistance for the time to liberation by Allies. He then rejoined the 353rd FG, now flying P-51s, and served as its CO from April 22 until October 1945. During WW II, Duncan destroyed 19.5 enemy aircraft in aerial combat plus one probable and seven damaged. This made him the most successful ace of 353rd FG. He recorded all his victories with P-47. His P-51D was named “Dove of Peace” like all his P-47s. The name came after the original “Winged Death” did not meet the understanding of the higher brass and Duncan renamed his aircraft sarcastically. The Mustang was number VIII of this name. After the war he became White House Liaison Officer, later he held several commanding posts in Japan and USA and retired on February 1, 1970. Glenn Duncan passed away on July 14, 1998.  

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