Markings for P-51B Mustang Birdcage canopy 1/48
P-51B-15-NA, 43-24857, Capt. Robert M. Barkey, 318th FS, 325th FG, 15th AF, Lesina, Italy, June 1944
Robert Barkey, after initial training, was assigned to a unit called the “Checkertail Clan” (319th FS, 325th FG) flying P-40s in Africa. After retraining on P-47s in late 1943, he was transferred to Italy with the unit. Barkey’s first victory came on February 22, 1944, when he shot down two Bf 109s, both flown by the aces of the elite German JG 26. After the unit switched to P-51B Mustangs, Barkey scored his fifth and final victory on June 6, 1944. He retired with the rank of Major in 1961. During World War II, he flew 53 combat sorties and achieved five confirmed victories and one probable victory. Barkey’s Mustang number 90 bore his wife Dorothy’s name on the left side of the engine cowling.
P-51B-5-NA, 43-6787, Capt. Gilbert O'Brien, 362nd FS, 357th FG, 8th AF, Leiston, United Kingdom, June 1944
Gilbert O'Brien was born on August 24, 1916, in Charleston, South Carolina. He joined the Army Reserves in April 1942 and served as an air cadet from August 1942 to May 1943. On May 20, 1943, he qualified as a pilot with the rank of second lieutenant. In 1943 he was assigned to the 362nd Fighter Squadron and by the end of the year had flown 476 hours. He was promoted to lieutenant on March 26, 1944 and to captain in September. He returned to the United States at the end of September. During the war years he scored eight confirmed aerial victories, two of them shared. His personal aircraft was a Mustang named “Shanty Irish”. This Mustang was converted to a two-seater in late 1944 and served with the 364th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group with the codes C5-H and the inscription “Eager Beaver” on the left side of the engine cowling.
P-51B-10-NA, 42-106730, Capt. John T. Godfrey, 336th FS, 4th FG, 8th AF, Debden, United Kingdom, April 1944
John Trevor Godfrey, one of the most successful fighter pilots on the European theatre of war, was born in Montreal on March 28, 1922. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in October 1941 and, after training, transferred to the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) in 1943. As a member of the 4th Fighter Group within the 8th Air Force USAAF, Godfrey was a friend and wingman of Don Gentile. Together they were known as “Captains Courageous”, “The Two Man Air Force”, “Messerschmitt Killers”, and “Damon and Pythias”. Godfrey achieved eighteen confirmed kills in combat against the Luftwaffe. On August 24, 1944, he was accidentally shot down by his wingman and captured by the Germans. Shortly before the end of the war, he managed to escape from Stalag Luft III prison camp. After the war, Godfrey served in the Rhode Island State Senate. Godfrey died on June 12, 1958, at his home in Freeport. Godfrey’s autobiography, The Look of Eagles, was published posthumously in 1958.
P-51B-5-NA, 43-6461, 1/Lt Wilson K. Baker Jr, 370th FS, 359th FG, 8th AF, East Waltham, United Kingdom, August 1944
The Mustang with the red “Hot Pants” inscription was one of three P-51Bs that landed in Sweden on August 4, 1944, while escorting a B-24 against Peenemünde. This was due to a cooling system failure on Division Commander Raymond Lancaster’s aircraft on the return flight, forcing him to fly towards Sweden, where he subsequently made an emergency landing. Along the way, two other Mustangs followed to protect him and ensure he made it to Sweden without incident. When escort pilots saw that Lancaster had reached the Swedish coast, they made their way to England. Over Denmark, however, they encountered a German Messerschmitt Bf 110G, which was radar-guided towards the Mustangs, believing it to be an American bomber, not two fighters in close formation. The German aircraft was therefore attacked and shot down by 2/Lt Wilson Kirby Baker, Jr. flying a P-51B called “Hot Pants”. After the dogfight, both pilots realized that they had used so much fuel that they would have difficulty reaching England soil. Wilson Baker and Richard Rabb were interned at Mullsjö and sent back to England on November 1, 1944. On April 9, 1945, “Hot Pants” was sold to the Swedish Royal Air Force and was assigned the registration number 26002. However, it is almost certain that the aircraft was never painted in Swedish colors and was never flown. Instead, it served as a spare parts stock for other Mustangs and was scrapped on June 16, 1947.
P-51B-10-NA, 42-106501, Col. Charles McCorckle, CO of 31st FG, 15th AF, San Severo, Italy, July 1944
As a fighter pilot in World War II, Charles “Sandy” McCorkle commanded fighter groups in two theaters of war. He was one of only seventeen American pilots to achieve ace status flying the British Spitfire. In 1942, at age 27, he became the youngest colonel in the Army Air Corps. Charles McCorkle was born in Newton, North Carolina in 1915. He was accepted to the U.S. Military Academy in 1932 and graduated in June 1936. A year later he graduated from the Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field, Texas, and was assigned as a fighter pilot to the 24th Pursuit Squadron. At the beginning of World War II, he was transferred to the 54th Fighter Group (P-39) at Harding Field and Alaska. He assumed command of the 54th Fighter Group on June 3, 1942. In July 1943, McCorkle assumed command of the 31st Fighter Group (flying Spitfires and later P-51s) in Sicily. He participated in the air actions during the landings at Salerno and Anzio, fighter support of air attacks in Italy and Central Europe, and other typical missions assigned to fighter units during this period. When he returned to the United States and received a new assignment as Chief of Staff of First Fighter Command at Mitchel Field, he was credited with eleven victories, five of them were achieved with Mk. VIII Spitfires and six with P-51Bs.
P-51B-1, 43-12405, Col. David L. Hill, CO of 23rd FG, 14th AF, China, 1944
David Lee “Tex” Hill was born on July 13, 1915, in Kwangju, Korea, to American missionaries. He entered the Navy in 1938 as an air cadet and earned his air wings in 1939 after graduating from Pensacola NAS. He was first assigned to Torpedo Squadron 3, flying the TBD Devastator from USS Saratoga (CV-3), then flew with Bombing Squadron 4, flying the SB2U Vindicator from USS Ranger (CV-4). In 1941 he was transferred to China to the Flying Tigers, where he flew first as a squadron leader and then as commander of 2nd Squadron AVG flying 250 combat hours in the P-40 Tomahawk. He was credited with 13 destroyed Japanese aircraft. In July 1942 the AVG disbanded, and Hill remained until the end of 1942 as commander of the 75th Fighter Squadron and assumed command of the 23rd Fighter Group later. He returned to the US in November 1944. In all, Hill scored 19 confirmed kills plus more than 20 probable ones and spent the rest of the war as commander of the 412th Fighter Group, operationally testing the first Bell YP-59 and Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star jets. In 1945, he left the Army Air Corps and joined the Texas Air National Guard to command the 58th Fighter Wing, becoming the youngest brigadier general ever to serve in the National Guard.