Strana 47
P-40N, Lt. Roger Farrell, 7th FS, 49th FG, Dobadura, New Guinea, spring 1944
Maj. Arthur W. Cruikshank, 74th FS, 23rd FG, Hengyeng, China, June 1944
The most significant user of Warhawks within
the USAAF was the 49th FG, which entered
combat with them in the spring of 1942,
defending northern Australia against Japanese
air raids. In October of that year, it moved to
New Guinea, where it helped stop the Japanese
advance from the north towards Port Moresby.
In March 1943, it took part in the Battle of the
Bismarck Sea. In July 1944, the 49th FG was re-
equipped with P-38s, and its P-40s were taken
over by other units. Lt. Farrell achieved three
kills during the war, between October 1943 and
February 1944. His aircraft, with its distinctive
nose art and the name Island Dream, bore
the usual color scheme of the time, including
a white tail, while the upper side of the
horizontal tail surfaces was left in Olive Drab
during the fighting over New Guinea. It cannot
be ruled out that the fighter also had a blue-
colored tip on the rudder.
Arthur Waur Cruikshank was first assigned to
the 157th Project Task Force during the war, and
in March 1942 he was one of the first USAAF
pilots to take off from the deck of the aircraft
carrier Ranger with a P-40 during operations
in North Africa. In June, he transferred to the
CBI theater and was assigned to the 23rd FG,
which was formed after the AVG was disbanded.
In September 1943, Cruikshank took command
of the 74th FS and gradually achieved eight
confirmed and six probable kills. He himself
was shot down twice over enemy territory
and returned to his unit with the help of the
Chinese resistance. Cruikshank returned to
the US in August 1944 and became a test pilot.
In December 1945, he took command of Eglin
Field Air Base in Florida, then successively
held a number of important positions and was
promoted to the rank of general. He died on May
5, 1999. During his second tour of duty from May
1944, Arthur Cruikshank flew an aircraft named
Hell's Belle. He was shot down by anti-aircraft
fire on June 15, 1944.
KITS 08/2025
INFO Eduard
47
August 2025