Markings for P-40K short tail 1/48
COL A
42-46285, Lt. John Miller, 7th FS, 49th FG, Dobodura, New Guinea, summer 1943
This aircraft, named Typhoon McGoon, became a “servant of two masters” when Lt. Claude Kinsley first flew it and John Miller later took over. Kinsley first had a little monkey wearing a flight helmet painted on the nose and later added a name inspired by Al Cap’s comic strip Li’l Abner, which featured a colorful character named Earthquake McGoon. As he himself noted in one of his letters, most of his colleagues named their planes after girlfriends or wives, and since he didn’t have any at the time, he decided on something different. Before the monkey was painted, the previous nose art was apparently painted over with green color. The aircraft also gradually showed signs of repairs and underwent some marking changes. The panel in front of the root of the left wing was painted with a fresher shade of Olive Drab, followed by a touch-up in a different (darker) shade of green beneath the tactical number 16 which was later reshaped. During summer 1943, when Miller took over the aircraft, the letter “K” was added, presumably to quickly distinguish these older aircraft from the newly delivered P-40Ns.
COL B
Capt. James G. Curl, 66th FS, 57th FG, Tunisia, April 1943
James Gardner Curl was born on December 8, 1919, in Columbus, Ohio. After his enlistment and pilot training he was sent to North Africa as a pilot of 66th FS. He later led this squadron until his move to 52nd FG in early 1944. There he changed Warhawk for Mustang and led 2nd FS. On April 18, 1943, the 57th Fighter Group made its name in the aerial battle which is known today as The Palm Sunday Massacre. On that day forty-six Warhawks with RAF Spitfires flying top cover swept in with blazing guns. Junkers transports, with troops and supplies on board, blew up in midair or crash-landed. Allied pilots claimed 75 planes destroyed, including 58 of Ju-52’s and 15 Bf 109s and 110s plus two Italian fighters. The formation of 47 Warhawks of 57th FG was let by Capt. James Curl flying his personal Warhawk named Buckeye Blitz. He himself shot down two Ju 52s and one Bf 109. He also damaged two more Ju 52s. Next day he was promoted to Major rank. On March 19, 1945, Maj. Curl’s P-51D (44-14474) was hit by Flak during a strafing mission on the Schwabstadl airfield from where Me 262 were operating. Low altitude and high speed made bail out impossible and Curl crashed and died.
COL C
Lt. Robert McClurg, 25th FS, 51st FG, Assam Valley, India, 1943
Formed as the 25th Pursuit Squadron at Hamilton Field, California, on January 15, 1941, the Squadron received its first P-40s in July and by March 1942 had sailed around the globe to set up operations in British India. As the unit settled in Assam, India, the 25th picked up the name “Assam Draggins.” The 51st Fighter Group consisted of 16th FS, 25th FS and 26th FS, to which was later added, in 1943, the 449th FS flying P-38 Lightnings. As the P-40s were most used as fighter-bombers to prevent the advance of Japanese forces, Lt. Col. John E. Barr, the executive officer for the 51st Fighter Group, modified the P-40s to carry 1,000-pound bombs. Due to this modification, these P-40s were unofficially redesignated B-40, and thanks to it, by May 1943, the men from 51st FG had halted the Japanese offensive. The P-40K named Konkubine got popular thanks to the photos of 1000-pounder with numerous messages being hung under the fuselage pylon.
COL D
42-46263, 1Lt George R. Barnes, 16th FS, 23rd FG, Chanyi, China, spring 1943
After completion of his pilot training, George Barnes was deployed to Asia in March 1942 to join the newly formed 16th FS. The mission of the pilots of the entire 23rd Fighter Group was to protect key supply routes (flights over the Himalayas, known as “The Hump”), escort bombers, and carry out direct attacks on Japanese positions in the jungles of Burma and southern China. During his combat service, Barnes scored four confirmed kills and one probable kill. He recorded his first victory on November 12, 1942, during a major air battle over Kweilin. In the spring, he flew a P-40K named “Thunderbird II” which bore the markings of his victories. A white field without a red dot indicated a probable kill. This aircraft also bore the insignia of the 16th FS, known as “The Flying Wall of China,” featuring a flying wall inspired by a drawing created by the grateful residents of Ling Ling city, which the pilots of the 16th FS had protected from Japanese air raids in July and August 1942. The Chinese characters at the bottom of the emblem can be translated as “Flying Defensive Wall.” Barnes was shot down and killed on July 24, 1943, near the city of Ling Ling. At the time, he was already fighting in the ranks of 74th FS.
COL E
42-46205, 47th FS, 15th FG, Hawaiian Islands, 1943/45th FS, Baker Atoll, December 1943
After the Japanese Pearl Harbor attack, the Hawaiian Air Force was redesignated 7th Air Force on February 5, 1942, and its fighter units were kept on the islands to defend the territory against further possible threats. As these never occurred, pilots were losing their fighting spirit and, as the airfields were surrounded by pineapple plantations, the group had started to be called the Pineapple Air Force. Nevertheless, squadrons and detachments were sent to the combat areas from 1943. This aircraft of 47th FS was one of 13 P-40K sent from Hawaii early on December 1943 to reinforce 45th FS, fighting already from atolls Baker, Canton, Apamama or Makin. This aircraft had its distinguishing color bands around the aft fuselage overpainted with Olive Drab and its rudder was changed for one also in Olive Drab. At the time of embarking on USS Breton, the red outline of insignias was overpainted with insignia blue color. This option is included in decals. The P-40Ks were not in good shape and so were not too popular with the pilots of 45th FS, who preferred their more powerful P-40Ns.
COL F
FR350, F/Lt James F. Edwards, No. 260 Squadron RAF, Castel Benito, Libya, January 1943
James Francis Edwards was born on June 5, 1921, in Nokomis, Saskatchewan, and after graduating from St Thomas College in 1940, he volunteered for the RCAF. As a Sergeant he was posted to No. 94 Squadron RAF in January 1942, where he was flying P-40s. Hez achieved his first aerial victory during his first operational flight on March 23. In May, he was posted to No. 260 Squadron RAF and had six victories by September, when he was promoted to the rank of Flight Lieutenant. At the start of 1943, “Stocky” Edwards was already a Flight Commander and at the end of his tour of duty in May 1943 his score counted 17 victories. One of Edwards’ victims was the famous Luftwaffe ace Otto Schulz (51 victories), who was shot down by “Stocky” on June 17, 1942. In November 1943, Edwards was posted to No. 417 Sqn RCAF and then to No. 92 Sqn RAF, where he flew Spitfires Mk. VIII. He added three Fw 190s and one Bf 109 to his score, three of them on a single day. At the beginning of March 1944, he was posted to No. 274 Sqn RAF, where he got a taste of Hawker Tempest at the end of his tour. During his third tour, he became Wing Commander of No. 127 RCAF Wing in 1945. “Stocky” Edwards finished the war with a total of 373 operational sorties without being shot down, he was credited with 19 aerial victories, two shared, 6.5 probable, 17 damaged and 12 destroyed on the ground. He stayed with RCAF after the war and flew Vampires, Sabres and CF-100s. He died on May 14, 2022, at the age of 100.