Strana 63
P-51B-15-NA, 43-24823, Capt. Clerence Anderson, 362
nd
FS, 357
th
FG, 8
th
AF, Leiston,
United Kingdom, June 1944
P-51C-10-NT, 43-25054, 1Lt. Willard H. Lewis Jr., 79
th
FS, 20
th
FG, 8
th
AF, Kings Cliffe,
United Kingdom, August 1944
The P-51B Mustang serial number 43-24283 was
assigned to Clarence “Bud” Anderson as his third
and final wartime P-51B. Like his previous P-51s,
this one was named “Old Crow”; this time, the
name was painted above the exhausts in large
white letters outlined in black. The aircraft was
camouflaged in the British colors Dark Green
and Medium Sea Grey. Anderson scored nine of
his seventeen confirmed kills with this Mustang,
and when he completed his tour of duty with the
363
rd
FS in July 1944, the aircraft was assigned
to Lt. William Overstreet. Overstreet had the
new name “Berlin Express” painted on the left
side of the engine cowling and a drawing of
a winged Mustang in a circular crest on the right
side of the cowling. The identification letter was
changed from S to O.
The Mustang with Four Faces—that’s how one
might describe the history of the paint scheme
on this P-51C, serial number 43-25054. After
the 20
th
FS transitioned from P-38s to the new
P-51 Mustangs, Lt. Willard “Joe” Lewis flew
this aircraft from February to September 1944.
At that time, the aircraft’s upper surfaces were
camouflaged in Olive Drab, and just like Lewis’s
previous P-38 Lightning, his new Mustang
bore the inscription “Hell’s Belle” and a devil
emblem on the nose. With this aircraft, Lewis
scored two Bf 109 kills and achieved numerous
successes against ground targets during the 287
operational hours he flew during World War II.
In the fall of 1944, after the addition of a dorsal
fin fillet and the subsequent partial removal
of the Olive Drab camouflage—primarily on
the fuselage—the aircraft received black-
and-white vertical stripes on the nose, and
the inscription “Beaverhead Filly” was newly
painted on the left side. Lt. Keith C. Price
flew this Mustang, achieving his only aerial
victory in it. Lt. Robert M. Scott was the next
pilot to take over this aircraft, and he had the
inscription “Shoot You’re Faded” painted on the
left side of the engine cowling, which he later
supplemented with “Berties Bet.” Throughout its
wartime career, this Mustang was maintained by
the same mechanics and armament specialists,
Sgt. E. Schrader and Sgt. A. Kublin. Under their
care, it logged over 700 flight hours during the
war and survived until its end. Eventually, after
the war, it crashed near Munich.
KITS 07/2026
INFO Eduard
63
July 2026