Strana 85
P-51B-5-NA, s/n 43-6819, Capt. Duane W. Beeson, 334
th
FS, 4
th
FG, 8
th
AF, Debden,
United Kingdom, March–April 1944
Duane Willard Beeson was one of only ten pilots
to achieve fighter ace status within the USAAF
with two different types of aircraft. In his case,
these were the P-47 and the P-51. He scored
a total of 17.3 kills, 12 of which were achieved
with the P-47C/D and 5.3 with the P-51B. The
Idaho native, like many others, did not meet
the Air Force requirement of at least two years
of college, so he enlisted in the Canadian Air
Force, which accepted him into its ranks on
January 23, 1941. After moving to England, he
retrained as a Hurricane and was assigned to
No. 71 Squadron at Debden on September 5,
1942. After the formation of the 4th FG with the
Eagle Squadrons as a base, Beeson flew with
the 334
th
FS and achieved his first kill on May
18, 1943. After flying 80 missions, he became B
Flight Commander and was assigned his first
P-51B, which he named Bee, on February 28,
1944. On April 5, he first achieved one third of
the Ju 88 shoot-down near Brandenburg but
then was hit by flak and captured. Shortly after
the war he was diagnosed with a brain tumor
and died prior to a surgery aged 25.
BUILT
INFO Eduard
85
September 2026