KITS 10/2019

1/48

s/n 44-13321, Maj. George Preddy, 487th FS, 352nd FG, 8th AF, Bodney,

United Kingdom, June 1944

The future fighter ace with the highest score achieved while flying

Mustang was born on February 5th, 1919, in Greensboro, North

Carolina. He had completed the pilot training before the War and

in 1940 he tried three times to enlist in the US Navy and he was

refused every time. Fourth time he tried to enlist in the USAAC and

in 1940 he was accepted, completed the fighter course and with

49th PS was dispatched to Australia. Flying P-40E in the defense of

Darwin he was credited with two Japanese airplanes damaged.

In July 1942, after the mid-air collision during the training flight,

he was wounded and sent back to the United States. As of September 1943, his next combat assignment awaited him in Europe

with 352nd FG flying P-47 Thunderbolt providing cover for the 8th

AF four-engine bombers. In April the unit converted to P-51 Mustang. In June the war photographer snapped Maj. Preddy’s aircraft

sporting seventeen kills painted on the aircraft nose in the form

of the white crosses. The aircraft lacking any kind of camouflage

sports the blue painted nose, same as other 352nd FG planes, the

fuselage and wings still carry so-called invasion stripes.

Historically first release of the version without the dorsal fin fillet

16

INFO Eduard - October 2019