Markings for P-40E Warhawk 1/48
COL A
Lt Harold J. Martin, 7th FS, 49th FG, Horn Island, Australia, spring 1942
On March 14, 1942, Lt. Martin achieved his only aerial victory with this aircraft. It happened when, with other members of the 7th FS, he attacked a formation of eight Betty bombers from the 4 Kókútai. Martin flew as a member of B Flight, led by 2Lt Bill Reddington. When the American fighters launched their attack on the Japanese bombers, he separated from his flight, approached the three bombers on the left side of the formation and, according to reports, first fired at the entire section and then focused on the Betty flying on the far left. He emptied all his ammunition into it, broke away to the left, and with empty magazines, decided to return to base on Horn Island, which was being strafed by accompanying Zeros after the Japanese Betty’s bombs hit the base. Martin managed to avoid combat with them and landed safely at the damaged airfield. Here, during his debriefing, he was severely reprimanded by the squadron commander for leaving formation and engaging in combat on his own. Despite the claims of American pilots, according to Japanese reports, none of the attacking bombers were shot down but some were damaged. The Warhawk named Minnesota Gopher had a picture of a chicken in a flight helmet painted on its tail, which was probably the emblem of one of the 7th FS flights. The aircraft served with the squadron until June 13, 1942, when it crashed on landing and had to be sent to a service unit for a general overhaul, after which it was transferred to the RAAF.
COL B
Lt. John E Petach Jr, 75th FS, 23rd FG, 14th AF, Hengyang, China, July 1942
This son of Slovak parents was born on July 15, 1918, in Pennsylvania. After studying chemistry at New York University, he joined the US Navy in 1939, where he completed pilot training in Pensacola. He began his service on the USS Ranger (CV-4) with VS 42 where he flew SB2U Vindicator aircraft. He joined the 1st American Volunteer Group, fighting against the Japanese in China, on August 10, 1941, and was assigned to the second squadron, “Panda Bears,” as flight commander. Initially, he flew most often with the P-40B P-8127 with tactical number 47, later he used the P-40E with the number 106. As part of his deployment with the AVG, he participated in seven victories over Japanese aircraft, which, when combined with his shares, meant a total score of 3.93 confirmed kills. In February 1942, he married nurse E. J. Foster, who worked for the AVG. In July 1942, the AVG was disbanded and reorganized into the regular 23rd Fighter Group of 14th Air Force, USAAF. Most of the original AVG members returned to the United States, but John Petach remained with the 23rd Fighter Group as an instructor. Nevertheless, on July 6, he took part in the 23rd FG’s first air battle, shooting down one enemy fighter for sure and another probably. On July 10, 1942, he took off on a combat mission to attack a target near Nanchang. During a dive attack, he was hit by anti-aircraft fire and killed.
COL C
41-36243, 1/Lt. John Landers, 9th FS, 49th FG, Port Moresby, New Guinea, 1942
A set of photographs from the deployment in New Guinea is available for the Warhawk named Texas Longhorn. However, not a single photograph shows the tactical number on the tail or the British registration number. According to the author of the publication about the 49th FG named Protect and Avenge, this aircraft was never used for combat missions. In January 1943, the Longhorn was transferred from the 9th FS to the 8th FS, where it served until March 2, 1943, when Lt. Cyrus Lynd took off from Port Moresby and crashed fatally northeast of Kokoda. The wreckage of the aircraft was found after the war, and in addition to parts of the nose bearing the name of the aircraft, the tail surfaces also preserved the number 81 and the serial number ET889. These clues support the assumption that during his service with the 9th FS in the second half of 1942, John Landers used Longhorn as his personal aircraft. He posed for a photographer in front of the decorated nose of the fighter, although according to one opinion, this was only for promotional purposes. Before moving to New Guinea, Landers was assigned Warhawk No. 81, nicknamed Skeeter, which he flew until September 1942. He later fought successfully in Europe and named his P-51 Mustangs Big Beautiful Doll. According to some sources, Texas Longhorn bore the number 82 at one time.
COL D
AK653, F/O Neville Duke, No. 112 Squadron (RAF), El Adem, Libya, January 1942
The later famous test pilot Neville Frederick Duke flew with No. 112 Squadron during 1942 with eleven different Kittyhawk Mk. I and Mk.IA aircraft. He used this one in January 1942, but it was not his personal mount. The aircraft was severely damaged on February 15, 1942, during a dogfight near Gazala. Sgt. Donald Neil McQueen was in the cockpit at the time and, despite being injured, escaped a clash with Ofw. Otto Schulz. Before that, Schulz had managed to shoot down four other Kittyhawks from No. 94 Squadron, including its CO Ernest Mason, bringing his tally to 44 kills. The aircraft was repaired and continued to see combat. Duke no longer used it (at that time he was flying AK707, GA-Y and AK900, GA-A), but it was flown by Sgt. Simonsen and Sgt. Drew, who shot down two Macchi MC 200s while flying it on April 12 and 14, 1942. The photo shows a repair to the fuselage behind the cockpit, done in a lighter color than Middle Stone. The repair covered the upper part of the fuselage cockade on the port side.