Marking for P-51B/C Mustang Birdcage canopy 1/32
COL A
P-51B-7-NA, s/n 43-6913, Capt. Dominic S. Gentile, 336th FS, 4th FG, 8th AF, Debden, the United Kingdom, March-April 1944
While he finished the war with a total of 21.83 kills and six aircraft destroyed on the ground, Major Dominic Salvatore Gentile, the son of Italian immigrants, had already logged over 300 hours in his biplane before joining the Army. Because he did not meet the U.S. Army Air Force’s educational requirements, he joined the ranks of the Canadian Air Force and in December 1941 was posted to Great Britain where he began to gain combat experience as a Spitfire pilot with No. 133 (Eagle) Squadron. He scored his first kills on August 19, 1942, shooting down a Ju 88 and an Fw 190. In September 1942, the Eagle Squadrons formed the basis of the 4th Fighter Group armed with Thunderbolts, which were replaced by Mustangs in late February 1944. Gentile scored his first kill flying this type on March 3 when he claimed one Do 217. Along with his wingman John T. Godfrey, they were referred to as the Two-man Air Force or Captains Courageous. After three kills on April 8, he became the 8th AF’s most successful fighter. As such, he demonstrated flyovers to a group of journalists at Debden and in the process crashed his “Shangri-La”. He was grounded and subsequently returned to the US to help sell war bonds. After the war he stayed in the Air Force as a test pilot on the Wright Field and was killed in a crash with a T-33A on January 28, 1951.
COL B
P-51B-15-NA, 42-106872, Lt. John F. Thornell, 328th FS, 352nd FG, 8th AF, Bodney, the United Kingdom, June 1944
John F. Thornell was assigned to the 328th FS / 352nd FG in April 1943. Flying with the unit, which was equipped with P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft, he scored his first of a total of five aerial victories on January 30, 1944, flying a P-47D. In April, the 352nd FG was re-equipped with P-51B Mustangs, and Thornell named his new aircraft PATTY ANN II. Between May 8 and June 21, he scored nine of his 17.25 aerial victories in it. Thornell’s most successful day was May 8, 1944, when he shot down three Bf 109s during an escort mission to Braunschweig, Germany. For this mission, he was awarded the second-highest U.S. military decoration—the Distinguished Service Cross. During an escort flight over Berlin on July 11, 1944, he reached the 300-hour mark of operational flight time; he subsequently ended his combat service and returned home to the United States. His final wartime tally included 17.25 aerial victories and two aircraft destroyed on the ground.
COL C
P51C-1-NT, s/n 42-103309, Lt. William B. Overstreet, 363rd FS, 357th FG, 8th AF, Leiston, the United Kingdom, June 1944
“Bill” Overstreet became particularly famous for his story of chasing a German Bf 109 through the arches of the Eiffel Tower. The dogfight supposedly happened sometime in the spring of 1944, but it is questionable whether the passage through the Eiffel Tower actually took place. Nor is the exact date of the duel known, and there is no mention in German records of such a strange event as a fighter plane crashing into the streets of Paris ... Overstreet was, however, an aggressive and capable pilot, and on September 3, 1944, for example, he took part in an Aphrodite-Anvil top-secret mission in which a remote-controlled four-engine bomber attacked a heavily defended and heavily protected German submarine base hidden in the cliffs of Heligoland. He subsequently flew other secret missions in support of the French Resistance, often landing behind enemy lines. His Berlin Express, with which he was to fly under and through the Eiffel Tower, bore a partial coat of olive drab paint on the upper surfaces, while the sides and undersides were left in a natural metal and aluminum paint.
COL D
P-51B-15-NA, 43-24857, Capt. Robert M. Barkey, 318th FS, 325th FG, 15th AF, Lesina, Italy, June 1944
Robert Barkey, after his initial training, was assigned to the unit called the “Checkertail Clan” (319th FS, 325th FG) flying P-40s in Africa. After retraining on P-47s in late 1943, he was transferred to Italy with the unit. Barkey’s first victory came on February 22, 1944, when he shot down two Bf 109s, both flown by aces from the German elite JG 26. After his unit switched to P-51B Mustangs, Barkey scored his fifth and final victory on June 6, 1944. He retired with the rank of Major in 1961. During World War II, he flew 53 combat sorties and achieved five confirmed victories and one probable victory. Barkey’s Mustang number 90 bore his wife Dorothy’s name on the left side of the engine cowling.
COL E
P-51C-10-NT, s/n 42-103454, Capt. Woodrow Crockett, 100th FS, 322nd FG, 15th AF, Ramitelli, Italy, November 1944
This P-51C originally flew with the 325th Fighter Group, featuring a yellow-and-black checkerboard pattern on the rudder, and was nicknamed “Stonewall.” After being transferred to the “Tuskegee Airmen” it received a new paint scheme with the 332nd FG and became Capt. Woodrow Crockett’s personal aircraft. He named it “Daisy Mae,” after the golden-haired character from a popular comic strip. The aircraft was destroyed on January 21, 1945, near the village of Opatovice in the Czech Republic. The pilot, 2nd Lt. Albert L. Young, was killed; the cause of the crash remains unknown.