Strana 62
P-40N-20, 43-23400, Maj. Donald L Quigley, CO of 75th FS, 23rd FG,
Kweilin, China, August 1944
P-40N-5, 7th FS, 49th FG, Finschhafen, New Guinea, September 1944
Donald Quigley was born on December 28, 1919,
in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and after his
studies he worked for the Marion Power Shovel
Company. He joined the Army Air Corps in March
1941 and, while still in training at Randolph
Field in Texas, became engaged to his future
wife, Irene Klingel. In her honor, Quigley had the
words “Rene The Queen” (Rene is a diminutive
form of Irene) painted on the cowling of his
personal P-40N. Before serving with the 75th FS,
23rd FG, Quigley served with the 80th FG, where
he flew 23 combat missions with the 90th FS.
In June 1944, Quigley took command of the
75th FS and shot down five enemy aircraft in
July and August 1944 before being shot down
himself over enemy territory on August 10, 1944.
He spent 13 long months in captivity and was
promoted to Lieutenant Colonel after his release.
After the war, he left the army and worked for
60 years as
Aircraft number 22 was part of a series of
7th FS Warhawks decorated with a painting
of a girl on the engine cowling. The author of
the paintings was Johnie Dunne, who also
decorated the noses of Daddy Please / Milky
Wagon Express, Dawn Patrol, Island Dream,
Empty Saddle, Scarlet Night, and others with his
characteristic style. Not much is known about
the history of the aircraft named Grade A. It is
reported that it was occasionally flown by Capt.
Elliott E. Dent Jr. Further information is linked
to Lt. Warren Greczyn, a pilot of Polish origin,
who shot down two Ki-43 Oscars over Biak on
May 15, 1944, while flying Grade A. This profile
shows the final appearance of Grade A in the
7th FS, as documented at Finschhafen Airfield
in September 1944. Here, along with other
Warhawks from the 7th FS, it was stripped of
its weapons and decommissioned. The aircraft
was unusual in that it did not have white-
painted leading edges on its wings. It also did
not have the blue paint on the top of the rudder
indicating its affiliation with the 7th FS, and the
serial number was also painted over. Many of
the decommissioned Warhawks of the 49th FG
were subsequently used by the 71st TRG, which
used them during the fighting in the Philippines
in early 1945.
KITS 11/2025
INFO Eduard62
November 2025