Markings for Kittyhawk 1/48

COL A

ET789, Sgt. Wallace D. Hogg, No. 112 Squadron (RAF), LG 91 Amriyha, Egypt, October 1942

Aircraft with the characteristic shark mouth on the nose belonged to No. 112 Squadron in Africa, which had been using Kittyhawks since the end of 1941, when they replaced the Tomahawks. The Shark Squadron then used several versions of this type until June 1944, when it began to rearm with Mustangs. Kittyhawk ET789 is a typical representative of the appearance of that unit’s aircraft except for the cockades on the underside of the wing with hand-painted enlarged red center. It is not clear from the well-known photograph whether the nose was only red inside or whether it also had a black section with a diffuse transition between the colors. In any case, the decals offer both variants. Sgt Wallace D. Hogg participated in combat with a large group of Ju 87s (up to fifty are mentioned). He was hit, but was able to return to base with his damaged aircraft. Hogg joined No. 112 Squadron on April 14, 1942, and was nicknamed “Stalin” by his colleagues (we don’t know why). He was not lucky on October 21 of that year, when he was shot down by anti-aircraft fire while Kittyhawks from No. 112 Squadron, together with the 66th FS USAAF, were escorting a large formation of American B-25s attacking German bases. The “Sharks” were flying into battle for the first time with the new Kittyhawk III (P-40K), while the Americans were flying P-40Fs. Hogg was captured and interned until the end of the war in POW camp L3 under number 6283. He was shot down in the cockpit of Kittyhawk III FR286. 

COL B

AK759, F/Sgt. Phillips, No. 94 Squadron (RAF), Gasr El Arid, Libya, March 1942

No. 94 Squadron was not a typical operator of Kittyhawks. It only had them in service for twelve weeks, from mid-February to mid-May, 1942. Their code designation was changed from GO to FZ in February 1942 and then back to GO at the end of April. However, the aircraft retained their individual letters. In such a short time, 53 aircraft passed through the unit, a number corresponding to roughly three squadrons. From May 11, it handed over its Kittyhawks to No. 2 Squadron SAAF and re-equipped itself with Hurricanes. The newly formed No. 94 Squadron took off on its first combat mission on February 15, 1942. The target of the attack was the German base at Martuba, from which only Offw. Otto Schulz managed to take off. During the ensuing ten-minute battle, he shot down four Kittyhawks, including Squadron Leader Ernest Mason. The AK759 aircraft survived the action but crashed at the end of February. After repairs in April, the red and white checkerboard on the rudder was removed, as was the case with other aircraft. Members of the squadron had painted it on the rudders, apparently before the first operational mission, because the Germans believed they were being attacked by a Polish RAF unit. F/Sgt Phillips flew this aircraft from February to April 1942.  

COL C

NZ3007, F/O Peter Gifford, No. 14 Squadron (RNZAF), Masterton, New Zealand, February 1943

Peter Gifford was born on April 14, 1915, in Christchurch. At the beginning of his career, he flew with No. 100 Squadron RAF with Vickers Vildebeests in Singapore, later he was transferred to No. 488 Squadron RNZAF, where he flew Buffalos and Hurricanes. At that time, he scored two hits on Ki-21 Sally bombers. After the unit was redesignated No. 14 Squadron, it re-equipped with Kittyhawks. Gifford then claimed one probable kill of a Zero, and after completing his first tour of duty with No. 14 Squadron, he completed two more with No. 19 Squadron, where he continued to fly Kittyhawks and then Corsairs. In total, he flew 112 combat missions. He died on December 16, 2001. Aircraft NZ3007 bore the inscription Magnolia Mufflewurt on its nose, which was a female character from a comic strip published by the Australian magazine Man. The plane was delivered in a standard British camouflage scheme using American DuPont paints, equivalents of British Dark Green and Dark Earth on the upper surfaces and Sky on the lower surfaces. The New Zealanders then repainted aircraft that were sent to fight outside New Zealand, either with Olive Drab paint or simply replaced the unsuitable Dark Earth with their own Ocean Blue paint. This was probably also the case with this aircraft. The lower surfaces may have been left in Sky, or they may have been repainted with the local Sky Grey.

COL D

AK702, F/O W. P. Pictorius, No. 4 Squadron SAAF, Gambut II, Libya, 1942

No. 4 Squadron of the South African Air Force was formed in April 1939 in Durban. Initially, it was equipped with Hawker Hartbees, Furies, and Wapitis. It was disbanded in December of that year and reestablished on March 24, 1941, at Waterkloof Air Base, where it took delivery of Hurricanes. Operational training took place in Kenya, where the unit protected the country from possible Italian attacks from Somaliland (an unrecognized republic in northern Somalia).There its pilots first tried out the Tomahawks. From September 1, 1941, the squadron moved to Egypt, where it was fully re-armed with Tomahawks. It completed its first operational mission with them on November 12 and remained in Egypt to take part in all the desert battles from Operation Crusader to El Alamein. The squadron also supported the advance into Tunisia and the invasions of Sicily and Italy. In July 1943, it exchanged its Kittyhawks III for Spitfires and moved to Sicily in August. From there, it headed for the Italian mainland, where it carried out attacks on ground targets until the end of the fighting. The aircraft, in standard desert camouflage, were supplemented with an antelope symbol in a green, yellow-edged field in the shape of the African continent.  

COL E

AK961, F/Sgt Lloyd Boardman, No. 3 Squadron (RAAF), June 1942

Flight Sergeant Lloyd “Danny” Boardman underwent flight training in Southern Rhodesia when he was twenty years old. He first completed basic training at No. 26 EFTS at Guinea Fowl Air Base, which he finished on May 20, 1941. He continued his training at No. 22 SFTS in Thornhill, and after combat training, he became a pilot with No. 3 Squadron RAAF, which was based in Gambut at the time, on February 16, 1942. He earned the nickname Danny for his soulful rendition of the well-known Irish song Danny Boy. His combat experience and leadership skills, despite his rank of sergeant, earned him recognition in the form of command of a flight and even, on several missions, the entire squadron in the air. The then squadron commander, Bobby Gibbes, realized that rank was not important for command in combat, so he did not hesitate to entrust operational command to sergeants. Boardman's Kittyhawk was decorated with a drawing of a dog happily walking away from the Afrika Korps emblem, a palm tree with a swastika, which he had apparently successfully urinated on...       

COL F

NZ3237, Allan Watson, No. 19 Squadron (RNZAF), Torokina, 1944

Allan Archibald “Skip” Watson was born on January 31, 1922. After pilot training, he first served one tour with No. 19 Squadron and then three more with No. 22 Squadron. In total, he flew 188 missions and 351 hours. He earned his promotion to Squadron Leader thanks in part to his decisiveness in combat. For example, on January 29, 1945, he led his section in a low-altitude attack on enemy anti-aircraft positions and completely silenced Japanese fire, allowing other aircraft to carry out bombing runs without losses. Just three days later, he led an attack on enemy installations in Kavieng and, despite heavy anti-aircraft fire that damaged his aircraft, he completed the attack and destroyed a hangar with a direct hit. At that time, he was already leading No. 22 Squadron. After the war, he devoted himself to rugby, becoming a reserve player for the Grammar team and winning the Auckland Rugby Union senior premier league with them. He subsequently remained involved in rugby as a referee and worked at the international level. He also ran marathons and was said to be an excellent singer. He died just three weeks before his 90th birthday in 2012. He named his Warhawk Esma Lee after his girlfriend at the time. He eventually married another girl named Nancy Hickling, but that didn't happen until 1948.

COL G

A29-521, F/O T. R. Jacklin, No. 75 Squadron (RAAF), Noemfoor Island, August 1944

The Australian No. 75 Squadron, also known as the Magpies, was formed in Townsville, Queensland, on March 4, 1942, and received its first Kittyhawks on March 21, serving as the sole defender of Port Moresby against enemy air raids for the next 44 days. The intensity of the fighting during that time is evidenced by 35 enemy aircraft being destroyed and 58 damaged, with the loss of twelve of its own pilots. Later, No. 75 Squadron moved to Milne Bay and then to Borneo, where its pilots covered Australian forces during the Battle of Balikpapan in the final weeks of the war. On August 9, 1944, Jacklin was hit in the left wing with this aircraft. He lost not only the aileron, but the damage also affected more than 25 percent of the wing area. With his aircraft so badly damaged, the pilot had to fly more than 350 km over the sea before he could land exhausted at his base. His landing was documented by a quick-thinking cameraman, and based on this material, the appearance of the aircraft was reconstructed. We identified the light spots on the nose as paint washed off the metal. The aircraft also has a visibly lighter color on the underside of the wing. There is a known photograph of the aircraft with the paint on the nose still untouched and with white leading edges of the wing. In the meantime, the wing was probably replaced, maybe from another aircraft with faded Neutral Grey paint (possibly due to storage of the wing in the sun).

COL H

FX609, S/L Murray P. Nash, No. 3 Squadron RAAF, Italy, 1944

Murray Percival Nash was born in northern Melbourne on October 21, 1919. After the outbreak of war in Europe, he decided to join the RAAF and began military training as a pilot in 1940 at Point Cook. In 1941, he completed an instructor course and subsequently devoted himself to training new pilots. In early 1943, he joined No. 3 Squadron, with which he moved to North Africa and then to Malta. The aircraft of No. 3 Squadron RAAF were the first Allied aircraft to land in Italy. On November 16, 1944, Nash flew his last combat mission with Warhawk FX609, in the last mission the squadron flew with this type of aircraft. He had inherited the aircraft from the previous squadron commander, Rex H. Bayly. It was also Nash’s first aircraft with the code CV P. Subsequently, after rearming with Mustangs, Nash used the same designation on this type as well. According to contemporary records, Nash’s piloting and command skills were exceptional. For example, on January 8, 1945, he attacked enemy transport vehicles at such a low altitude that he broke the wing tip on a tree. Thanks to his experience he took part in a special course of Squadron commanders for air combat tactics at Tangmere. After completing the course, he again took command of No. 3 Squadron and led it in the Italian campaign until the end of the war. After the war, he returned to his father’s engineering company and then devoted himself to farming. He died in 2009.  

COL I

A29-512, S/L Adam H. Brydon, No. 78 Squadron (RAAF), Noemfoor Island, 1944

Adam Howie “Curley” Brydon was born on April 14, 1921, in Armidale, and at the age of 18, the day after Australia entered the war, he enlisted in the RAAF. A year later, he became a member of No. 1 Squadron, where he flew Hudson bombers. It was the first Australian unit to fight outside its home territory, and on August 1, 1943, he became its commander. At the age of 22, he was the youngest Squadron Leader in the Australian Air Force. From December 30, 1943, he was a member of No. 78 Squadron, and from July 1 to October 12, 1944, he commanded the unit. Subsequently, from July 26, 1945, he was assigned to the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve with the rank of lieutenant and flew Supermarine Seafires on the aircraft carriers HMS Indefatigable and HMS Implacable (as a member of the Fleet Air Arm). In total, he flew 470 operational hours during 138 missions, including 52 attacks on ground targets. He left the Royal Australian Navy on July 18, 1946, and devoted himself to car racing. During his service with No. 78 Squadron, he flew a total of 19 different Kittyhawks, Pistol Packin’ Mama being one of them. The aircraft, taken over by the USAAF under number 42-105360, was decorated with a drawing by Alberto Vargas. From the photographs, it is clear that this was a poster clipped from Esquire magazine, which was apparently stuck to the hood. The dark border could have been a layer of glue used to cover the edges.

COL J

FX835, Kittyhawk Mk.IV, No. 450 Sqn RAAF, Italy, Spring 1944

The Australian No. 450 Squadron was activated in February 1941 at RAAF Station Williamtown in New South Wales and became the first Australian squadron established under the Empire Air Training Scheme. In February 1942, it began combat operations with Kittyhawks and fought in the North African and Tunisian campaigns over the next 15 months. It performed both fighter and fighter-bomber roles in support of ground forces. Its pilots destroyed 49 German and Italian aircraft, and the unit earned the nickname “The Desert Harassers.” After the end of the African campaign, No. 450 Squadron took part in the invasion of Sicily following the move to the RAF base at Luqa in Malta on July 13, 1943. This was followed by a move to Sicily and then to the Italian mainland in December. The unit flew Kittyhawks until the end of the war, rearming with Mustangs only after the war ended in Europe, and was disbanded on August 20, 1945. Kittyhawk FX835 bore the typical colors of Kittyhawk IVs, which were delivered in American Olive Drab on the upper surfaces. This was complemented by Dark Earth camouflage patches. Both colors were already considerably faded on this aircraft. The drawing of a girl and the inscription “No Orchids” on the nose was painted on a field of fresh Dark Green paint. The engine cowling with this drawing was used on several aircraft.