, AMERICAN EAGLES (USAAF COLOURS 4) P-51 MUSTANG UNITS OF THE EIGHTH AIR FORCE, CLASSIC COLOURS 

AMERICAN EAGLES (USAAF COLOURS 4) ...

AMERICAN EAGLES (USAAF COLOURS 4) P-51 MUSTANG UNITS OF THE EIGHTH AIR FORCE, CLASSIC COLOURS
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·51 MUSTA G
UNITS
OF
THE
TH AIR
FO
CE
AMERICAN EAGLES
alld conflguratioll are
ollly visually dlstillgulshable
by
Ihe markillgs carried, this
pailltwork servillg to provide
individual/dent/lies and, in
tbe case oJ 111illtary ",aeb/lles,
oftell ullil asslgllmellt alld
lactical markillgs,
Additiollalf.n
unofficial
adornments are also
sometimes applied by
operatillg personnel. The
paintwork, in fact, ojten
bestows to the inanimate an intangible properly akin to personality During
fbe Second \Vorld \Var, the most varied and
coloill/til
aircraft
markings were
undoubtedly those of the United States Anny Ail' Forces, providillg a SUbject
offasci,wtlllg complexity This series ofpublications endeavours to COl'er all
aspects of camouflage a,ul markillgs as carried by the fighter aircraft t)1Jes
servlllg wllb the Eighth tmd Nillth Ail' Forces ill tbe Europeall Tbeatre of
Operatiolls
(ETO)
betweell
1942
alld
1945.
The in/ormatio1l provided I" these studies 1101 only offers fbe researclJer a
valuable reference source, and enables artists and model/ers
(0
make
accurate representations of the aircraft operated by these forces, it also aids
the Idelllijicatioll ofsubjecls ill pbotographs. KIIOWIl cbanges ill aircraft
markillgs call sometimes date
(J
pholograph to tbe day
it
was takell.
The photographs reproduced ill tbese books bave ill tbe /1/osl part beell
selecled to show partlCIIlar /1/arkillgs ill detail, &llId ill the case of tbe
P-51
Mustallg, Ihe variety ofschemes is cOllsiderable.
Of Ihe primary ftgbter types IlSed by Ihe USA ill Ihe ETO, tbe Mustallg
became tbe prillclple escort for beau)' bombers. Tbere we,,, over 1,700 ill
service b)' tbe end of hostililies, tbe majorit)'witb Ibe 14 figbler groups of
the Eighth Air Force, and it is tbe decor of these ullits'MllStangs wllb u'bicb
this publlcalion Is primarily concenretl.
CLASSIC
ANOI'E'
Only a
handl'ulo(MlftWlp..,
I~
j5.\nl FG
~co;I:t.m ~
p>.inl.~'I\iIlWnbnna"~
P-510
Pnulnlff
·'b(~"'~2111
Ul.()
bnnIt_
MlChaircran_hMd<b.rt;~3ppbNlothl:~ol~ftn
~1Ipbnc'2n<l
..
1np.
ACKNO~EMEHTS
The
Author wishes to thank the (ollowing individuals for their generous help in
prOVIding material, information and other assistance for this monograph:
T Bell, Marl< Copeland, Graham Cross, R Gorsline, Steve Gotts, Marc Hamel,
M Havelaar, Bill Hess, A Krieger, R Kuhnert, Ian Mactaggart, Dick Martin,
Merle Olmsted, Michael O'Leary, Peter Randall, Bruce Robertson, R Saffro,
T Smith, Sam Sox Jr, G Weckbacher, J Weidmann, R Williams
Anyone seeking further information on Individual Eighth Air Force P·51 identities
IS
recommended to visit Peter Randall's website: www.UWeFriends.co.uk
AIr"
rn.''4d.
No
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01
thts
book may
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2 • P-51 Mustang Units of the ElgJlth Air Force
The P-51 Mustang and Derivatives • 3
The P-51 Mustang and Derivatives
The
Mustq. lOdi5PUtably one of
the
most successful aircraft of
the
5econd WOf1d War,
was
~ as a ~ sl~seat fighter.
The
deSign originated 'rom an
approach In 1940
by
the Bntlsh
Purchasing CommIssion to NOfth
American
Aviation Inc 10 build
Curtlss P-40s under licence. North Amcncan, offenng to produce 8 boner design
WithIn
an
eltCepOOnally
shaft
lime span, completed the prOtotype (designated the NA-73) in just 100 days.
\'uth
fiJ"o'OUf8tlk!
approval
'rom
the
BrItish purchasers.
the
NA-73 was
put
Into production 8S the
Mustang I.
the
first productJon
dehvenes betng
made
late tn 1941.
As the
US
Army
A4r
Corps
considered
production
of
the
Mustang .foreign buslI"less'.
I
we
IftteteSt
was sho¥on.
apart
from
the
8CQUISllJOn
of
two expenmental
exarn!*s
that
were
gM!n
the
~
XP-51.
Ent~
Royal
Au
Force
(RAF)
serw::e earty
~n
1942.
the
Mustar'l&
....as employed as a
tactJcaf
re<:onnalssance figtltef
tOt
direct
support
of Wound forces.
AIthol.Ch
the type I'\ed
an
~t
bfHevel
perf~. Its AIlI$Ol"l
et'lI'ne
lacked
the
necessary
suPerChat~
tot
ma.n~ tun
powet'
at tugh allrtUdes.
As good hlgr..altltude
performance
"as
1JTIC)er8lM!
for successful
COl'T'lbat
WIth
the
current
enemy
rCJ'lter
types
encountered OYer
north-west
Europe 8t
this date.
the
Mustang was rele&8ted to
the
kJw.4evel taetic81 role, where
ItS exceplJonaI
endUrance
prayed
a
boon.
AIthou&7l
the
RAF had
no
pressing requirement for a
!onC.f8nge
fighter
In
1942. primarlly at
the
lnSbg8l1on
of ROIls-Royce. a handful of Mustang Is had Merlin efl&lnes Installed for
~tal purposes.
With
the
Merlin
60
seoes
~ne.
the
Mustana's hlgtHlttltude
performance
pr~
outstandtng.
Ieacbng
to
the
Installauon of similar model Packard-buitt
o\1ertIns
on
the
Muslq
produc;tJon
lIneS
durlng 1943.
To keep
the productJon hne5
open after
the
first
BnUSh
purehases of Mus~
had been
5UPI)&ed. the
UnIted
States
Atmy
AM
Forces
(USMF) placed
Ofder$
tOf
IIJTlIted numbers
ot
~
P-Sl models,
notabfy
the
P-51A
and
A-36A.
the latter
be... a dfYe.bOmber
~
at
the
former.
Influenced
by
RAF~.
the
USMF
consKIered
the
type
a
laCtJCal
fiCt4et
that
was
to
be
em~
Il'I
fChtef-bornber
Of
tighter-i'econnalSsante
r~,
The
flf'St
prodlcbon Merlln·powered Muslar'CS.
desCnated
the
P·51B. were
also
to
be
assigned
to
taet.lCal
fet'Jtef
unrts
when sent to
the
UK
Il'I
the
auturM
ot
1943
At thts
time.
WIth
the
EJghth AJr Force's daylrght bombing C¥I'lpalgn
~n
trlsls
due
to heavy
1OS:56.
the
need
fOf a lOng-nJnge fighter escort was ImperatNe. However.
the
first P·51Bs had
been
sent
to
the
N,nth Alr Force. tasked 'WIth
givl:ng
t8CtJCal air support to the tand fOfces in
the
forthcomlllC Ctou-Channel
~1On
of Europe,
As
soon as
the
Eighth Alr Force became 8W8Ie
of
the
MuSt8nC's
potentJal
as
alOrl&~ fighter. It
was
wven
prIorlty
tOf
the type.
.... Ith
Internal
fuet
tankaee
IMf1I
the
P-518 a
4OOml5e
radIus of
8CUOrl.
and
'WIth lIUJUlllVy
·drop·
tanks
extendInI
lhls
to
rNfI(
600
tTltJes.
the
MustarC
at last offered
the
means of
prowlnC
escorl
tor
EH
7s
and
8-24s
to
and
from
IJt'rY
contlnerlt8t
weat
lhey
m'iM attlleX.
Of
the NIl"Ith
Ail
Force's
three
P·S18I1QUPS.
one
was uaotSferred
to the
ElItlth In exchan&e
for •
P-47 &rOUP
and
the
OCher
two flew
l.Wlder
vm
F'Chter
Convnanc:I
conl101
tor
some months
By
Febr'*Y
1944 VIII
fi&tlter
Command
had
plans
to
COf'IIIel't
811
of
Its P·38lChtnIrC
and
P47
ThLIl'Ic:lerbolt
lTou~
to
P·5ls.
but
the prOCfaTme
toc*
11
months
to
complete.
such was the
detMnd from 0Chet theatres of
"'1It
for
the
Mustane-
The first UK arrivals
Eatty
prodt.Jct)on
P·S1Bs were Inttlally shipped
10
the UK
dunn&
5ePlember.october 1943.
and
-ete
~
to
eQt,lIP
Ihtee
Ninth AJr Force fChter
aroups.
As
receiVed.
the
MustanCS were
pcwtted
In
the
then
.tandard USMF
canoufIa&e
scheme
of
Dark
OlIVe Drab
(shade
41)
uppetSUftacn WId
Neuer"
Gllrf
(Made
43) Irtdet'SUffacn.
The
.ptMer
was
o.n
OlIVe
Drab.
£Mfy
producbon
..,Ctal'l featuted the fll'lt
vefSlOtl
at
the
'.tat
WId
bet·
Muon" IMcnaa
with
• ted surrCU'ld.
but
most ..rcraft
thM
reached
the
UK
had
the
blue
SUfround. Of
had
th..
~
e-nted
befOl'e rNChll'll
~OM.
On
the
fusetaIe.
the
dlImelef of
the central btue
dlK w,th
the wt'lrte
~
was
JO
1I"IChes.
centred 36 ItlCI'IeS for..-ard of
.tatlOtl
248 {reat of
the
tad'atOf
MdIOfl
On
the
UOP8f
'eft
WId
lower
rem" rc
SUffacet
the
naflOt"l8llOSll""
'Wat
centred
on
.ut.lOl"l 186.
klcM.ed ..
the
outwatd
end
of the tnm
tab. and
approXImately 551
111nChe.
from
the
w.,.
oP
The
~ of
the
centr81
ckMce
'Was 35 Inche•.
The
~ttIOntnc and
.Ile
of
the
-
.........
nauonal InSignia on USMF" Merl~ MustangS was cons,slent
lhrCll.JChout
the proctuctJon
runs at both North Arl"IeOcan Avlauon taetOfIes prodUCII''I P-51s. apart Irom
the odd deYlalIOn
In
apphcatlon.
The
standard InSignia Blue (Shade 47) was noueeably l.ghter on
some
alrcratt. and
this was believed due to a V8I1atJOl"l In paint manufaeture.
Individual &lrcraft data - model. serial number. crew weight
and
fuel-serVICmg - was
applied
In black 1
1
12'1nch and Inch high block characters on the lett side of the tuselage Just forward
ot
the cockpit as standard USAAF
practice,
The sertal number. less the leading
4
and hyphen, was
repeated on both sides of
the
fin and rudder. Originally known as
the
'radio call' numbel'. and
providing a more visual version of
the
serlal. It later became generally known sImply as
the
'lall
number'. Painted In k:\entlflC8tlOO YellOw
(shade
48).
the
numerals were elghllncheS high.....Ith
two-lnch spacing. With fTv&<hilt tall numbers.
two
were stencilled onto
the
fin and ttvee on
the
rudder. SUl-dllJl numbers had three each on
the
tin
and
rudder.
The
tops of
the
runerals 'Were
two
Inches belOw
8 line
taken Irom
the
bottom
of
the rudder
trim
tab.
The
mstonty of Instruc:tlOr\al
rnarturcs
were
In
black inch hegh
characters. a
notable
excep{1Ofl
being
the
No
Step WIth
the
redl-shaped
device
on
the
uppersurtace of
the
left flap
by
the
WIng root
faln~
The 354th Fighter Group
The first of
the
three Ninth Alr Force groups to be eQuipped wrtll
the
P·51B.
the
354th Fighter
Group (FG) arrived In the UK at the begmning of November 1943, Its personnel had trained
mostly on P-39 Alracobras.
and
few If any had flown P-51s
In
the
USA,
as had
the
ptlolS
of
the
fOllowlO& &1oups,
the
357th
and
363rd.
wtllch
arrived at
the
end of
the
year,
The
354tJ'1. upon
receiving
its
first aircraft
crt
Greentlam
Common.
In BerkShlfe.
rTlOYed
dunng
the
second
week
of November
to
Boxted. near Colchester In
Es5eJl.
'Ntuch
became rts
combat statton.
paanttdonP.~I&of
Ow
~"uh
K.
bri>n:'
,,~
r>pc1'Iuor.....
'C'R'
.....)IIOIoqU3Oron
l'OOJn.'fh<'w ..·...
R'
.. hue:
~,.u
2'
lndK~
~
... llhlhc:..qUJ01ron
wdc:r.--udof'hc:
--.wW
ilbqll\d
mil
lbc:inlll.khUlpllnC'-m-
"'fUoIdNnlo:un-litThc:
-naa~InGQo.\1
1uo.i''nWbl'lWC\ltd
c"v ..
"hc:nthu
f'hoXOlcnph"bu.l.",
on
lbc: BIUIN
nYm
nlCI"7\
on 1'\
l)c:oc:c:mbC'f
19-t
~
1lJu
"''\I'' ..
,»lhc'~
.-om
of
U ctunn
(oUmm, ..
holhc:~
..uuldJ'ftl'Cblm:Ulhc:
1lN\llbl<&~lII«lnlhc:
no
\Io.o.to(hb
.w;torio
"'n'C'
obUlnc:d
tn,bln~
.arcntt~C'\J(OQ-\
nJlC"Idc:nt'll~
"'n'C'
hUlTilc:dl)
Mldtd,
___
tb\~l.u".;aod",-~
lbc'pbot."ptItlllhr
UtI'oho-"hr
...-.....
...
oIomcn...
~of~
l'riIoQ ..
'tR'not;ahl7)~
lI\lc:Wlbrdt~u.'C'
By
mid-NoYemt>er
(I
syslem of uM mat1lings had
been
devlsed whereby
the
8Ircraft of
the
group's 353l'd. 355tJ'1
Mld 356th FSs would
be
ldentlfte<l 8S A. B and C. Indivldual
aircraft 'WIthin each squadron were to be
ldentllled
by
dIfferent letters.
The
squadron and Indl\1dual aircraft
letters were painted tOiettler In h&ht
Ire)'
on
the
rear
fusel. In app«)umalely
l~nch
h'lh letters. HoweYer.
thIS system ....as shOrl-ff'o'ed.
and
tew 8IrCf8ft actually
had
the
Ielttn apphed.
All
eUlmple IS 43-12488 of
the
353rd FS,
'NhiCh
earned the
}etters AM
By
the
d.8te of
the
354th·S Introductory operahon
(a ftIJ'lter Sweee:J on 1 December 19431. AIr M,n,suy SO 110
codes
had been lSSoed
and
appl~.
The
353rd
FS',
oomblnatlon was
n.
the
355th',
GQ and
the
356th's
AJ.
1UG1".t.\OIJELQil
ThroM
-.kit,oorW
 4 • P-51 Mustang Units of the Eighth Air Force
The P·51 Mustang and Derivatives • 5
As
WIth
the
USAAf"s 11-47
Thunderbolts
lIlat were alread)' operatIng In
the
UK,
the
Mustang'S
Uf\It
letters were
pcl.Itlted
If'I
white
24-4nch
t\l£h
block
caPItals forward of
the
natlonallnsrg,n18 on
both
SIdes
of
the
fusetaee.
On Mis. the honzontal panel line
above the
bat of
the
natlOtlal
lI'\SCnt8.
and
extendu'l&
forward
belOw
the
cockpit edie. 'Was used as
the
upPer limit in
the
~
01
the
squadron
letters.
The
indMc:tlJlW
P!8ne-4n-sQUaC!ron letter was usually placed
wnh the
forward
edge
dose to 'tabOo 248 on
both
~s
ot
the fuselage.
M,r~
the
concern
that
the
Thundefbott
would be
mIStaken rot
the
Fw
190
because
of
,ts
radaaI~.
there
was
a belief that a ft&tltet'
WIth
SQU8fft
cut
Wing
tips migJ\t be erroneously
ldenllfied as a
Bf
109. ~e number of lnterQepllons of P·S1s by P-47
and P-38
ptlots in
the
~
foItowvc
the 354th's ....lrOduc:tJon to combat
operaUOtlS
Oller
enemy tefntory.
type
ldentJty
~s
'lIlefe
lntIoduced
!WI'lIl.ar to those
used
by AM
Mustqs In 1942.
As ....
Ith
ThundetboIls.
'NhIte
bandIrc
was
applied
to
nose
and tal
swfaces.
and addIttonalIy
.-olrId
each
'lfWY'C. Issued
on 20
Dec:etnber
1943.
the
ordef specified
the
fOl~apphcatJon In
wtvte: IX'opeIet
$pIl"net
and
a
l2tnch
wide
bend ~
the
nose
dtre<:tIy
aft; a
12.ft:h
-:Ie
hOrUontaI
bind
IWOU'W:t
the
!'in
and f1.Iddet.
""M
the
toP
edge
18
InCheS below
the
l'in
tip:
a
15-rch
""..band MOU'ld
each
tal/ptane, centred
33
n::hes
from
the
lIPS: and
a
1~
ww:te
band
around
each ""... ~
15
tt
from
the
tips,
""lth
the
IMef
edIe
n.rwq
8fC8In$t
the
tnalI"l
'Nheel
~.
""*
some
at
the
appIcatJon
WOl1I
was performed
'1')o(he.1'leld'
by seMOe
squadrons,
most
was
ca-ned
C)U(
8(
Base AN
Depots
before
the
am::taft
'IrI'ere
I$sued
to
front line
lrits.
effect when painted onto a 'silver' P-Sl.
Code
letters were also paInted In black on bare metal
finishes
when
these aIrcraft reached squadrons
The
first 'silver' Mustang to reach a combat unit In
the
UK was P·51B-l senal 43-12437.
'fttlJch
was
declared unsUItable for combat use, and thereafter used for
operational
tr8lmr~
by
the 354th FG at
Boxted.
thIS parbC\Jlar Mustenc'S camouflage pCMt
had
been ren'lOY'e(j by
groundcrewmen of the 356th FS at
the
filhter station early In February 1944,
but
shortly
afterwards, on 10 March,
the
war-weary mactllne was destroyed In a fatal
crash.
nt
L()III.
The
.~'nh
f(,
.~~ppnI.1lh
\l~
... bik
)UlJllnnl.u Ib>don
in
"utIoIk. ...
IltlIfUtft-ol
The First Eighth Air Force Mustangs
.....
_~-nl,
..
~npcnn'll.T
IlodtJillhmlknc-do-__
fromlhtU41hf(.
P'i18
n'('~\1
...
~
ant
vi
the'
tina
rndonI
toroptnlolwulu:lC'
,.....,<Ml
The
first Mustang obtalfle(l
by the
EIghth AIr
Force
was
an RAf
Mar1l;
I
In
'IWtl1Ch
Rolls-Royce had
~nst8l1ed
a Mertln er"C.Ine, 5eflt to Bovlngdon,
in
Hertfordshlre. for evaluatIOn
by
VIII fi&11ter
Commaf1cfs ";r TechniCal
SectJon,
It
was
given
a standard
USAAf
camouf\age
scheme
of
()1M!
Drab and
NewaI Grey
and
later
the
white
type
ICIentJty
bands
as
well. Powered
by
a
Mer11n
65
and
deslgl\ated 8 Mustane X,
the
(ehter's RAf
seoaI
(AM121)
was
painted
on
the
fin In USMF
fashIOn,
and the
code VQ-R
was applied on
the
fuselage In wt\lte.
The
first EIghth Air Force P·51B fJ&hter group,
the
357th, was obt81ned from
the
Nlflth Air
Force
in an
excharCe for
the
P-47'-8q\,lIpped
3S8th FG-
the
two
groups exchan&ed bases
at
the
end
of
January
1944,
the
357th
mcMn&
trom R8)'don to
Lelston (both In Suffolk)
and
the
358th
the
reverse.
At
this time,
the
354th FG. wtllch
had
flown Its first combat mISSion on 1 December
1943, was stdl operatll'\& under
VUl
AiNer
Command control, and continued to
do
so
for
some time
to
come.
The 357th FG Mustangs did
not join
the
354th on combat mIssions until
11
February 1944.
--
Silver Mustangs
~
USMF
dirlllCtNe
to
manufacturers to dlSCOfltJnue
eatr'IOUfIaee
PBlnt
was
effected
on
the
770th P-518 IWtrame
(senaJ
43-7083) at In&Jewood. C8l1fomUt, in December 1943. On thiS
and
8fI ~
atrcnlft, the
\all
number was
painted In
black.
An area forward
01 the
wtndstueld
~ forward
to
the
SJ)llYIel"
was
paIfIted
oIr.oe
drab
as
an
anti-glare measure.
A
second
source of Mer1Ln
Mu5tane
production,
astebllshed in Dallas, Texas, In 1943,
cornrnenced delNel1es of P-51C models, whICh ......ere VIrtually IdentJcal to P·51Bs, In November
of
that
year.
The
first 200
P·SICs were
accePted by
the
USAAF
In
a
camouflage finiSh
0'
Dar1l
()INe Ofeb
uppersurfaces
and
Neutral Gray undersurfaces, WIth tail numbers in yellOw,
With
the
delivery of
Blrcraft senal
42-103179,
camoutJaee
finish was
ab8ndoned
and tall
numbers were
applied in
black.
The
tad numberS of
the
first three blocks of P-SICs were of seven dl&lts. four
being
painted
on
the
fin and three on
the
rudder. SpacIng between
the
numerals was one Inch. With a later
batch
of P-51Bs
havitlf,
seveo-dtglt
tall
number$
(althou&h four fieures were painted on
the
fin
and three on the rudder,
as
""rth
the
p-Sle).
the
spaclna between the figures was
two
Inches.
As
P-SICs had a dc:M'rwated en&Ine, most of
the
Dallas-be,1I1t aIrcraft were supplied to taetkal
reconf\8lssance
unrt.s
The
8trtval of P-51Bs
In
natural metaJ finish
in
Februaty 1944
led
to
type
identity martlll"llS
be.,..
ordered
In
black. Meanwhile. adverse reports
01
the
wMe
band
bteakltlC up the dlstlnctMl
1qU8(&<:ut
Shape
of the Mustane's tad - an Important recocrllUOfl feature -
led
to an order
iSsued on 23 MarCh 1944 requu'N'C
the
rerno¥8l of \his
band. However,
thtS
only
applied
10
Musuncs
ll"I
canounace
(1I\l$h.
and
the
bt8ck band
contItlUed
to
be
applied
to
the
fin and rudder
of
ur'lp8Inted ..
retatL
It
IS asSl.med that
thts
rner1unC
did
not
have
the
same Visually dlS{up\Ne
_
...
.-.......
1IIIWlo\oC~Thc
......-",,-
bid
dim:
l'IftLwn
on
Ihc
I\Mkr
MXI 6Jur
on
win
P1~"U'
\k~.,J)."U
lkIn"Ct.In~1h:ID
,1ntxTt-..cb6dd.
QPL"'"-lIliIlhltlbt
dilltl'CDC~_
-.J .....
krnt~
"'''hlhrw~
fr&f(,
n'~
takd
mum '"-
...
_'"
9ltR I'HI
un
Th~muddH:tJ
J'.'ill!oI't~.>,62ndt"V
.~'~Ih K.;."~
ph<)lOIU'l'~m
~bnu.., I~'
II
.&ppnr>
to
MT
Iud
~vllt."JMI'II"tt
f\lllllc."IJbbo..ll~
etu..month-e-"n1I
flP\to:r..qwoJn",.
"-,,,,-
UfU.f'Pr'."NI'lO.l'("
~"'---.moJtM
poarU("ubl"UlUIb
Iq'I(InN
til
lu.TluoJ
a
""am.T.t.f\~
....Ih,TGo.l'IlIlO'C'"
... h&k ....
-....Irl
('l'
~wth<.lI-
NrN
.........
The
3S7ttf,
trio
of
squadron, -
the
362nd, 363n:1
and
364th FSs -
were
ident1f\ed by
the
c:odes G4, B6 and CS respectrvety.
TheM
loWlltS
were
amc:lfC
the
first USAAf squadrons to
be
issued ....,th SO 110 ~r Mlnl!WY
c:odeS
¥Itl1Ch It'lOOl"POftlted • numeral and • letter Ir'\Stead of
two
letters. Thl' ehqe .....s brooCht
8bovt
by the
Iar&&
I'lUT\bef of ne'tfIt squadrons enter-. semoe
""Ith
both the
RN and USAAf In
the
UK,
e.tJ\8USllnC
the
~18bIe tweHe.ttef comblnatl(M"ls.
The
3S7th FG',
squadron.
parnted u..r codes and
lndMduel ..
rcqft letters If'l slInder
we
and
p1ecemeot to 3~th FG Mint.,....
end
In
the
process estebltShed ••tandard
tor ...
USAAf
MU't8t'C'""th unit
.sscnment
In
the
ETO.
IJEJ..fA ..'DULffr
1l~/fTl~1O'd
....:ntlluoJbb<."fYpr
~Ih:xOllltk
lIn.-J"*In ......h
-.J bl'm
d••
uJft-.nl
6 • P·51 Mustang Units of the Eighth Air Force
The P·51 Mustang and Derivatives • 7
p..,sl8-5-HA
43-6437 of
the
335th FS/4th FG,
DebcMn,
M.,ch 1944
Painted
In
the
standalrd ftnish
for
P..si1.s
priof
to
the
InttoductJon of briCht cokHlr maritJncs.
tNs
akcraft
was
one of
the
orf&lnal
complement
0'
Merlin Mustane- received
by the
4th FG
• Debden
In
lata February 1944. Upon
Its
.nh·... 43-6437 was Immedlate'Y Kqulred
by
the
croup commandlnc offker.
U Col Donald
Blakeslee. a.
hi.
petS0n.8l al,craft. It wa.
~
his favoured code mattdn&s
wo.c.
the
C
standlnl for 'ChJef CooJ\', taken from the
)oYlaf
KCoIade
bestowed
by
the
RAF
on someone
who
was
InYOfved In all matte,. or
, ..ponslbillty. 'chlef cook and bottle washer'. Don Blakeslee t.ptac:ed
thl.
aircraft with
new
rnetaI
f'lnWl P-518 42-106726 In
m~Apftl1944.
and 43-6437
wa.
In tum
,e-eoded
WD-V
end used by
other
pikJU.
It
crashed
In France att.,
beln,
hit
by
&round
tit.
whilst
sttaftnc on
7 AUCUSt
that
NIne
)'Ut.
pilot Sydney Wadsworth belnc mlKkl _ PoW.
'lImL nOABOI"l"
1tJ<,,"
up:lloJa
Comtlk .1'b.mbo,'2f\th
,k,,-unlro
p..~IB
1\.6',I1_~\T·TQldX"
~\hcb ~
lIb 1<•
.unnJ 1obru'lR....W_1I
twnnl
~
blod
01
rnJ
-.l.tIoI~
tbr,;~unhoth
....... llIlbir
noM:
tono ....
tbc'alulroC
lIWu..d
juhn
(iodfft')
.ooulknl\nr,
u
(oC'fllok).I1lpIWI,1ud
J"'rrubr~
JI"J'tinI
In bl..'
p·~lIJ
Tbr~orthl)
<Ju!'k...
1_0CI""-.u
~'l)llulbotb
JII....
Nulodn..t)
'doul!)
Ih~
0lMn
"ArVI durll'llt lhe
t>nl
,,!'NIlIe'
'urpci"njU)
th..
~mhdll..hmcnl
"''"
I"kr;llt'db)-hlll.hn
,"nlnWld TI'C' bo:dlljt
n~IIl(I("'.;o,,'lhc
uo"ffltbJ cmbkm
of
tbc'
IIh H,
Early ... February 1944.
the
P-4 7
~Ipped
56th FG
had
recerved
pet'm1S$1Of1
to
paint
the
noses
of
ItS
aircraft In a different
colour
for each
SQUIldron.
Other f.ghter Units were
not
IOtW
In
fOOOYwlfl,
surt.
end
by
earty
March
the
4th
Fe
'Was palrrure
the
spuv'Ier$
end
nose
band
or Its Mustangs
scarleL A
few
357th FG P·S1s were also reported .... Ith yenow noses
and
bright coklurs SUTIllar
In
style to
the
mar1<ircs
that
had
apPeared on P-47s
end
P·38s fIowrl
by
other
units
The
full
extent of
the
unoffICial apphcatJOn of bng1'lt COlOurs on EIghth AIr
Force
frghters
dunrc
the
laner part of February
and
earty
March
1944
IS
not
known,
but
by
ml(l.March
VIII
F'lit'lter
Command
had called a halt.
A
plan
was
then
deVeloped
to
prO\'lde
a group ldentlty
feature With different
~
colours.
As
finally approved (although apparently Incorrectly posted
In
some
reports at
the
tlme),
the
groups of
the
6Sth
and
67th
Fighter Wings
wer~
to
use
SOlid
colours,
and
those
of
the
66th a checkerboard.
On
P-Sls, thIS would
involVe
the
spinner
and
the
12-lnch WIde
type
Identity band that encircled
the
nose, the latter dMded into
Slx'inch
SQuares to form
the
checkerboard for
the
66th Fighter
Wing.
4th
FG
P-S15
would
contInue to have red noses and
355th
FG
figtlters white. wtule
the
black
type
ldentrty
nose
band
on
bare metal aircraft was replaced
by
an
identical mar1ung In 'lfWtllte.
The
357th FG
adorned
its Mustanls With red
and
yellow eheckers, With
the
spinner dIVIded
equally Into three bands of red, yellOw and red. Groups yet to convert were also asslgrled
recognition colours -
the
352nd FG blue. the 359th FG green and
the
361st FG yellow, FInally,
the
newly arrived 339th
FG.
which had orig,inally been
scheduled for service WIth the Nlnlh Air Force but had
been exchanged for the P-47 eqUipped 50th FG before Its
arnval In
the
UK,
was to
be
assl£ned
10
the
66th F'tghler
Wing.
and
use red
and
white checkerboards.
The 352nd FG at Booney, In Norfolk, which
converted a SQuadron at a time
10
the Mustang from late
March 1944. applied a bright sky blue shade to
the
noses of its P-Sls.
The
replocement of
the ....
-tute 12..
nch
Wide nose band 'lfWlth blue was 'oun<! to provide
InsuffICient contrast on 81rcraft in
the
camounaae finish.
HlU,.
llu.uic
""",,on.Blr
.lh~"
P'i18IW>l419QPUul
the-
\.~llh
Nlth
F(.
• .... ptlolollnf'hcd .II
1)ChdC'nlon
1~,"'rwt1
19-Illlx- -m;ill.hllC'
«to\) ...
ho\T lhe "'lflS.
ruolintht':llntlullhe
.l1n.l':Iflll.l.'lutI ..
ru-'C'l.qtC'l.InL in".lllnl
.'C.'"
elM
Jltht
~bltdluI"'\11k
~1C)llX~'Sllh
fV~'\'kh
f(,
ttM
.-cntt
r.u-.nl
nw
""""''P ....npr.J11
.Ibutoclbrntu..
..... MO
ttl ..
d'lc
___ 11111,111.11
111~-I'\-".".'"
.......... M
By
February 1944
the
EJgtnh
An Force.
havlng
secured pnOflty lOf Merlln-po'WCred P-Sls,
'lfWas
pr~parlng
to
convert
frve
P-47 groups to
the
type,
st8ftlng 'WIth the 4th
FG
at Debden,
The
group's
CO.
It
Col Don
BlaJteslee.
t\ad
been
loaned to the
354th
FG to lead Its introductory
mlSS!OM.
He
t\ad
been so
taken 'lfWlth
the
Mustanl', potential that
he
persuaded Maj Gen
WI
.am
Kepner. Commanding General of
VIII
F'tChter Command,
to
let
the
4th FG be
the
first to
shed
Its P-47"Of P·5ls
A
vahd
point II'l
'avour
01
the
4th was
that
M\"eral of Its PI'ots were ex-RAF
'Eagle
SQuadron'
men ....
00 h«I
Mef11n
efl&IOe
~xpenence tlylnc
$pItfires (see
Atnonc8n
flWles
1:
American
~teetS
II'l
the
RAT
1937-1943).
~ flChter &roup undeft()()t(
lts
first
operatIOn WItll
Mustangs
on
25
February 1944 ~ron
code
mar1on&S
rema.ned
as
C8fned on
the
P-47s. With
the
334th
FS UWC
QP.
the
335ttl
we
and the
336th VF. The
second
Thu'1derbott
group to convert to
the
Mustanc..
the
355th
FG.
became
operaoonllin Mowetl1944 Its
UVee
t!ylng UI'\Its wer~
the
354th.
351lh
and
358th
FSs.
'IfW
th
codes
WR. OS
and
YF
respec1Nery.
_
...
-
~
.......
II/C.'"
Thnc
bbo.k
....
tul~)""";l.-e.u
.,mhlohMIImal
Itl"'LIlI ...
C'lJc-.uI
)Mw...
aut..
P~11l
1\-()'WlIIQP-\1i ullhe
,HlhtVitb tf. -
tbc'
bthnS ."" .....
.u
......lnJHI"'\.li"l
oh.tN
.,th
~he,
pl. .. Tbr,.ldc 1C'1Icn
IlJwlcuC'1Q"'pat1~
• ....
~I0
.... C'1,..,t)
_lh..
~ntIlu.C'
1IocnI,.....LNlIut.llh
Nk..
n...
\l,N.I,,«
... IoO\CI"nu ..."
\Uo.LtkI.l..lt1\rld.ln
"'obnd on
~ \~
1·IlI.hlIcl1oC'tfllt
flo ... "
I"l JIll'lIUOd
ltnIInttao;rLl'nnk
'''''''
-_.
""'II:bff.Io ..
.......... cr--..II
......
-
..
--
...
-
.'w."
pInI
1.fllobntal..-.
-..--
lJwaJf"nl .. o..-
uI
I"~""'"
~
from.l
8nCWI
-xlR<:.~
\Iafdm
Tk
~
bit ...
..
.I....-c;~
Ildirwd
to
be'
rnI
111;0
'1o'dl .... _...,
---
IZ
Dn:..-.n
I'HI
~""1Iw
~
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