Osprey - Aircam Aviation Series 01 - North America P-51D Mustang in USAAF-USAF Service

I Amnnmml A"'mTI"U SERIES

AIRCAM AVIATION SERIES Lach publication illustratm one type or major sub-types of a famom aircraft in the colour schemes and markings J fhe Air Farces of the World. Lach issue will contain eigh* pages of cokur side view i I l u s t r a t i o ~ .suppclvting black and white plan view drawin88 showing where necessary bath upper and under surfacas, one hundted and menty-five half-tone phofographc, each i 6 S ~will also cmfain one full -lour plate illustrating iwenty examples of Unit I m i ~ n i aof t h e World's Air Forces.

No. 1 No, 2

NORTH AMERICAN P-51D MUSTANG IN USAAF-VSAF SERVICE.

REPUBLIC P-47 THUNDERBOLT. In USAAF-USAF; RAF: Free French; Freneb Air Fame: Mexican, Braxilian and other Air F o e s .

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NORTH AMERICAN MUSTANG Mk. I-IV. In UAF: RAAF: SAAF; RNZAF: RCAF tmrviee and the NORTH AMERICAN P-516 and D MUSTANG in French: Italian; Swedish: Ro a l HetherlandE; Netherlands East Indies: Indonlrian; Israeli; Philippine; Dominican; Somali; South Korean; rhinese Nationalist; China.. Communist, ek., &r

No. 4

No. 5 No. 6

FOWB.

SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE Mk. I-XVI, MERLIN ENGINE. la RAF; RAAF; SAAF; RCAF; USAAF: Belgian; Polish; Crechoslovakian; Free Fmneh; French: R. Nomegian: R. Netbedads; R. Danish; Israeli; Italian; Creek: Turkish; Po*uguese; Egyptian: Burmese. ets,, Air Fomes.

NORTH AMERICAN P-51 B/C MUSTANG IN USAAF SERVICE. Similar content to No. I but with brief coverage of the P-51 and A-36.

CURTIBS {P-40) KllTYHAWK Mk. I-IV. In RAF; RAAF: RNZAF; SAAF; RCAF: Netherlands East Indies: Russian and Finnish Air Forces. The Curtis P-40 Warhawk will be c w e r d in a Putem issue.

SPECIFICATION North American P-5 ID Mustang Dimensions : Span 37 ft. 05/16 in.; Length 32 ft. 33 in.; Height 13 fr. 8 in;Wing area 233.19 sq. ft. Weights: Empry 7,125 lb.; Normal loaded 10,,000 Ib.; Maximtrm weight (489 gallons of &I)

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11,600 lb,

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Performance: Maximum speed at 25,000 ft. 437 m.ph. ; 15,000 f t - 413 m.p.b; 5JHM ft. 395 mp.b; Cruising 362 mph; Landing speed 100 m.p.k; Ceiling 41,000 ft.; mmb rate 3,475 ft. per min.; Range normal 950 miles; Maximum with 489 ~ ~ U O I Yof S fuel 2,29U milPower unit: Packsrd W s - R o y c e Merlin V-1650-7 developing 1,450 h.p. at rake-off, 1$S0 h.p. under camhi emergency conditions. Armament: 6 X -50 in. Browning MG 53-2 machine guns; 2 X 1,000 lb. bombs; 10 x 5 in. HV &aft rockets. Price: $5 1,000 apprax.

THE BERKWlRE

PRlNTlPlG CQ. LTD.. R W t N C . W G I A M D

NORTH AMERICAN P-51D MUSTANG If a list of the dozen most outs-g militm aircraft af the century is compiled in the year ~ O Q O ,

little doubt that rhe Nor& American P-51 Mustang will be included. The h e s t American fighter of the $erond World War, nne of the classic &i-~tm,af dl rime, tfie Mustang was rhe fruit more nf a kqppy series of chance than a ddibeFaxeIy evolved policy. I t was born ih ~espan%c w a request -from the British Pwchasing Commission in the United States for a P-40 replacement. The early model P-51's and P-52A'$ first delivered ta the RkF. in mid-1942, were useid ground attack aircraft by virtue of their amamem of f a r 0.5 in. and four 0.3 in. machine guns; but the law altitude ra&g of xheir AlIimn engines rendered tbem wuitabIe for normal m t e r opeaauons. It was not until a British suggegrim kd to the matiug of the egceIIent Mustang m a m e with the chic RoUs-Royce Merlin engine that the full potential of thiz type kcame apparent The U.S.AA.F. ig &@and -ved their firsr P-51B's and P-5lCs powered by Packadbuilt Merl i n ~in December 1943; and during &at month they c ~ outdtheir first mission in the file which wilI there

d w a p be the Musxang's main claim to immortality -long range bomber escwr. The cbned-up P-51D, with a more powerful engine an$ the rear vision immerrsumbIy improved by a new bubble" canopy, was delivered to the U.S.A.A.F. &hwr squadrons in Europe and the Pacific in 1944; and it proved to be rhe definitiw version aF the design. The most important advanrage held by the M u s k over its coiitemporaries was range, and thus its ability re accompany the &I7 Flying Fortresm and B-24 t i b e r a m of the U.S. 8th Bamber Command cw heir deep penewation raids horn England over &many and occupied Europe. The daylighr bombing d&nsive had up ta &ax time exaactd a high cost in Americdll lives; the iighter types previously available m rbe A l k had h e n able to do little more than wke the borrrbers half way to &eir target, and rhen sortie again to meet the survivors and shepherd them home over the Channel. Far the c r i t i d h u t s immediately before and after reaching the target area, the bombers had to withstand as best they codd the awcks of rhe determind and magnificently brave German fighter piIou of rhe Home Defence organization. Now, at hst, the AlIies had a 5nt-class &her &raft capable of accompany-

Ptant covet captions from top t o bowom: 88 of the 325th Fighter Croup, 3 19th Fighter Squadron, 15th Air Force, Italy ' Horses It& ' flown by Maj. Hiro, 351th Fighrer Croup, 363fd Fighhr Squadron, 8th Air F u m . ETO ' Moonbeam M e S w k ' flown by Capt. William WhiAner. 35Zlnd Fighter tmup, 487th Fighter Squadron,

Force. ETO F-5TD of the Pennsylvania Ait Natiemal Guard F-5lD of the West Viginia Air N a ~ i u a a Guard, l see photo

opaiag of the Serond FmnL

By keeping up m unr d a pressure on the seriously dephted Getmaa dpng dw mast d Hitler'~ Featung Jettisming almost-empg drop tanks, thc P-51% 5ghter M~IKCS Europa, rhe Allied air forces Won the initiadve; and could meet tbe haemrschmitts and Focke-WuIfs, of then began the " softening-up " of Geman faces in the Rtichsoverteidigmg on equal rermrr. &though and the Low Countries in preparation for the r a t h e s ~ I e t o f i r t b 1 n t b e 2 0 m m . a n d 3 0 ~ Frann hvasion. The Mustang was responsible for the dmcammi which most L u f M e carried, the eruckn of wt numbers of vehicles and instau~tiofls P-51D was superior in sped d manowvmbiliry ra b e invasim cmst during the build-up before tIlpmmn-mqgined fightm over ZQ*UOo feet, along D-Day, aud the p a i d of Ehe acrual landings. By the which was thC nannaI altitude of the esoorred bomber time the Mied &a broke our of the Normandy forn3atims. beachheads and began ro strike south and e a the ~ The impr~vcmtnth the Efiickncy and morale of P-SID and its stable-mates had won such rod c m Ehe born& force was incaIcUlable; the squadrons of mand of the skies wer the httthrrt rbar all German Muswigs weaving and darting mund the Fome$s road md mil traffic by day was in constant danger phalawts wae an ewr-present m s m e to rhe of deswcuoa. As the air war over Errope continued, crews that their lonely . p c W a n was over. Apart aid resistance to thc AIlied bombing offensive was ftom the direct muits of the continued A m a m pushed back b the advance d the ground f e a , bombardment of the Gamm aircraft and armament a proportion of tb wmrt formarr:onr MUJisdursay, the added sm& .imposed on the LuftwaEe wouId l a v e th& "Big Friends" when they were fighter units was promonatdy w a s s i ~Already . safely on rheir way 4ack to Gngland, and indulge in sulking from the d c h g d d on.its resources =free chase" operatfans over the &b;ciag front and from Russia, IraIy and the f est, the German Bghter the Geman r e a r ecbdons. These mrrzaudisg operaamr now Paoerl a rapid increase in haw over the tions rase to such a pkh in rbe Iast months of rhe m a d . rt hnd been ronnihbic WI~ M war h t by the Spring of 1945, any solr of daylight make m i m m i o n on the massed guns of rhe Fortmovement hy German soaps was an iavimtion to retrs.and Liborator formations; now interceptor instant m c k from the airr. During g r o ~ d - e t t t d mission M v e d the risk of meemadem b h ~ ? m i s s i m the f-$ID was freqttently fitted wit6 .aircraft deermined to keep the interceptors b n &err ~ for rocket p r o j d e s , in addition ro the standard charges, a d frequently 6th a wmderable beigbt mmment of six 0.5 in. machine guns with 1,280 advantage. The bamber c r e w had g o d zeason for rounds af ammuaitio4. I rhe dection they soon fonnd for their "Lide As w& as e s m t h g rhe bomber$I IO h i r n o d Friends." mud-trip raids over Germaay the far-ranging P-51D's acwmpauied Ehe "shuttle' raids, deep peneThe P-51D w's not used soIdy in rhe escort rele, however. As the numbers of Mustang squadmas intration amcks flown from the U-SAAJ. bases in creased, and the air war over Eumpe began to tilt W s n d , which cwrinued e a t or smrh after striking ZnexorabIy in f a m ~ of the Allies, the P-51's joined the target md landed on airfields in fiussia or North tbe mighty P-47D Thmddmlts of the 9th U.S. Air Africa. With an 85 U.S. on fuselage tank and two 92 gallon wing cells, the ustang had a n o d Force and the Spitfires and Typhoons of RA.F. of 1,300 miles; two 75 or 150 gallon dmp tank Fia -, in s calwbted effort to win tatal also be e m i d . zur superiority over the masts wmimked for the jng the h m h a on h 1,100 mile m ~ n dtrip to

Berlin.

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Two week Iater the 4th provided tbe , m M u s ~ & i n ~ o r h e r r h ~ t r ~ materidid. o f ~ escort for an Ammican "shutde"d; and a f m 7+ Enrope. In h e Mediterranean, hours in t h e air, Iaded at Piryaain within one minutt P;$Jp!s of the U.S. 15th Air Force operated ia sup of the e8tbatcd &val tima Of the grw$s 68 p;irrf &f the British and American armies in tht last Mustangs, one had beea shot down over Gemany, Mths of the g n d l h g Itallan campaign. They the second (Ralph Hofds " Salem rep re sen^") es-ed Fmtressm d Liberators rw a5ps to the was ofE on a private war, evemdly landing safely at Pliresti dl xefm9es m Rumania; and, t o g e t h wizh Kiev. By the end of the Europ~anwar, the 4th had marry other Abed Wter t y p ~ ,added to the pmbdesaoyed 1416 Gennan aimaft The top scorn of he G e m f m s in &e XknEleatl9. were. Mai. John Godfrey (W, Maj. Qon Cenrile (33) In the China-Burma-Indiatheatre the P-51% p k y d and Maj. Duane Beesem (25)* .their part in h a r a g the J a w m e armies and disTop scorer in the U.S. 9rh Ait Porn was Lt. Bruce mpting their communic~~iom. Over the mt a r a s of Cam, who ended the war with 14 v i d e and 114 che h&c war zane heir m g e was an ideal asset. enemy a h a f t dmon the ground This 354th After the capture of Iwo Jima h February 1945, the EG. ppiIo whose P-5LD was Wistened "Angel's P-51Dys'began to rate alongside rhe B-29 SuperPlayma** was one of twe A m a i ~ ~@fe~ fl pilow bomeaes of che ~.r; B~ o ml bb Commaod in their who became "aces in a dey," This apparent conma1 w - q offensive against the Japanese Home diction in ternis comes about through the American h I ~ d s They . made the first land-hed a h t e r mike system under which any pilot who &stmys five against Tokyo, on April 7% l945. With exremal enemy aircmft is dubbed an ace; and on 2nd April fitted the P-5lD had a t o d capacity of 489 U.S. 1945 Carr shot down thee Fw NO% and two Bf 109's. gdIonq giving it the remarkable range of 2,081) miles, atad an endwmce of 84 bwrs in the air! Mainly the Mwtmgs d the 9th Air Force were em~lovedon mound amck in line with tbe tactiEaL "Ihe vtwritity d the design also allowed conmra& for reconnaissance duties; de-ted F-6D in 161; of tbe e t organization; however, towards the all this r6Ie, the Mustang d e d vertical and oblique end of the wsr such distimtio~lsbecame b1& Mustangs attacking my mrger which presented id, cameras md a d d i t i d radio geat in the air or on the ground. Probably the outsm?dhg P-51 unit in Northern Operating from Lesha air field in Italy, the nmt EUK)pe was the 4th F ~ h f s rGroup, led by Colanel -up was the 325thDm Bl&sIce+ Formed mund a nucleus of e x - U F . famous Southern Em-The C h e c ~ . "Tbey relinquished their P-47's "Eagle Squadron" pilots, the Group was based at Dewen, and numbered amon its a%cers several of for P-51Es and P-SIC'S in May 1944, and began ~edeiving P-51D7s shortly afterwards. Their ~ a r the ovtstandinp Amuiun figfter pilot8 d the au. mainly conshred of fighter sweeps and e~conmisSome of these pilots have became household wards sions, and their huntfng-gmunds w m Italy, authem -Don Gentile, J o b GOdhy, Ralph Hofer, Nicholas F~ance,AusGcrrnany, Hungary, ChchosIovakia M e p a , Duane Beason; and throughout their operaand R d They made many escort sorties with ridns they maintained a friendty rivalry with the the "Big Friends," mobly the frequent armdm on nuxld~thltpilots of the 0th- vernier American the R u m m h ail installations; and m y fighter fighter group, the 56rh- "Hub Zemke's Wolfpack" over Geman airf~cldsand mmpprt facilities The r e d - n d P-51's of the 4rh Group tmk part sweeps in -ern Europe, They also had a chancc to try in dl rhe major battles of the daylight offensive. They made many sorties to Berlin, and were in the forefront of the calculated campaign of bringing rhe Luftwaffe T h e w scores, in tht usual ArrPetican fashion, w e to combat, and destmying them, on every possible hftdesmyedantbtground.Thedd+ masloa. On D-Day, ale- with the orher 8th Air m i e s were: Godfrcy (181, Gentile (23), Beesan (18) and Fom Qhter groups, they provided a wall of fighters tbe whole Grnu 550. By European astom the 56th F.G., wirh 680 kgjs in rerial m b a t , w d d be considered round tbe American beachheads, sealing the arca off the winaers of the Group race. from t h m expected Luftwaffe onslaught whch n m r ~xmsbsides North-

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P-510 af ihe 20th R 79th FS I. AF, hawing early I O I R black at11 rhtta confersnci. $USAFI

Bottirhnm durtng Craw Command-

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'Sad Sack ' af the 20th M 77th iS. 8th AF. showing t a w black a n d whh? 20th 6 0 t h ~ nose marklng. Black disc tail marking. (via G. 1. Letzter)

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heir hand at "shuttle" raiding to Russia, and long escort missions from Italy to Berlin and back. The 325th'~leading Mustang aces were Capt. Harry Parker (13) and Capt. Wayne Lowry (11). The Group's 319th Squadron numbered among its officers one particularly distinctive pilot - a Lt. Hiawatha Mohawk! The first Mustang units in the Wcific theatre were the machines of the 15th and 2Ist Fighter Groups, shipped from Hawaii to Saipan in February and on to Iwo Jima in March of 1945. The Iirst few weeks of operations were spent in attacks an gmund tatgets in the Bonin Islands; but on April 7th 96 P-51D's from the two Groups escorted the B-29's of the 20th Bomber Carnmand on a a i p which they were to repeat many times in the next four months the

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T h e major units 8th A.F.,E.T.O. 4th F.G. 20th F.G. 9th A.F., E.T.0, 15th A.F., ITALY

loth A.F., C.B.1,

5th AF, S.W.P.A. 7th A.F./ZOth

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P-51D UNITS equipped with the P-51D in the various theatres of operations included che following: 359th F.G. 78th F.G. 354th F.G. 36lst F.G. 355rh F.G. 339th F.G. 361th F.G. 356th F.G. 352nd F.G. 379th F.G. 357th F.G. 353rd P.G. 354th F.G. 370th F.G. 10th P.R.G. 363rd F.G. 315th F.G. 3Ist F.G. 33tnd F.G. 52nd F.G. lst, 2nd Air Commando 23rd F.G. 31 1th F.G. 5lst F.G. 8th P.RG. 3rd Air Cammando 8th F.G. W.W.) 71st P.RG,

A.F,, P.O.A. 21st F.G.

35th F.G.

506th F.G.

3rd A.F., U.S. (T)

53rd F.G. 54th F.G.

337th F.G.

407th F.G.

338th F.G.

4th A.F., U.S. (T)

369th F.G.

372nd F.G.

1Srh F.G.

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round trip to Tokyo. Although the 1,500 detnission allowed only about a quarter of an hour's loiter ova: the target., the two Groups shot down 21 Japanese interceptors for the loss of two Mustangs. The 15th and 21st were joined in May by the 506th Fighter Group, and conunued to dtentate escort missions with ground attack operations until the end of the war. T b e 506th tmk part in one particularIy grim episode, on the kt June, when 15 P-SID's and 12 pilots were Iost-but not to emmy actim Thgr are presumed to have run out of fwl after encountering severe wearher on the return trip, a 'pointed reminder of the risks of Byhg over the immense Pacific mmbt m,wen in the far-mging Mustang.

Abbreviations : E.T.0.-Eumpean Theatre of Opera[ions; C.B.I. - China - Burma India Theatre; P.0.A.-Pacific Operational Area; (P.W.&Post

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(T)-Training; F.G. Fighter Groupj P.R.G. -Photographic R t c o d s a n c e Group; T.RG. -Tactical RBconnaisance Group.

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P-510 359th FG, 37FL 8th AF f h w n by Mai. Ray S. m m ' a n ,2* datroyed. Cndn nwe, blus rudder. (via C, I. Letzter)

P-510. 359th FG, 368th FS. 8tR AF m n aow, yellow auddar. El kt twr.rHkas u a d a tk. cockdt, unhown. (via t. 1. bt+tw)

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Uno u o f 359th FG, 368th FS, 8th A$ P-51 Dm*a t ks) Wnthmr. ~ o r h & .C m n nenk ynlbw ruddors. Uv* blaclr c ~ a r n on u n o p r fra-mt,ot :Lfdy,' w a d a/t n llnu lvra G I LetzterI

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361rl FI,

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Blue mnd -hits nosed P-51D ot +ha 364th FG, 383rd FS. 8th AF. Honnin~ton, SuHalk. May 1945. Note m L . t

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364th FG 385th K 8 6 AF II; rwC emun~. Ruggad R& * ip btrdt, n o k

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LeH. P d I D p ~ b Mo f tb. 1 wuHug F o m l r t h m b . m n , sn IF. ~ . whit0 d awe, ~ m ob . aframe. [urn C.

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Sttaw BOSS2 ' of the 3Slnd FG. 328th FS. 8th AF. Photo taken a t Bottishdm dntins C r o w Commanders conferen-. 1USAF)

P-51 Dm20th righter Clamp. 77th Fightat Squadran. 8th Al. Standard bare-metal A e OD c a m o d a p on upper surfacer. Early Cwvp ' It's the Kid

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Croup,

79th Fighhr Squadron. 8th AF. Standard bare-metal

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Cantle Annie

P-SIP, 353rd Fighter Crmup, 3 5 1 8 ) Fighter Squadron, 8th yellow/black Croup identification marking# on nose. Note yhite qurllns t o bbck wing bands. Cinny

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P-5 1 D. 15th Fighter Cmup, 47th Fighter Squadron. 20th AF. POA, Yellow/black/yellow spinner; black wingrand fuselage band outlined with yellow; black outlined yellow fin md rudder marking. Lil Butch

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354th FS. 8if1 AF. ' Bull& ' Jane II below, f b w n

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Blue nose hand and d d s r on this P-51D of the 355th FC, 357th F5. Bth AF. Note w h h 472 on rudder. {via Frank F. Smlth)

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P-510, 3IlH W, 374th FS, Bth AF. mkhnlon ~ t r l p a .haw baon marprlntmd

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B d e d spinner and yellow rudderrd P-StD of fhe 479th FG, 43% FS, 8th AT. fouchfng down IWankham, Suffolk b m e base of the 419th h.Cmde b 12-, (Ray E. Sowers)

' Ween,' black ruddeted P-5ID ef the 479th FG.

43Gth FS. %HIAF. off 4 h runway al Mansfan. A/< tetttr and serial

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'The Millie P.: one o l many simllarty named M e r t a n ~ sflown by Ma;. Cilliel. 55th FC. 343rd FS, 8th AF. operating from Worminsford. Horthants. lMinrstry of Defence1

P-51D. 55th FC. 343rd FS, 8th AF, ' Miss Marilyn II ' in similar schema to the

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Clme formation d P-S1Dt of the 3 5 3 d 350th FS. 8th Af. Yellor*

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AIRCAM AVIATION SERIES

No. 1

'Femtwrr Ftankk' of the 36h& Fighter Qrrrup, 3?4th Fi~hterSquadron, gth Air Form, D O .

1Ilustrated & cbmpiled by RICHARD WARD ACKNOWLEDGEM ENfS TMs piarorial suwey of one of the most famous fighter aircraft of Wwld War II could not have beeh published wlthour the grsntous assistance of many ffiends whose names are m n g e d b8hw in alphttbat5cal order my thanks to all ; Ray E. Bowers, Peter M. Bowers, Jos, F. Cansiglio, Roger A. Freeman, George J. Letzter, Ernest R, McDowell, DaHd W. Menard, Frank F. Smith. Acknowledgement b also due to the Minisby of O~fenceand iast but not least the United States Air Force.

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'Slgh!' P-61D. Posgibly of 6th or 6th Fighter Sqdn. 1st Air Cammando Group. loth Air Force, CBI.

PUBLISHED BY

OSPREY PUBLICATIONS LTD., ENGLAND. ' EDITORIAL OFFICE : P.O. BOX NO* 6 CANTERBURY, KENT, ENGLAND.

SUBSCRIPT1ON % BUSINESS OFFICE: P.O. BOX 25. 701 OXFORD ROAD, READING. BERKSHfRE, ENGUW D. FIR* PUBLISHED 1968 SECOND IMPRESSION f g70 THIRD IMPRESSiON 1871

3 0th FS P-510 landing at Raydon after esart mission. Feb. (~ESAFI

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A pair of 3Mnd FS. P-5?Ws t l n d up ready ta take o f f

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Dee. 1944. (USAFI

ll ' of tlre 353rd FG, 35Znd FS. 8th AF. Black and yellow checks on

P-SID ' Double Trouble two' of the 353rd FG, 352nd FS, 8th AF. Note yellow ontlino to code l e w r s. ( U W )

the 3 5 h d FS cornlug In a t Raydon. #&I

41 1624. Feb. 1945. [USAFl

Dec. 1944. (USAF)

Nme detafi of 350th FS Musfang 'Baby-Duck' flown by Cap). Kolb. ( U W )

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P-SID'S of the same formaan above. c i a f mst Vagi)

Noso dotnil of Capt. Bochkay's P-51D. White wings. black Club and detail. (P, Yant via C. I. Letztcrl

w mf G4-G o f the 351th FG, 362 FS. 8th AF.

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Norfolk. tuna 1945. (USAFI 7

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Itch' flown by Ma Him af t h e 357th FG, 3 i S d FS, $It( AF. Cade 8 6 4 , wnal A h 5 1 ~ .Wkrkh a ~ e .

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Close. fgrmathn Q+ P-STWs d the 357fb % 36W f& fvia Cia I. Letzterl

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b . 1 * 1 5 6 9 9 aRo bsnt a t Ourford. 78th FC, 84th F5. 8th AF. ran. 1945. IUSAFI

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Linc-up a t 38th FC. M X - 82nd FS. 83rd FS- to left.

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Tatn FG, Uth AF. All phmks takm )une 1945 a t Ouxford.

Below. 7 8 i h FG, 84th FS, black rudders: 83rd FS, white outftned red ruddurs: 8Znd FS, rad

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D 1 P-SID* 339tb Figkkr C ~ P 503rd . W t e r Squadma. 8th Air bee,

Fwlmpre,

*&,

Ug, P ~ O .

r

1 P-51D, Unit unknwn, '$ah hA m '

ept

364th FC, 383td FS, 8th

AF, hambred fo 9 t h Ai?

Forte, @TO,

P-5'1D, Unit unknown, e# 354th Fightur Froup, 9th Air

' N a n q Lne '

F-51 D, 31.w Fighmr Group, ablth. Fighhr Sq 'Amerkan Basrrly

5th Air F e t e . Mmddh, Italy,

'

6

P-51 D, 5 2nd

Fighter Croup, 4th F i g h r ~Squodmn, 1 5 Air ~ F o w , Madna, Italy.

4 F-6K. 7 t l t Tsctical R e o n Group, S2nd Tartical iteton Squadron. 5th Air F o r m Philippines. FDA. ' The flying Undertaker '/' Snooks 5th '

in mrns,' ex 364th FG. 383rd FS, tramfund to 9th AF, unit unknown. Bee tolour illu

Ms Nen F, of tba FA &fh 6 ISHI no% ydrow \Pm barn 1n-d and a* 9 6 , *Now/ b~a*k on ci2

3%

tF McDwvell)

' Ft, 319th

FS. 15th