fubar57
General
I was querying his RESP: to you
eBay: North American P-51 Mustang (2 Viewers)
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ODonovan
Airman 1st Class
Special delivery! 
This is 44-15080. In the photo, it had JUST been assigned to its new pilot, Captain Amos H. "Hess" Bomberger, 361st FG, 356th FG, at Martlesham Heath, England. Hess said he painted the prop spinner himself, by hand, but hadn't quite finished when this shot was taken. It would soon be known as "Carolyn's Vergeltungswaffe" (Carolyn being his girlfriend at the time), as shown in this picture.
MUCH later, Hess would fly another Mustang, dressed up as his wartime ride, on the airshow circuit. That's where I met him, at the Sun 'n' Fun Fly-In (Lakeland, FL), in the mid '80s.
Notably, "Carolyn's" was missing from the replica aircraft's name, as Hess' relationship with the lady the Mustang was named after did not last after the war. As you can see, Hess' plane was one of those which had the vertical tail on the Q, in the squadron code. Some did and some didn't. And, here is the gentleman in question, some 44 years after the first picture I posted was taken.
1944 to 1988
I believe Hess is still alive. Last I heard, he was living in Georgia. He may have gone into a nursing care facility. I know his house was put up for sale and the furnishings went in an estate auction. I wish I would've known about it in advance, as his USAAF pilot ring was one of the things which was sold.
-Irish
This is 44-15080. In the photo, it had JUST been assigned to its new pilot, Captain Amos H. "Hess" Bomberger, 361st FG, 356th FG, at Martlesham Heath, England. Hess said he painted the prop spinner himself, by hand, but hadn't quite finished when this shot was taken. It would soon be known as "Carolyn's Vergeltungswaffe" (Carolyn being his girlfriend at the time), as shown in this picture.
MUCH later, Hess would fly another Mustang, dressed up as his wartime ride, on the airshow circuit. That's where I met him, at the Sun 'n' Fun Fly-In (Lakeland, FL), in the mid '80s.
Notably, "Carolyn's" was missing from the replica aircraft's name, as Hess' relationship with the lady the Mustang was named after did not last after the war. As you can see, Hess' plane was one of those which had the vertical tail on the Q, in the squadron code. Some did and some didn't. And, here is the gentleman in question, some 44 years after the first picture I posted was taken.
1944 to 1988
I believe Hess is still alive. Last I heard, he was living in Georgia. He may have gone into a nursing care facility. I know his house was put up for sale and the furnishings went in an estate auction. I wish I would've known about it in advance, as his USAAF pilot ring was one of the things which was sold.
-Irish
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Good shots!
P-51-44-72028
Airman
- 29
- Jun 9, 2019
It's an engine breather....much like the pre-60's auto engines had.....they vented to the outside. In the P-51 the termination of the vent was flush with the skin, so when an engine was tired and had "blow by" it messed up the side of the fuselage. Look closely at some photos and see when clever crew chiefs extended the pipe by about 2-3" and then the 'blowby' wouldn't streak the side of the fuselage. In the attached photo you can see the shadow from the extended pipe.
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Snautzer01
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Snautzer01
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Snautzer01
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P-51-44-72028
Airman
- 29
- Jun 9, 2019
It's an engine ventilation exit....internal pressure inside an engine must be vented to the outside....until the PVC valve in the 60's, all auto engines vented to the outside. The P-51 vents out where you noted....however some folks extended the exit a little so the blowby wouldn't streak the side of the fuselage. You can see in the photo that the nearest plane has the extension (see shadow) and the second one does not.
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Snautzer01
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Original WWII Snapshot Photo - P-51 With Nose Art at Ausbach, Germany | eBay
Baugher; 44-73105 (MSN 122-39564) to Italian AF as MM4293
Baugher; 44-73105 (MSN 122-39564) to Italian AF as MM4293
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P-51-44-72028
Airman
- 29
- Jun 9, 2019
P-51D-25-NA 44-73105 1946 USAAF 42nd DRS, Transferred to the Italian AF as 4293. It looks like it's carrying the nose markings of the 359th FG, maybe the 486th FS? Also you can see a previous fuselage marking MO*??
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Didn't 486-th FS. belong to 352-nd FG.?
IMHO the nose markings are those of the 20-th FG. The old code still visible is MC-H. MC is the coding of the 79-th FS.
Check e.g. MC-J for comparison:
MC-H was called "Short Snorter":
Source for the above photos: 20th Fighter Group – Little Friends – US 8th Army Air Force Fighter Command
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P-51-44-72028
Airman
- 29
- Jun 9, 2019
Excellent.....thanks for the information.
Great pics.
Nice shots!
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Snautzer01
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macharvard
Airman
These ar RAAF Mustangs - see A68 identifier on both photos. A recent photo (#749) shows A68-187, a photo reconnaissance bird.
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Navalwarrior
Staff Sergeant
- 764
- Jun 17, 2018
Although I have no photo to share, my wife and I often visit several small airports. In doing so, we saw a beautiful P-51D painted in Don Gentile's stateside markings (red nose, followed by small red and white checkering pattern, w D-Day markings). Most likely relocating north due to the incoming Hurricane. Made my day!
