- Thread starter
-
- #41
B-17engineer
Colonel
Alright! Thanks T!
Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
Name: Harrison
Username: B-17engineer
Scale: 1/48
Category: 3
Manufacturer: Revell
Extras: Eagle Cal decal sheet and scratch built seat belt.
So here is my first out of two entries.... Cripes A'Mighty 3rd flow by George Preddy.
Here is some info from P-51D Mustang - Preddy
Preddy's second P-51 serial no. 44-13321 was one of the first bubbletop Ds delivered to the 352nd FG and carried the name "CRIPES A'MIGHTY 3rd". 44-13321 is one of the most recognisable P-51s of the war as it was photographed at several publicity photo sessions of Preddy with his groundcrew staged after his famous six 109 kills in one day on 6th August 1944.
Colour paintings and black white photos of 44-13321 suggest the colour of the nose to be a light shade of medium blue, (much lighter than the standard dark blue worn by most of the "Blue-Nose" Mustangs of the 352nd FG in late 1944/early 1945). The light shade of medium blue appears to have been applied to several other well-known P-51s of the 352nd FG, eg. Heller's camouflaged B appropriately named "HELL-ER-BUST (REF. D decal option 3).
Wing and fuselage wrap-around invasion stripes (three white and two black) were typical of the recognition stripes carried by most Allied aircraft operating over Europe during and after the D-Day landings. According to Three Guys Replica, the upper surface stripes and black horizontal tail stripe were removed shortly before 18 July 1944 (REF. H decal option B details the altered markings).
The "CRIPES A'MIGHTY 3rd" name-art on the port nose was rendered in a rather unusual two tone method. On the blue part of the nose the name is in white block letters shadowed in black (or red). As the name spills over onto the unpainted natural-metal it is reversed, ie. black block letters shadowed in white (could also have had red outline).
The style of kill markings applied were white Balkan crosses, these were strung along the port engine cowling on top of the blue background colour of the nose. The final appearance of "CRIPES A'MIGHTY 3rd" on 7 August 1944 displayed 31 kills (21 crosses on top and 10 crosses below). Other documented scores appearing on "CRIPES A'MIGHTY 3rd" were on 19 July 1944 - 21 kills, 24 July 1944 - 23 kills, and 4 August - 24 kills (21 crosses on top and 3 crosses below) (REF. A pg 191).
Some sources claim several USAAF aces chose to carry only four of the six machine guns in their P-51Ds, electing to remove the two inner wing mounted guns. The photo of 44-13321 on page 75 of Osprey's "Mustang Aces Of the Eighth Air Force" (REF. B) clearly shows the port inner port wing machine gun to be empty, however this could have been part of routine maintenance procedures.
A total of 18.5 aerial and 9 ground victories were tallied in 44-13321, including 4 by Col. John Meyer on 10 September 1944. More aerial victories were scored by pilots flying this aircraft than in any other Mustang serving in WWII.
The Kit and Decal sheet.....