Mustang Mania

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Great image. That said this is one of the paint jobs that made me sad from a historical POV. Glenn Duncan. one of the great 8th FC comat leaders, and CO of 353rd FG, was shot down by flak in P-47D LH-X Dove of Peace on July 7, 1944 and fought with Dutch underground until April 14, 1945. He returned to fly LH-X Dove of Peace as Gp Exec to Rimmerman for next week until he took over the 353rd again four days before 8th AF ceased combat ops on April 25.


LH-X would have no invasion stripes at all. No P-51 (or P-47) would have top wing stripes after July 10, 1944. None would have fuselage invasion stripes after December 1944.


Glenn Duncan, Hub Zemke, Don Blakeslee are just a few examples of Colonels of great combat leadership that were not promoted again after WWII despite serving into the late sixties and seventies. Always made me question USAF promotion criteria.
 
Maybe not the best section to ask, but what are the purpose of the fins stuck to the sides of the vertical stabilizer on some P-51s? As well as the gurney flap I've seen on some P-51s in ANG service that was mounted behind the prop spinner? (P-51Ds sometimes had them, but I've never seen them on ANG P-51Hs).
 
Fins on vertical stabs are modern day avionics antenna.

Jeff
 

NL51SB

Seen here at Oshkosh 1996.


Cheers

Jeff
 
Agreed, I just assumed some of the upper echelon panjandrum types didn't like guys who wouldn't put up with BS and so they sidelined them into relative backwater assignments.

Asshats.
 

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