P-40K Col. Robert L. Scott Commander 23rd Fighter Group, 1943 China

[Wurger]

Curtiss P-40E Warhawk 23FG Robert L Scott ( Burma 1942 ? ). J.R. Hill, Cleveland, OH - crew chief assigned to COL Robert L. Scott, Jr's P-40E Old Exterminator, points to Scott's victory scoreboard. Flying with the 23rd FG

Colonel Robert L. Scott, Jr. 23Rd Fighter Group , Curtiss-P-40K ... 1943

 

[T Bolt]

Thanks Wojtek, I have those shots but the first 2 are much better quality than what I have. That first picture is his P-40E "Old Exterminator" You can tell by the earlier style round exhaust stacks and the leaping tiger decal modified with the Chinese roundel it's jumping through and the Uncle Sam top hat. The last three pictures are his P-40K I'm building now with the fishtail exhaust stacks and very distinctive oil streaks under the cockpit.

 

[Wurger]

Yes Glenn.. I agree , the top one shows the E variant of the P-40 but these three bottom ones the K version. Also I think the shot below shows the same P-40K but without the bottom victory marking.

 

[T Bolt]

Yes, that's the same P-40K (Matching oil stain marks). It's also the picture I have signed by Gen. Scott I mentioned in post #138

 

[Wurger]

Glenn if you mean by the oil stain marks these dark spots at the victory area and around there I don't think these were the oil ones. It is very likely it is an effect of washing of the areas.

And here it might have been a coat of Olive Drab paint or similar to this colour newly applied because of these victory markings and maintenance or just cleaning effect.

 

[Gnomey]

Lovely work so far Glenn!

 

[vikingBerserker]

I have a question, why are there 2 different styles of kill marks?

 

[Totalize]

Very nice Glenn..

I was just having an exchange with Andy about his Stocky Edward's P40K and the Hasegawa kit he used. I recently purchased the AMTECH P40K-5. Haven't received it as yet but it comes with a resin tail to do the round tail K with fillet. I believe the kit can be built as a P40E as well if I don't hack the tail off.

Regarding the kill marks I would like to know as well why the differences. Does it have anything to do with the rising sun ones being IJN and the Hinomaru ones being JAAF?

 

[T Bolt]

I have a question, why are there 2 different styles of kill marks?

Very nice Glenn..

I was just having an exchange with Andy about his Stocky Edward's P40K and the Hasegawa kit he used. I recently purchased the AMTECH P40K-5. Haven't received it as yet but it comes with a resin tail to do the round tail K with fillet. I believe the kit can be built as a P40E as well if I don't hack the tail off.

Regarding the kill marks I would like to know as well why the differences. Does it have anything to do with the rising sun ones being IJN and the Hinomaru ones being JAAF?

First, the kill markings. I don't believe any of Scotts kills were IJN even though in "God is My Copilot" he calls most enemy fighters "Zeros". There was much mis-identification of Japanese fighter types at the time and the units the Tigers and the 23rd were up against at the time were JAAF. It's just conjecture, but the rising sun type looks like a stencil and the meatball type more like a decal. Maybe the stencil was used for the first 8 kills before the decal became available.

As far as the kit tail goes, this kit was the AMT P-40K and it came with a separate injected molder "K" tail. The fuselage had the longer tail suited to a later model "K" that was cut off. I know the AmTech P-40's were made with the AMT molds, I just don't know if their "K" had the long or short tail fuselage in the box. If it's the long tail you could find one of the AMT/AmTech P-40Es cheep on eBay. I recently picked up a lot of 3 bagged AmTech P-40E's for about $20 and I believe the guy I got them from still has more to sell.

 

[T Bolt]

Glenn if you mean by the oil stain marks these dark spots at the victory area and around there I don't think these were the oil ones. It is very likely it is an effect of washing of the areas.

View attachment 262179

And here it might have been a coat of Olive Drab paint or similar to this colour newly applied because of these victory markings and maintenance or just cleaning effect.

View attachment 262180

Had not thought of that, That very well could be what it is. Either marks from washing or oil stains I intend to duplicate it when I do the weathering. and I agree about the darker paint under the kill markings. Either fresh paint or an area scrubbed clean for the flags.

 

[Donivanp]

I would like to do the F-84F and F-100 he flew also but have only been able to find a picture of another F-84F in his unit, and a photo of part of his F-100. If you or anyone has other photos of these aircraft I would appreciate you posting them here.

I have sent fillers out to some friends back in Warner Robins. Maybe we can come up with something for you. Contacting the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Warner Robins GA. We held out IPMS meetings there for a long time, Gen Rober L. Scott Chapter, IPMS USA. One or two of the members works there and may have a link. No Promises though.

 

[Donivanp]

Gorgeous F-84E. One of the prettiest Thunderjet schemes ever, this is for Col Robert L. Scott, Jr., (WW II Flying Tiger ace who wrote God Is My Copilot); with both early and late versions of the markings-EXTREMELY colorful! Our thanks to Gen Scott for his help on this decal set!
World?s Best Model Airplane Decals | Cutting Edge Decals | PYN-up Decals | Yellowhammer Decals » 1/48 Treasures ? Postwar

My favorite story he would tell was about when he was the commander at Williams AFB AZ, it is call the watermelon bomber story and involves an A-26 Invader and the state of California.

 

[Donivanp]

This the Gen RL Scott display at the Museum of Aviation

 

[vikingBerserker]

Thanks Glenn, that makes sense.

 

[Donivanp]

Here is a video, still trying to get the photo Info you asked for, there are a couple of photos in the video.
WWII Flying Ace: Robert L. Scott

 

[Wurger]

This the Gen RL Scott display at the Museum of Aviation

Thanks Glenn, that makes sense.

But it is not the K variant though.

 

[T Bolt]

Thanks for posting that video Don, it looks very interesting and I can't wait to watch the whole thing.

Wojtek, by the markings on that P-40 it should be Scott's first P-40, a P-40E, but I guess the museum used what it had available, in this case a P-40N

 

[Donivanp]

Yes they used a P-40 that was available to them. Gen Scott approved and the had many flying tigers and Aces reunion held there. It was great times, I got to meet Gunther Raul and Gerald Johnson to name a couple.

 

[T Bolt]

Gorgeous F-84E. One of the prettiest Thunderjet schemes ever, this is for Col Robert L. Scott, Jr., (WW II Flying Tiger ace who wrote God Is My Copilot); with both early and late versions of the markings-EXTREMELY colorful! Our thanks to Gen Scott for his help on this decal set!
World?s Best Model Airplane Decals | Cutting Edge Decals | PYN-up Decals | Yellowhammer Decals » 1/48 Treasures ? Postwar

My favorite story he would tell was about when he was the commander at Williams AFB AZ, it is call the watermelon bomber story and involves an A-26 Invader and the state of California.

That's the decal sheet I have. I didn't realize Gen. Scott had anything to do with producing it. Makes me want to start it right away. I'd love to here that watermelon story Don. If you can remember it, post it here!

 

[Donivanp]

Gen Scott tell it better then ever I will, but! When he was the commander at Williams AFB AZ, he would go home to California every so often. He tells of the old car he had and how in the day, they had to hang water bags over the radiator and window to cool it down driving across the desert. This made for a long hot drive and made you very tired. When he got to California there was a produce inspection site, hot and tired he pulled up and the inspector asked "Do you have any peaches?" Gen Scott says "Well no I haven't any peaches." The inspector goes on about how people would hide them all over the car and try to sneak them in, "well let's have a look to be sure you don't have any." So out of the car in the hot sun the had to open up every thing to prove there were no peaches. The inspector now happy that there were no peaches let them go, after the put every thing back and were on their way.

The next time he headed home the inspector asked the same question, "No I have no peaches the General would say," and the inspector said what about apples, you know everyone is trying to sneak in apples! "I haven't any apples either" The General exclaimed . "Well" said the inspector lets just have a look. So once again in the hot desert sun the unpack every thing th prove there is no produce in the car. Happy once again the inspector left them to repack the car and go on.

This was repeated several times, each time there was something added to the list, strawberries, grapefruit, oranges, each time a full inspection and then allowed to go on. Finally on one trip the question came to watermelons.

"Well"says Gen Scott, "little did the old inspector know Williams was the Watermelon Capitol of the USA. So I hatched a plan. At the air base we had an old A-26 Invader we used as a squadron/wing hack bird. He says that he had rage best mission ready rate of all the bases in the Air Division. He said the AD boss would come around trying to learn his secret. He never told him he had a top notch scrounged and he used the A-26 to go to other bases and pick up parts, rather then go through normal supply channels.

Well there at the inspector station the old General put one and one together. As soon as he got back he and some off his younger officers and enlisted men got a Duce and a half going out and picking cull watermelons which they took back and laded into the A-26. He went out the next morning and fired up the bird. He says in those days there were big numbers and letters on the fuselage and wings so anyone could call in the plane. He says I flew so low I was down in the grand crayon trying to stay out of sight and as he came upon the inspection sight he lined her up and made a high speed bomb run with watermelons.

Well he says, I did not speak to anyone about it for ten years at least, had an old FBI buddy and one day he asked him, how bad could someone get in trouble for doing an unauthorized drop of something from an airplane, hypothetically that is. He says it was near twenty years till he took that route back into California always driving way out of his way to go through. Sure enough the same inspector was still there, older and gray now, he asked "do you have any peaches?" "No I don't have any peaches"' the General says. Then the inspector asked about several other fruit until he got to watermelons. "You know, says the old inspector, we had a big airplane about twenty years ago fly by and dropped a whole load of watermelons over there" as he pointed to a field across the road. "We fave the largest bumper crop of Watermelons in the state here now, can you believe that" as he sook his head and waved the General through.

That's as good as I can tell it, we were all on the floor rolling around laughing so hard. There yea go.