Picture of the day. (13 Viewers)

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Hope this is the place for it but I found this interesting, thought this was a 4FG Mustang but couldn't understand the tail code business, turns out it's a 15th AF P-51 from the 52FG 5FS. Seems the USAAF was trying some deception on the LW with the squadron codes, this one duplicated 8AF 4FG. I think the plane was Lt. James Empey with 5 confirmed.
 

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Good pic.
Don't think it was any intended deception regarding the code though - two different Groups, in different Air Forces, operating in different Theatres, Even though 15th AF were in Europe, they were part of MTO, not ETO, so what appears to be 'duplication' of unit codes would not effect day to day operations of the two units, 1,000s of miles apart.
However, if Luftwaffe Intelligence saw this as a move by 4th FG, 8th AF, then it could have perhaps been an unexpected bonus for the Allies in some way !
 
You might be right AF, I got this snippet from Wade Meyers at 4th FGs FB page:

"
Yes, 52nd FG - there was a half-hearted attempt to 'confuse' the enemy with duplicate codes in different theaters. The 52nd got QP-WD-VF from the 4th, and the 31st FG got HL-MX-WZ from the 8th's 78th FG. There may well have been others ..."


If that was the USAAF's intent, maybe it did work because it confused the heck out of me.

Although I must confess, this is the first I've heard of the duplicate code ploy.
 
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