Eduard recently released the 2nd ProfiPACK boxing of its popular 1/72nd North American P-51D Mustang kit. Most of decal options are of fighter aces; Lt. Col. John D. Landers’ Big Beautiful Doll, Lt. Col. John C. Meyer’s Petie 3rd, Maj. Leonard K. Carson’s Nooky Booky III, Lt. Col. Glenn T. Eagleston’s P-51D-20-NA, and Capt. Fredie F. Ohr’s “Marie”.
But it also includes decals for 542 Fighting Lady, a P-51D-20-NA assigned to the 457th Fighter Squadron, 506th Fighter Group. Neither of the pilots assigned to fly Fighting Lady were aces.
542 Fighting Lady was assigned to 1st Lt. Ralph Gardner and 2nd Lt. Chester Jatzcak. Below is a nice close up picture of the pin up art that adorned the fuselage.
While the quality of the below photo is not the best, it does clearly shows the position of the name Fighting Lady on the nose below the engine exhaust stacks and the elegant design of the Mustang’s nose.
Norma Jatczak, 2nd Lt. Chester Jatczak’s wife, was of the belief that the plane’s name was “Broadway Gal”. Unfortunately, the 506th Fighter Group Association does not have a photo to substantiate her belief. Eduard suggests in its instructions that the name of the plane was changed from Fighting Lady to “Broadway Gal” at a later date.
Please note the photo below does not have the name Fighting Lady on the nose yet. This photo was most likely taken in June of 1945 as the plane has a solid green tail instead of the initial squadron markings of diagonal green stripes on the tail.
I interviewed Ralph Gardner at the 2013 506th Fighter Group Reunion in Chino, California, but did not think to inquire about whether the plane had the name of “Broadway Gal” at one point in time, or whether the name was on the right side of the nose. The photo below appears to dispel the notion that “Broadway Gal” appeared on the right side of the nose.
1st Lt. Gardner was credited with an aerial victory on June 10, 1945.
Thanks to Eduard for including decals for an Iwo Jima VLR Mustang in this boxing!
Iwo Jima Models 
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My grandfather was Ralph S. Gardner. He and 9 other P51D Mustang pilots were sent from Oahu to Iwo as replacement pilots since so many pilots were killed when the Japanese soldiers broke out of the caves and attacked in late March.
He never spoke about the war to any family member for 50+ years. In October of 2001, someone called and asked him about his experiences on Iwo. Shortly after that he dictated his “Glory Days” to my aunt. The following is an excerpt which talked about his early experiences with 542.
I was one of the ten P-51 pilots sent, as replacements, to Iwo Jima. The report was that Japanese soldiers had come out of their caves one morning and killed some pilots. I arrived on Iwo late in the afternoon, reported to the Squadron and was warmly welcomed by, I think, the Adjutant. He told me they had assigned me Airplane #542. He further told me they were having trouble with it because the propeller seal was leaking. I went to the Flight Line and met my crew chief. I do not remember his name. The prop seal had been changed, so I took the plane up for a test that lasted 5 minutes. The seal was still leaking. The crew chief said they would change the seal again in the morning. I told him I’d be down.
NOTE: I was a 2nd Lt. at that time. 2nd Lt’s were not expected to know anything. I think privates got more respect than 2nd Lts.
The next morning when I got to the Flight Line mechanics had removed the propeller and I watched them start to put the seal on the prop shaft. I stopped them. I asked them if they had been putting the seal on like that before; they said they had been. I told them to take it off. They looked at me, and I told them to take it off because they were putting it on backwards.
They called the Maintenance Officer, Captain Murphy. When he came over, they told him, “The Lieutenant said we were putting the seal on backwards.” Capt. Murphy looked at me, at them, then came over to me and motioned me to come with him. We walked away to where the men couldn’t hear us, and then he said to me, “You told them they were putting the seal on backwards; what do you know about airplanes?” I told him that before I came on active duty I was a Flight & Service Mechanic for Douglas Aircraft Co. and also for Consolidated. He said, “You worked on airplanes?” I told him, “I did”. “You worked on propellers?” “I did.”
We walked back to the mechanics. Capt. Murphy paused, then said, “Do it like the Lieutenant says”, and walked away quickly. You should have seen the open mouths! I then showed the mechanics how one edge of the seal was fluted to a point. [It almost looked like the profile of a sugar cone with one scoop of ice cream.] If that fluted side was not against the pilot’s side it would let oil leak by.
They installed it the way I told them, I took the plane up for a test, and when I got back every mechanic and at least half the officers were there to see the result: a clear windshield! I then had some adjustments made to give the engine more power and to have the guns bore sighted.
In the fall of 2019, a month or so after his 90th birthday I had the opportunity to show him Microsoft Flight Simulation of his P51D Mustang (thanks to the skins which Jankees Blom created). I started the simulation viewing the plane from the back right. I asked him if he recognized the plane. He said, “Yes, that’s a P51 Mustang.” I then asked if he recognized anything special about the plane and he answered, “No.” I then told him that that was his plane and started slowly panning the view around the back to the left side. As I started to pan, he said, “In order for that to be my plane there would have to be … that picture right there!”
I showed him what I had found on the internet about his plane and he explained that pinup was already on the plane when he first saw it so it must have been done by the prior pilot. The entire time he was on Iwo Jima it was an unnamed plane without any lettering. He returned home to the US from Iwo a few months after the war ended so most likely Q4 of 1945. Based on this, my conclude that the picture of 542 with name FIGHTING LADY was taken after World War II and after my grandfather returned to the US.
-Russell A. Hokanson
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Hi Russell: Thanks for commenting on my blog. I had the privilege and honor to interview your grandfather at the 2013 506th Fighter Group Reunion in Chino, California. I spent the better part of an hour with him and was amazed by his knowledge and recall. Definitely a shining example of the Greatest Generation.
Andrew K. Carothers
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