The image above is a United States Army Air Force photo taken on Iwo Jima on March 6, 1945, and shows Midnite Madness, a 548th Night Fighter Squadron Northrop P-61A-11 Black Widow (Serial No. 42-5610) landing on South Field with the tails of two 47th Fighter Squadron/15th Fighter Group Mustangs in the foreground.
On March 6th, Brigadier General Ernest M. “Mickey” Moore, commanding officer of the 7th Fighter Command, and 24 North American P-51D Mustangs landed on South Field. Shortly thereafter, 13 Northrop P-61A Black Widows of the 548th NFS landed on South Field in flights of four, the extra being a 6th NFS Black Widow “guide dog” with the first flight. Which P-61 Black Widow was the first to land on Iwo Jima?
According to the photo above, it was Midnite Madness. The official caption for the photo reads, “A Northrop P-61 ‘Black Widow’ taxies to the parking area at No.1 Airfield on Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands. This is the first night fighter to land at the field. 6 March 1945.” But that caption may not be accurate.
According to Eric Shulenberger, the author of Deny Them the Night Sky: A History of the 548th Night Fighter Squadron, the first P-61 Black Widow to land on Iwo Jima was most likely the 6th NFS “guide dog” P-61 on Temporary Additional Duty leading the 548th NFS’s A Flight from the Marianas to Iwo Jima. Piecing together written statements of 548th pilots and personnel, Dr. Shulenberger believes that Bat Out’A Hell (Serial No. 42-5609) was the first 548th P-61 to land on Iwo Jima. Midnite Madness landed with the second flight and was most likely the 7th P-61 to land on Iwo Jima.
I will review several decal sheets containing markings for 548th NFS Black Widows in the near future, in addition to reviewing Deny Them the Night Sky: A History of the 548th Night Fighter Squadron. Excellent book!
References:
Eric Shulenberger, PhD, JD; Deny Them the Night Sky: A History of the 548th Night Fighter Squadron, self published by Dr. Shulenberger (2005).
Kits-World produces a decal sheet (KW172225) which includes the markings for Dinah Might. The other markings included on the decal sheet are for a 482nd BS/505th BG B-29 Bad Medicine.
Kits-World Decals
As you can see, the art work for both sets of markings is excellent and consistent with photos of each plane. In addition, the printing of the decal sheet is very well done and in register. A complete set of national insignia are provided for one plane.
Kits-World Decals
Kits-World has produced some excellent decals for B-29s in both 1/72nd and 1/48th scale. Check them out at: https://www.kitsworld.co.uk/index.php?JSTONE=1. You can purchase the decals directly from Kits-World or from many fine on-line retailers. Kudos to Kits-World!
The image above is a United States Army Air Force photo taken on Iwo Jima in July, 1945. The official caption for this photo reads, “Men of the 21st Bomber Command gather around the American Red Cross truck to relax over a cup of coffee and doughnuts after returning from a raid over Japanese installations. July 1945”. If they landed on Iwo Jima, the return trip was not complete.
The strategic importance of Iwo Jima to both Japan and the United States could not be overstated. Iwo Jima, part of the Bonin Islands, was approximately half way between the Mariana Islands and the Japanese Home Islands. For Japan, it provided a base from which their air forces could intercept B-29 bomber formations heading from the Marianas to the Home Islands, and from which to bomb 20th Air Force B-29 bases on Guam, Tinian and Saipan, which Japan did with some success.
For the United States, it not only provided a base for the VLR Mustang groups to fly escort and strike missions to the Home Islands, but also provided combat damaged and fuel starved B-29s a safe haven during the long over-water flights back to the Marianas. Many crippled B-29s landed safely on Iwo Jima and avoided ditching in the vast Pacific Ocean somewhere between the Home Islands and the Marianas.
Boeing B-29A Superfortress “Dinah Might” on Iwo Jima (USAAF/National Archives via Fold3)
On March 4, 1945, Dinah Might was the first B-29 to make an emergency landing on Iwo Jima, just 13 days after the United States Marines stormed Iwo’s black sand beaches. With the battle still raging on between the Marines and Japanese forces, 1st Lt. Raymond F. Malo put his 1st BS/9th BG Superfortress down on South Field due to the inability to transfer fuel between tanks. As the picture above shows, Dinah Might was surrounded by hundreds of Marines and SeeBees. Mechanics made field repairs quickly, and after being refueled, 1st Lt. Malo lifted her off South Field while being fired at by Japanese forces.
Dinah Might’s emergency landing was the first of 2,451 forced landings on Iwo Jima. On June 7, 1945, 102 B-29s landed on Iwo Jima, and on July 24, 1945, another 186 B-29s landed on South and North Fields. As the picture below testifies to, Iwo Jima at times looked like a B-29 base.
USAAF/Loomis Dean/National Archives via Fold3
Kits-World makes decals in 1/72nd scale for Dinah Might for anybody interested in building the Academy kit into this history making B-29.
UpRise Decals from St. Petersburg, Russia has released decal sheets featuring two 457th Fighter Squadron, 506th Fighter Group North American P-51D-25-NA Mustangs in 1/72nd, 1/48th, and 1/32nd scales.
UpRise produces decals for both World War II and modern military aircraft, civil aircraft and airliners, helicopters, ordinance, and insignia. Their website can be found here: https://uprise-decal.ru/
UpRise Decals
Decals are provided for 542 “Fighting Lady” (Serial No. 44-72570), and 528 “The Enchantress” (Serial No. 44-72671). Both of these planes are popular among modelers because of the pin up art which adorned their fuselages.
The decals are lazer printed and look exceptionally good, and each sheet comes with the dive angle stripes that appeared on the leading edge of the top of the wings and most of the exterior stencils that appeared on 506th FG P-51D Mustangs. The extensive exterior stencil decals are a nice nice touch on UpRise Decals’ part.
UpRise DecalsUpRise DecalsUpRise Decals
528 “The Enchantress” was assigned to 2nd Lt. William E. Saks. 2nd Lt. Saks went Missing in Action on the infamous June 1st “Black Friday” escort mission to Osaka in which 27 Mustangs and 24 pilots of the 15th, 21st and 506th Fighters Groups were lost to severe weather conditions encountered between Iwo Jima and the Japanese Home Islands. His Missing Air Crew Report indicates that he was flying a different P-51D-25 Mustang (Serial No. 44-72885) on that mission. The Enchantress survived the war and was transferred to Japan as part of the occupation forces after the cessation of hostilities.
528 “The Enchantress” (506th Fighter Group Association)
It is unknown if a second pilot was assigned initially to fly The Enchantress along with 2nd Lt. Saks, and if any other pilots were specifically assigned to the plane after 2nd Lt. Saks was lost on June 1st. We are unable to locate an individual picture of 2nd Lt. Saks, or a group picture that includes him. The picture below is of Dr. Theodore Paprocki, the 457th squadron’s medical officer, sitting on the wing of The Enchantress. Note the wear of the paint on the back sides of the propeller blades (uncuffed portions) due to the sand and volcanic ash on Iwo Jima.
Dr. Theodore Paprocki sitting on the wing of “The Enchantress (506th Fighter Group Association via Maurita Paprocki)
The other decals are for 542 “Fighting Lady” which was assigned to 1st Lt. Ralph Gardner and 1st Lt. Chester Jatzcak. Below is a nice close up picture of the pin up art that adorned the fuselage.
542 “Fighting Lady (506th Fighter Group Association)
While the quality of the below photo is not the best, it does clearly show the position of the name “Fighting Lady” on the nose below the engine exhaust stacks and the elegant design of the Mustang’s nose.
Unknown ground crew member lying on the wing of “Fighting Lady” (506th Fighter Group Association)
Norma Jatczak, 1st 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.
1st Lt. Chester Jatczak crouched on the wing of “Fighting Lady” (506th Fighter Group Association via Norma Jatczak)
Please note the photo below does not have the name “Fighting Lady” on the nose yet. This photo was 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.
1st Lt. Ralph Gardner in the cockpit of “Fighting Lady” (506th Fighter Group Association)
I interviewed Ralph Gardner at the 2013 506th Fighter Group Reunion in Chino, California, but did not think to inquire about the 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. Ralph Gardner flying “Fighting Lady (506th Fighter Group Association)457th Fighter Pilots in front of “Fighting Lady” – Front row left to right; Lts. Alan Kinvig and George Hetland; Back row left to right; Lts. Ray Miller, Martin Ganschow, Ralph Gardner and Larry Grennan (506th Fighter Group Association via Ralph Gardner)
UpRise Decals uses Film Free Ability (FFA) for their decals. This is the technology that allows the modeler to remove the clear film that covers the decal during production. The initial application of FFA decals is the same as regular water slide decals. After applying the decals, whisking away the excess water, and working out any air bubbles from under the decals, you let the decals sit for 24 hours, and then gently remove the film that covers the decals. Without any film surrounding the decals, they look like they are painted on. Really nice!
A tutorial/description of UpRise Decals’ Film Free Ability decals is found here: https://uprise-decal.ru/ffa. There are also several YouTube videos providing tutorials on how to use these and similar decals from other manufacturers.
UpRise Decals can be purchased on eBay from two vendors who appear the be the same person. When I initially purchased these decals, the FFA was only available on their 1/32nd decal sheets, but now all their decals (1/144th, 1/72nd, 1/48th, 1/32nd and 1/24th) produced from November 2022 forward use the FFA technology. If you want to use UpRise’s FFA decals, you need to check to make sure that the particular decal sheet you are buying has the FFA technology. There are probably some the regular water slide decals still being sold or resold on eBay.
Mark Rossmann is back with two 1/48 North American P-51D Mustangs from Tamiya and ICM. In this dual build, Mark covers both marking options for Mustangs of the 457th Fighter Squadron, 506th Fighter Group; the early striped tail and the later solid tail.
Mark L. Rossmann
Initially released in 1995, Tamiya’s 1/48 North American P-51D Mustang was a significant improvement over prior kits in the areas of accuracy, details, and engineering. Many of these kits have been built over the years and a lot show up on model forums. For beginners or novices with just basic skill sets, it can be built into a really nice kit worth sharing with the rest of the world. For those with advanced detailing or scratch building skills, the kit can be transformed into competition winning model. Even by today’s standards, it is still an excellent kit.
Mark L. Rossmann
Mark has used the Tamiya kit to build 531 “Nip Nocker”, a P-51D-20-NA (Serial No. 44-63291) assigned to 1st Lieutenant Wesley A. Murphey, Jr. 1st Lt. Murphey shot down a Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki (Demon), and damaged a Mitsubishi A6M Zero on the July 16, 1945 VLR strike mission to the Nagoya/Bay of Ise area. It is not known if “Nip Nocker” was assigned to another pilot in addition to 1st Lt. Murphey. Unfortunately, official squadron and group records do not go into that level of detail.
1st Lt. Wesley A. Murphy, Jr. and 531 “Nip Nocker” (via 506th Fighter Group Association)
1st Lt. Murphey would continue his service to his country in the Air National Guard during which time he would attain the rank of Captain. He also served as a civilian instructor pilot for the United States Air Force, and ended his career at the Federal Aviation Administration. 1st Lt. Murphey passed away at the age of 89 on March 30, 2007 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Mark L. RossmannThis photo shows that the name “Nip Nocker” was on both sides of the nose (506th Fighter Group Association via John Benbow)
Mark used SuperScale Decals 1/48 “P-51D Mustangs 457th FS/506th FG, Iwo Jima” (48-1152) decal sheet for the markings. My review of this decal sheet can be found here: https://iwojimamodels.com/2020/08/22/decal-review-superscale-decals-1-48-p-51d-mustangs-457th-fs-506th-fg-iwo-jima-48-1152/ The tail stripes are on this decal sheet and were specifically designed for the Tamiya kit. If you are wanting to build an early striped tail 457th FS Mustang without having to do all of the tedious masking, this decal sheet is what you need.
Mark L. Rossmann
For his solid tail 457th FS Mustang, Mark used the ICM kit to build 527 “Hel-Eter/Lil-Toddie” (44-72557), a P-51D-20 NA. ICM’s 1/48 North American P-51D Mustang is basically the same kit as the Tamiya kit, and therefore, can be built into a very nice model.
Mark L. Rossmann
Mark used the decals from AeroMaster’s The Very Long Range Escorts “The Iwo Jima Mustangs” Fancy Art Part 2 (48-795) for this build. A nice decal sheet, and the only after market decals for 527 “Hel-Eter/Lil-Toddie”. No other kit, in any scale, contains decals for this Iwo Jima VLR Mustang.
AeroMaster Decals
While this decal sheet has been long out of production, you can still find it on eBay from time to time.
Mark L. Rossmann
“Hel-Eter/Lil Toddie” was first assigned to 1st Lt. John W. Winnen and 1st Lt. Philip G. Alston. The plane name “Hel-Eter” was a combination of shortened names of the 1st Lt. Winnen’s wife Helen and son Peter.
1st Lt. John W. Winnen in the cockpit of 527 “Hel-Eter/Lil Toddie” with Crew Chief Staff Sgt. Jaynes Gandy on the wing (506th Fighter Group Association via John Benbow)
Two other pilots are known to have flown 527 “Hel-Eter/Lil Toddie”; 1st Lt. Warren Clayton and 1st Lt. Denny O’Hearn. I have not been able to find any records regarding if, and when 1st Lts. Clayton and O’Hearn were assigned to fly 527 “Hel-Eter/Lil Toddie”, but there is good evidence to suggest that was the case.
1st Lt. Warren Clayton and Crew Chief Sgt. Simon sitting on the wing of 527 “Hel-Eter/Lil Toddie” (506th Fighter Group Association via John Benbow)
Warren Clayton wrote on the back of the above photo: “Hel-Eter, crew chief Sgt. Simon, and me. Good combination, Warren”. This strongly suggests that 1st Lt. Clayton was assigned to fly this plane.
Mark L. Rossmann
However, as was common in other theaters of operation, a pilot might fly a plane was he was not assigned due to the availability of planes for a mission. A good example of this was 1st Lt. Chauncey Newcomb. 1st Lt. Newcomb was assigned to 514 “Erma Lou” with 1st Lt. Francis Albrecht, but scored his two aerial victories in 522 “BuzzBuddy”.
A 505th BG Boeing B-29 Superfortress escorted by 527 “Hel-Etr/Lil Toodie”, a 457th FS/506th FG North American P-51D-20NA Mustang, piloted by 1st Lt. Denny O’Hearn (USAAF/National Archives via Fold3)Mark L. Rossmann
Thanks again to Mark Rossmann for sharing his dual 457th FS builds with us!
Iwo Jima Models 