Tag: North American P-51D Mustang

Photo(s) of the Week; 47th Fighter Squadron, First to Arrive

On By acarothersvlrmIn Photo(s) of the WeekLeave a comment

On March 6, 1945, Brig. General Ernest M. “Mickey” Moore, commanding officer of the 7th Fighter Command, and 24 pilots of the 47th Fighter Squadron (FS) of the 15th Fighter Group (FG), landed their North American P-51D Mustangs on South Field (Motoyama #1) on Iwo Jima, just fifteen days after the United States Marines stormed Iwo’s black sand beaches. The battle for Iwo Jima continued to rage on for another twenty days as pockets of Japanese resistance were being eliminated.

USAAF/National Archives via Fold3

It is believed that the above photo is of Brig. General Moore landing an unmarked P-51D on South Field. Was he the first USAAF pilot to land a P-51 on Iwo Jima? None of the captions to the March 6th photos provide an answer, but squadron records indicate that Brig. General Moore was the first to land, with 47th Squadron Commander Major John Piper second.

USAAF/National Archives via Fold3

Another March 6th photo showing a 47th Fighter Squadron P-51D pulling into its parking spot just off of South Field. Note the single antenna in both photos. The twin Uncle Dog antennae were a field modification on Iwo Jima.

Photo(s) of the Week; 644 “Sandra Leigh”; 462nd Fighter Squadron, 506th Fighter Group

On By acarothersvlrmIn Photo(s) of the WeekLeave a comment

The photo below shows a North American P-51D Mustang receiving extensive maintenance from no less than 7 ground crew members on Iwo Jima. Neat photo that could be used for the basis a very busy diorama. You can make out the plane’s serial in the photo, which is 44-63959. This was a P-51D-20NA Mustang assigned to 462nd Fighter Squadron, 506th Fighter Group. I received the photo from Richard Smith, who is the son of Captain Lawrence S. Smith. Captain Smith was one of pilots lost during the infamous June 1, 1945, “Black Friday” mission.

644 “Sandra Leigh” (Richard Smith)

The plane’s fuselage number was 644. Please note that the stubs for carrying 5-inch high velocity aircraft rockets (HVARs) have been installed on 644. These were a field modification as the stubs were not factory installed on Block 20 Mustangs.

644 “Sandra Leigh” (506th Fighter Group Association via Richard Smith)

644 was flown by Flight Officer Harry Reese who named the plane, “Sandra Leigh”. Flight Officer Reese was not credited with any aerial or ground victories.

644 “Sandra Leigh” (506th Fighter Group Association via Harry Reese)

Below is a nice photo of Flight Officer Reese with a 20 mission crush on his cap.

Flight Officer Harry Reese (506th FG Association via Harry Reese)

There are no aftermarket decals in any scale for 644 “Sandra Leigh”. Thanks to Richard Smith for providing me with the top photo.

Kit News: Eduard Announces a 1/72 North American P-51D Mustang

On By acarothersvlrmIn Kit/Product NewsLeave a comment

In his editorial in the January 2024 edition of Eduard Info, Vladimir Sulc announced the future release of the Eduard 1/72 North American P-51D Mustang. Eduard had previously indicated their intention to scale down their phenomenal 1/48 P-51D kit, so while it did not come as a complete surprise, it is great news.

Eduard

Eduard’s releases of their 1/48 P-51D kits covered every production block of the D model from the early filletless D-5 through the D-25, including the needed parts for the D-20/25 Iwo Jima VLR Mustangs and kits for the P-51K and the F-6D/K photo reconnaissance versions. The hope is that Eduard will follow suit with their 1/72 P-51D kits.

Eduard

The projected release of this kit is June of this year, the same month Eduard will be releasing their new 1/48 P-51B Mustang. With Arma Hobby releasing their 1/72 P-51D Mustang in the first quarter of this year, it is a good year to be a Mustang modeler.