Another Iwo Jima P-51D VLR

stovall · Nov 16, 2011

Just putting the finishing touches on another Iwo Jima Mustang. This one is HEL-ETER <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w

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View attachment 52203 View attachment 52204 View attachment 52205

modelr · Nov 16, 2011

Nice.

skyhawka4m · Nov 16, 2011

She'll look great with my HELETER....will be release3d some time soon I hope.

View attachment 52221

jankees · Nov 16, 2011

you noticed the different colors of the tail?
Originally, the 457th FS used red as its color, and they painted the tails of their aircraft with the 14 diagonal stripes as the rest of the 506th FG. This was started on board the carrier USS Kalinin Bay which took them from Hawaii to Tinian, and was completed while in the Marianas. Based on reports from B-29 crews, who seemed to think everything with red markings was Japanese, the 457th was ordered to change the red stripes to green stripes, much to the annoyance of the ground crew and pilots, who did not understand why this was necessary so late in the war. Just before the first combat mission, on 28 may 1945, started from Iwo Jima, it was decided to change the stripes to solid colors, for better visibility. The 462nd (yellow) did this the fastest, while the 458th (blue) was the slowest to do this, so in august they were still flying aircraft with striped tails...

Iwo is starting to look nice there in the background, but if Hel-eter ever flew there with a red tail?
On the other side it was called 'Lil-Toddie' btw. You see this a lot with Iwo Mustangs, two different names on either side, this was because most aircraft had two assigned pilots. The VLR mission were so long and arduous, that one pilot could rest while the other flew the next mission. Imagine yourself, flying from Iwo to Japan and back..some of these mission took over eight hours, and no autopilot, or stops at any gas stations or restaurants...

skyhawka4m · Nov 16, 2011

View attachment 52230

jankees · Nov 16, 2011

looks good, but are you sure about the serial?
I've got a pic that clearly reads 472557?
Also, the pic shows that the part of the rudder that protrudes in the tail (how do you call that?) was also green, same with the elevators.
They later added the simplified squadron badge to the nose art, so if you do the version with all the mission markings, you may want to add that one as well.
One final detail (if you allow me?) is that I have found only a single picture of this aircraft with the bomb-aiming stripes on the wings, taken rather late, so with the squadron badge. All earlier pics show no stripes on the wings, including some with the squadron badge, but without the stripes.

Bomber_12th · Nov 16, 2011

That part of the rudder is the rudder mass balance/weight, which is simply a big chunck of lead to balance the rudder/prevent flutter (the same for the elevators).

Tom, John, and Jan Kees, it has been awesome to see these new Iwo Jima schemes coming together! Some of the most colorful Mustangs of WWII, with some of the best Mustang nose art/names as well.

stovall · Nov 16, 2011

Skyhawka4m, I was hoping someone would do the green tail rendition. The name colors and complexity scared me off. Great to have both color schemes.

John, thanks for the info about the two pilots and two names. I have never heard that before and it completely makes sense. Not only did the guys have to make the long flight, they had to go into combat when they got there. A days rest doesn't seem like enough. These guys were really something.

Jan, anytime you can help this painter it is greatly appreciated. I had not seen the bomb aiming lines on my red tail version so I did not include them. Any other suggestions for the red tail version?

Thanks to all!!!

stovall · Nov 16, 2011

Jan I used the 472557 from a picture and found this source for Iwo Jima Mustangs. Hope it is accurate.

Below is an attempt to start identifying the P-51's that were based on Iwo Jima

Tail #	A/C #	Sqd	Cowling Name	Model	Probable Pilot
	50	45th		P-51D
463961	51	45th		P-51D
	52	45th	Miss Cordie	P-51D	Francis Ennis
	53	45th		P-51D
463314	54	45th		P-51D
	55	45th	Eleanor Ruth	P-51D
463465	56	45th		P-51D
	57	45th		P-51D
	58	45th		P-51D
	59	45th		P-51D
463428	60	45th		P-51D
473395	61	45th		P-51D
	62	45th		P-51D
	63	45th	Shadrach	P-51D
	64	45th		P-51D
	65	45th		P-51D
	66	45th		P-51D
463483	67	45th	Stinger VII	P-51D
463325	68	45th		P-51D
	69	45th		P-51D
	70	45th		P-51D
	71	45th		P-51D
	72	45th		P-51D
	73	45th		P-51D
	74	45th		P-51D
	75	45th	JIMMIE	P-51D	Donald H. Scott
	76	45th		P-51D
	77	45th		P-51D
	78	45th		P-51D
	79	45th		P-51D
	80	45th		P-51D
	81	45th		P-51D
	82	45th		P-51D
463928	83	45th		P-51D
	84	45th		P-51D
	85	45th		P-51D
463474	86	45th	Foxy	P-51D
	87	45th		P-51D
	88	45th		P-51D
	89	45th		P-51D
	90	45th		P-51D
	91	45th		P-51D
	92	45th		P-51D
	93	45th		P-51D
	94	45th		P-51D
	95	45th		P-51D
	96	45th		P-51D
	97	45th		P-51D
	98	45th		P-51D
	99	45th		P-51D
	100	78th	Jeanne VII	P-51D	Jim VanDeHey
463984	101	78th	Margaret IV	P-51D	Jim Tapp
	102	78th	Impatient Virgin	P-51D
	103	78th	Zombie	P-51D	Robert Ruby
472541	104	78th	Sweet Rosalee	P-51D
	105	78th	Miss Kay	P-51D	Tom McCulough
	106	78th		P-51D
	107	78th		P-51D	Charles Butler
	108	78th		P-51D	Richard Duerr
	109	78th	Pee Wee	P-51D	Lucian Parish
46350x	110	78th	Fog Cutter	P-51D	Ernie Hostetler
	111	78th	Muriel IV	P-51D	Phil Maher
463371	112	78th		P-51D	Charlie Heil
	113	78th		P-51D
	114	78th	Dear Edna	P-51D	Fred Bauman
	115	78th		P-51D	Fred White
	116	78th		P-51D	Richard Schroeppel
	117	78th	Dee Bee II	P-51D	D.B. Moore
463431	118	78th	Stinger	P-51D	Todd Moore
	119	78th		P-51D
	120	78th	Vivacious Viviam	P-51D	Vic Molan
	121	78th		P-51D	Robert Coryell
472857	122	78th	Muriel V	P-51D	Phil Maher/ Walt Kreiman
	123	78th		P-51D	Harold Collins
	124	78th	JIMMY	P-51D
463353	124	78th	Button II	P-51D	Doyle Brooks
	125	78th	Wee Lona Lee	P-51D	Leo Evans
	126	78th		P-51D	Robert Roseberry
	127	78th	Lovely Polly	P-51D	Nelson Merrill
	128	78th		P-51D
	129	78th		P-51D	Gordon Scott
	130	78th		P-51D	Donald Gautsche
	131	78th	Nina Lou II	P-51D	Arden Gibson
463456	132	78th		P-51D	Robert Carey
	133	78th		P-51D	Robert Carr
	134	78th	Dorrie R	P-51D	Jerry Yellin
463382	135	78th		P-51D	Albert Sherren
463441	136	78th	Gloria Beth	P-51D	Bob Beyl
	137	78th		P-51D	Paul Chism
	138	78th		P-51D
	139	78th		P-51D
	140	78th		P-51D
	141	78th		P-51D
	142	78th		P-51D
	143	78th		P-51D
	144	78th		P-51D
	145	78th		P-51D
	146	78th		P-51D
	147	78th		P-51D
	148	78th		P-51D
	149	78th		P-51D
463423	15	47th	Squirt	P-51D
463822	150	47th	Lil Butch	P-51D	Robert Down
	151	47th		P-51D
	152	47th		P-51D
463914	153	47th		P-51D
	154	47th		P-51D
	155	47th		P-51D
463355	156	47th		P-51D
463395	157	47th	Daisy Mae	P-51D
	158	47th		P-51D
463988	159	47th	Hamfat Hamilton	P-51D
	160	47th		P-51D
	161	47th		P-51D
	162	47th		P-51D
463464	163	47th		P-51D
	164	47th		P-51D
	165	47th	Appassionatta Van Climax	P-51D
	166	47th		P-51D
	167	47th		P-51D
	168	47th		P-51D
463403	169	47th		P-51D
	170	47th		P-51D
	171	47th		P-51D
	172	47th		P-51D
	173	47th	Cedric Cesspool	P-51D	Bjorsiths
	174	47th		P-51D
	175	47th		P-51D
463420	176	47th	Moonbeam McSwine	P-51D
	177	47th	Hattie Hawgmeat	P-51D
	178	47th		P-51D
	179	47th		P-51D
	180	47th		P-51D
	181	47th		P-51D
	182	47th		P-51D
	183	47th		P-51D
	184	47th		P-51D
463972	185	47th	Black Rufe	P-51D	Hayden Sparks
463375	186	47th		P-51D
	187	47th		P-51D
	188	47th		P-51D
	189	47th	Herkimer Hosschild	P-51D
	190	47th		P-51D
	191	47th		P-51D
	192	47th		P-51D
	193	47th		P-51D
	194	47th		P-51D
	195	47th		P-51D
	196	47th		P-51D
	197	47th		P-51D
	198	47th	Lil Abner	P-51D	John Fitzgerald
	199	47th		P-51D
46397x		47th		P-51D
463925		47th		P-51D
463727	200	46th		P-51D
472873	201	46th	Little Gook	P-51D
	202	46th		P-51D
472644	203	46th		P-51D
	204	46th		P-51D
463737	205	46th	PAT - RIOT	P-51D
	206	46th		P-51D
463990	207	46th		P-51D
463898	208	46th	abORTion	P-51D
	209	46th	City of SAN FRANCISCO	P-51D
463532	210	46th	Little Angel	P-51D
463383	210	46th	WHATS LEFT	P-51D
	211	46th	Okey Dokey	P-51D
	212	46th	Drip & Dick	P-51D
	213	46th		P-51D
	214	46th		P-51D
	215	46th		P-51D
	216	46th		P-51D
	217	46th		P-51D
	218	46th		P-51D
	219	46th		P-51D
	220	46th		P-51D
	221	46th		P-51D
	222	46th		P-51D
	223	46th		P-51D
	224	46th		P-51D
	225	46th		P-51D
	226	46th	The "Gator"	P-51D
	227	46th		P-51D
	228	46th		P-51D
	229	46th		P-51D
463289	230	46th		P-51D	Howard Kendall
	231	46th		P-51D
	232	46th		P-51D
	233	46th		P-51D
	234	46th		P-51D
463891	235	46th		P-51D
	236	46th		P-51D
	237	46th		P-51D
	238	46th		P-51D
	239	46th		P-51D
	240	46th		P-51D
	241	46th		P-51D
	242	46th		P-51D
	243	46th		P-51D
	244	46th		P-51D
	245	46th		P-51D
	246	46th		P-51D
	247	46th		P-51D
	248	46th		P-51D
	249	46th		P-51D
	250	72nd	Dede Lou	P-51D	Imig
	251	72nd		P-51D
463733	252	72nd	Honey Chile	P-51D	Jim VanNada
473365	253	72nd		P-51D
	254	72nd		P-51D
	255	72nd		P-51D
	256	72nd		P-51D
	257	72nd		P-51D
	258	72nd		P-51D
	259	72nd		P-51D
	260	72nd		P-51D
	261	72nd	East End Fireball	P-51D	Harry _
	262	72nd		P-51D
463367	263	72nd		P-51D
463981	264	72nd		P-51D
	265	72nd		P-51D
463615	266	72nd		P-51D
	267	72nd		P-51D
	268	72nd		P-51D
	269	72nd		P-51D
	270	72nd		P-51D
463929	271	72nd		P-51D
	272	72nd		P-51D
	273	72nd		P-51D
	274	72nd		P-51D
463346	275	72nd		P-51D
	276	72nd		P-51D
	277	72nd		P-51D
	278	72nd		P-51D
	279	72nd		P-51D
	280	72nd		P-51D
	281	72nd		P-51D
	282	72nd	Great Speckled Bird	P-51D
	283	72nd		P-51D
	284	72nd		P-51D
	285	72nd		P-51D
	286	72nd		P-51D
	287	72nd		P-51D
	288	72nd		P-51D
	289	72nd		P-51D
	290	72nd		P-51D
	291	72nd		P-51D
	292	72nd		P-51D
	293	72nd		P-51D
	294	72nd		P-51D
	295	72nd		P-51D
	296	72nd		P-51D
	297	72nd		P-51D
	298	72nd		P-51D
	299	72nd		P-51D
475623	300	531st	My Achin!	P-51D
	301	531st		P-51D
	302	531st		P-51D
	303	531st		P-51D
	304	531st		P-51D
	305	531st		P-51D
	306	531st		P-51D
4xx662	307	531st		P-51D
	308	531st		P-51D
	309	531st		P-51D
	310	531st		P-51D
	311	531st		P-51D
	312	531st		P-51D
	313	531st		P-51D
	314	531st		P-51D
	315	531st		P-51D
	316	531st		P-51D
	317	531st		P-51D
	318	531st		P-51D
	319	531st		P-51D
	320	531st		P-51D
	321	531st		P-51D
	322	531st		P-51D
	323	531st		P-51D
	324	531st		P-51D
	325	531st		P-51D
	326	531st		P-51D
463311	327	531st		P-51D
	328	531st		P-51D
	329	531st		P-51D
	330	531st		P-51D
	331	531st		P-51D
	332	531st		P-51D
	333	531st		P-51D
	334	531st		P-51D
	335	531st		P-51D
	336	531st		P-51D
	337	531st		P-51D
	338	531st		P-51D
	339	531st		P-51D
	340	531st		P-51D
	341	531st		P-51D
	342	531st		P-51D
	343	531st		P-51D
	344	531st		P-51D
	345	531st		P-51D
	346	531st		P-51D
	347	531st		P-51D
	348	531st		P-51D
	349	531st		P-51D
472615	500	457th		P-51D
	501	457th		P-51D
472599	502	457th		P-51D
	503	457th		P-51D
	504	457th		P-51D
	505	457th		P-51D
	506	457th		P-51D
	507	457th		P-51D
	508	457th		P-51D
	509	457th		P-51D
	510	457th		P-51D
	511	457th		P-51D
	512	457th		P-51D
	513	457th		P-51D
	514	457th		P-51D
	515	457th		P-51D
	516	457th		P-51D
	517	457th		P-51D
	518	457th		P-51D
	519	457th		P-51D
	520	457th		P-51D
	521	457th		P-51D
	522	457th		P-51D
	523	457th		P-51D
	524	457th		P-51D
	525	457th		P-51D
	526	457th		P-51D
472557	527	457th	HEL-ETER	P-51D
472871	528	457th	The Enchantress	P-51D
	529	457th		P-51D
	530	457th		P-51D
	531	457th		P-51D
	532	457th		P-51D
	533	457th		P-51D
	534	457th		P-51D
	535	457th		P-51D
	536	457th		P-51D
	537	457th		P-51D
	538	457th		P-51D
473379	539	457th	Lil Ole Meanie II	P-51D
472854	540	457th	KWITCHERBITCHIN	P-51D
472856	541	457th		P-51D	George Hetland
472570	542	457th		P-51D
	543	457th		P-51D
	544	457th		P-51D
	545	457th		P-51D
	546	457th		P-51D
	547	457th		P-51D
	548	457th		P-51D
	549	457th		P-51D
	550	458th		P-51D
	551	458th		P-51D
	552	458th		P-51D
	553	458th		P-51D
	554	458th		P-51D
	555	458th	My Darlin Betty Ann	P-51D
472558	556	458th	The Boll Weevil	P-51D	Bennett Commer
463909	557	458th		P-51D
	558	458th		P-51D
	559	458th		P-51D
	560	458th		P-51D
	561	458th		P-51D
	562	458th		P-51D
	563	458th		P-51D
	564	458th		P-51D
	565	458th		P-51D
	566	458th		P-51D
	567	458th		P-51D
	568	458th		P-51D
	569	458th		P-51D
	570	458th		P-51D
	571	458th		P-51D
	572	458th		P-51D
	573	458th		P-51D
	574	458th		P-51D
472602	575	458th	Juliall Fool Yer	P-51D
472612	576	458th	Little One	P-51D
473385	577	458th	Dear Gloria	P-51D	Richmond
	578	458th		P-51D
	579	458th		P-51D
	580	458th	Shirley III	P-51D	My Starin
	581	458th		P-51D
	582	458th		P-51D	Andy Anderstrom
	583	458th		P-51D
	584	458th		P-51D
	585	458th		P-51D
	586	458th		P-51D
	587	458th		P-51D
	588	458th		P-51D
	589	458th		P-51D
472606	590	458th	Little Que	P-51D
	591	458th		P-51D
	592	458th		P-51D
	593	458th		P-51D
	594	458th		P-51D
	595	458th		P-51D
	596	458th		P-51D
	597	458th		P-51D
	598	458th		P-51D
472870	599	458th	Anything Goes	P-51D	Ed Connor
	600	462nd		P-51D
	601	462nd		P-51D
	602	462nd	Meatball	P-51D
47256x	603	462nd		P-51D
463647	604	462nd		P-51D
	605	462nd		P-51D
	606	462nd		P-51D
	607	462nd		P-51D
	608	462nd		P-51D
	609	462nd		P-51D
	610	462nd		P-51D
	611	462nd		P-51D
	612	462nd		P-51D
	613	462nd		P-51D
	614	462nd		P-51D
	615	462nd		P-51D
	616	462nd		P-51D
	617	462nd		P-51D
	618	462nd		P-51D
	619	462nd		P-51D
	620	462nd		P-51D
	621	462nd		P-51D
	622	462nd		P-51D
	623	462nd		P-51D
	624	462nd		P-51D
	625	462nd		P-51D
	626	462nd		P-51D
	627	462nd		P-51D
472622	628	462nd		P-51D
	629	462nd		P-51D
	630	462nd		P-51D
	631	462nd		P-51D
	632	462nd		P-51D
	633	462nd		P-51D
	634	462nd		P-51D
	635	462nd		P-51D
	636	462nd		P-51D
	637	462nd		P-51D
	638	462nd		P-51D
	639	462nd		P-51D
472620	640	462nd	The Shawnee Princess	P-51D	Charles Seale
	641	462nd		P-51D
	642	462nd		P-51D
	643	462nd		P-51D
	644	462nd		P-51D
	645	462nd		P-51D
	646	462nd		P-51D
	647	462nd		P-51D
	648	462nd		P-51D
	649	462nd		P-51D

CP1207 · Nov 16, 2011

For anyone interested in talking to the real deal-
Bob Withee
P-51 pilot based at Ie Shima, 4 kills.
Really good article about him from a few days ago-

https://docs.google.com/a/mapsairmu...W5ld3MtYXJ0aWNhbHN8Z3g6NmI3YzFlZmZmNjhjNjM5Mw

Great guy. Flew Jean Ann and Jean Ann II. Volunteer tour guide at MAPS Museum in Canton, Ohio.
Wealth of info for anyone interested in talking to him. Met Dick Bong for starters...
Flew Australian P-40s and Spitfires.
I can't speak for him, but I think he would be interested in sharing what he knows.

Contact at http://mapsairmuseum.org/bob-withee-jean-ann-ii/#respond

Another Iwo Jima P-51D VLR

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