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  • Please see the most recent updates in the "Where did the .com name go?" thread. Posts number 16 and 17.

    Post 16 Update

    Post 17 Warning

"Cripes A' Mighty, Then and Now" - Released! (Payware)

Drop Tanks

When fitting drop tanks to an aircraft like the Mustang, there are two sets of plumbing lines - one is for providing pressure to the tank, and the other is of course the feed from the fuel tank to the aircraft. On all early to mid production P-51D's, the two lines connected to the bottom of the wing in two different locations, rather spread out. However, on late production P-51D's, these two connections were postioned right next to each other, immediately in front of the bomb/drop tank shackle. As a result, the plumbing was different between the early and mid production examples, and that of the late examples (as most of the restored Mustangs today, are).

The drop tanks themselves were also marked up with placards and stencils just like the aircraft. Getting these markings and the finishes correct, for the era, is also something that is quite important to me. Early on, with grey and olive drab painted drop tanks, the warning placards on the drop tanks were white with red lettering, so as to see the placards very easily. However, when the tanks began to be left simply in natural aluminum, the placards were changed from light backgrounds with dark lettering, to dark backgrounds with light lettering, so as to improve the ease of seeing them - so at this point the main placards were now red with white lettering.

This first illustration, from one of the later-produced manuals of the war, shows three of the different plumbing configurations for the drop tanks. The very top illustration is what was used with 75-gal tanks on all of the early to mid production P-51D's, and as reproduced for the wartime "Cripes A' Mighty" in this product - a good amount of very careful pipe bending for those pressure lines!

drops.jpg


These next two photos show the type of markings/finishes on the 75-gal tanks from the era that "Cripes A' Mighty" saw action. The modern photo is of an example produced during this time period, which has never been restored.

pe-bbar.jpg


PICT0098.jpg


These two photos directly illustrate the difference between the plumbing for the tanks on the early to mid production P-51D's (as reproduced on the wartime "Cripes") and the plumbing used on the late production P-51D's (as reproduced on the restored "Cripes").

restored2.jpg


restored1.jpg
 
Thank you for posting that, John, I had completely forgotten about that excellent video!

General John C. Meyer, Commanding Officer, 352nd FG, wrote this about Preddy:

"I have yet to meet a man with such single-minded and dedicated purpose. With such intense desire to excel, not for himself, but for his squadron and for his country. Above all, always, for his country. His appearance and conduct on the ground belied his skill, tenacity, and fighting heart in the air, but his achievements confirmed them. George Preddy was the greatest fighter pilot who ever squinted through a gun sight. He was the complete fighter pilot."
 
Here is another item I have been meaning to share, for anyone who has an interest in George Preddy and/or American fighter escort opperations over Europe during WWII.

Major General W. E. Kepner, of the VIII Fighter Command, requested 24 pilots to put their thoughts into writing about how to best fight the enemy, and George Preddy was one of the 24 chosen. All of the written pieces were compiled together into a document that was called "The Long Reach: Deep Fighter Escort Tactics", issued on May 29, 1944.

These are the comments that George Preddy authored himself for the document (all original period wording retained):

"To begin with, it is an old story that the pilot who doesn't get across the Channel will not see any action. One of the big problems in this theatre is weather, and since a good 50% of our flying is done in instrument conditions, it is necessary that all pilots be proficient at instrument and close formation flying.

The formation used going through an overcast is as follows: In the flight, the number two man flies on the leader's left wing with three and four on the right. In the squadron the flights fly line astern stacked down. The whole outfit is in very close, and if each man flies a steady position, it is possible to take 16 or 20 ships through overcast. If visibility in the soup is very bad or turbulence exists, it becomes necessary to split the squadron into sections of two or more.

On the climb out, the flights and individual ships fly close formation, as this reduces throttle jockeying and saves gas. When we approach the enemy coast, everybody moves out into battle formation - line abreast and five or six ship lengths apart for individual ships and line abreast for each two flights. This is an easy formation to fly when flying straight course, and offers excellent cross cover.

When escorting several large boxes of bombers it is impossible to keep the group together, so squadrons and sections of squadrons are assigned to a particular section of the task force. We usually fly two flights of four airplanes each together. The flights fly line abreast to offer cross cover, but if the lead ship is turning a lot it is necessary to fall in string. Normally, the flight leaders and element leaders look for bounces with the wingmen on the defensive. This doesn't mean that leaders never look back or wingmen never look down. It is impossible to see everything, but each pilot must keep his head moving and look to find.

When a member of the flight sees something suspicious, he calls it in and the leader takes the section to investigate. When it is identified as enemy, we notice the number and formation and try to make a surprise. The first flight of four goes down and the second flight stays up for top cover. It is necessary to have this protection, as a decent bounce cannot be made when trying to protect your own tail. If only one flight is in the vicinity, the second element acts as top cover. If a surprise can be made on several enemy aircraft, all ships in the flight can pick one out and drive up behind and shoot them down. If the Hun sees you coming from above he usually starts diving and turning.

It is necessary for the wingman to stay with his leader, as the leader cannot follow the Hun through evasive action and do a good job of shooting unless the wingman is there to guard against attack by another enemy aircraft. Should the attacking flight or element get bounced, the wingman turns into the attack immediately and calls the leader.

When the leader is preparing to make a bounce, he should inform his squadron of his intentions. If a wingman sees an enemy airplane, which would get away if he doesn't act immediately, he goes down on the bounce calling in as he does so. In this case the leader becomes the wingman.

When being bounced, the first thing is always turn into the attack. The flight does not follow the leader into the turn, but each ship turns into the attackers.

If a pilot sees an enemy aircraft behind him in firing range he must take evasive action immediately. He slips and skids the ship as much as possible, giving the Hun maximum deflection. It is a good idea to turn in the direction of friendly airplanes so they can shoot or scare Jerry off your tail.

There will be times after a combat that you are down on the deck. If you are alone and can't find a friend to join with, the best thing to do is head for home, taking advantage of clouds for cover. If there are two or more they should climb back up providing they still have speed and gas. They should push everything to the firewall and keep the speed in the climb - the leader must do a lot of turning in order to keep the men behind him up. Each man must be on the lookout for a bounce and watch each other's tail. If there are only two or three of you, you should find friends and join them.

As a conclusion, in escorting bombers, it is a good idea to range out to the sides, front and rear, and hit enemy fighters before they can get to the bomber formation, but do not run off on a wild goose chase and leave the bombers unprotected.

In all groups, the policy as to who makes bounces and under what circumstances is arranged well beforehand and is thoroughly understood by all, in order to avoid indecision."
 
with the light blue, camo and invasion stripes, my guess would be P-51B 43-6958 HO-N, flown by Lt Sheldon N Heyer of the 487th FS.
 
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