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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

Mustang III/IV of W/Cdr Werner Christie

JensOle

JensOle

SOH-CM-2023
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Norwegian ace and Wing Commander Werner Christie was one of very few Norwegians to fly Mustangs during World War 2. Christie was credited with 11 enemy aircraft shot down.<o:p></o:p>
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He started on the Mustang III as Squadron leader of No 234 Sqn in late 1944, flying FB344 “AZ-A” as his personal aircraft.<o:p></o:p>
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In early 1945 he was promoted to Wing Commander of the Hunsdon Wing flying Mustang IVs on long range bomber escort missions. As W/Cdr he flew Mustang IV KH790 specially painted with his initials (WHC) and a red spinner to make his aircraft easier to recognise for the rest of the wing during dogfights.<o:p></o:p>
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Both paints are work in progress for the Warbirdsim P-51B/D<o:p></o:p>
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Awesome work, JensOle, your Norweigan Spitfires were also very nice and I appreciate the historic information regarding the paints =)
 
Thanks!

And I have not forgot your Dutch spit Huub, it is still in the making. I just wish I had more pictures of 322 sqn Spits
 
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Beside Lt. Col Werner H Christie another Norwegian ace which flew the Mustang in RAF service was Major Arne Austeen. <o:p></o:p>
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Austeen, a pre war pilot in the army air force, escaped from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region></st1:place> in 1941 to continue the fight against the Germans. After flying Spitfires in both No 64 and 611 Squadrons, he was promoted to Squadron commander of the Norwegian 331 squadron in september 1943. He led the squadron until the spring of 44, when he was sent on a posting to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placeName w:st="on">Central</st1:placeName> <st1:placeName w:st="on">Gunnery</st1:placeName> <st1:placeType w:st="on">School</st1:placeType></st1:place> as chief instructor. Later in 1944 Austeen was awarded the DFC.<o:p></o:p>
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In February 1945 he was back in operational flying, this time as Squadron leader for the RAF No. 126 Squadron, flying Mustang III as part of the Bentwater Wing. Austeen often flew Mustang III ”KH570” coded 5J-X with yellow spinner. <o:p></o:p>
Among many escort mission Austeen flew, one particular was the daylight <st1:City w:st="on">Lancaster</st1:City> raid on 25 April against <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Berchtesgaden</st1:City></st1:place> and Hitlers ”Eagles Nest”. On this occasion Arnsteen lead the entire Bentwater Wing.<o:p></o:p>
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Sadly, Arne Austeen was never to enjoy the coming peace, on the 4<SUP>th</SUP> of May 1945 he lead a sweep to Northern Germany and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Denmark</st1:country-region></st1:place> looking for enemy shipping. In the Flensburgerfjord several German uboats were spotted. As always, Austeen was leading from the front and he dived first in at U-155. At low altitude his Mustang was hit by FLAK and exploded, killing him. <o:p></o:p>
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JensOle said:
Thanks!

And I have not forgot your Dutch spit Huub, it is still in the making. I just wish I had more pictures of 322 sqn Spits
Click to expand...

Nice repaint!

What 322 Sqn Spitfires/timeframe are you looking for? I can then see if I can help out.

Cheers

Paul
 
Thanks!

Any pictures showing 322 sqn Spitfire IX's are of interest (particular pics showing sqn codes and special dutch markings).
 
The post war schemes have already been covered to some degree (and the period has plenty of pictures), I'm looking for pics of IX's during the war when it was under RAF command. Interesting shot of 3W-K, the serial number has been overpainted.
 
Thanks Jens-Ole,

The picture from the 3W-K posted by Paul shows the aircraft most likely during the process of being re-painted. Normally the 'Dutch' Spitfires in the RAF had a black outlined orange triangle on the fuselage or tank cover. I would appreciate it if you could do a repaint from aircraft below.

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Sorry for the poor quality, but it is the best I have. With some imagination you can see the orange triangle under the windscreen and the rank marking in the engine cover. Normally the triangles were applied on both sides. I'm not convinced this was done with the rank marking as well. HRH Prince Bernard is sitting in a different aircraft, but I have added this picture to show the orange triangle.

The pictures were taken at Deanland on 26th September 1944, during a visit from HRH Princess Juliana, who became queen of the Netherlands in 1948. The partially hidden registation number is 3W-B and the aircraft number MK265. The profile below shows the aircraft without roundels on the bottom of the wing, but I think this is an error from the drawer.

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Cheers,
Huub
 
Just to add to the variety - 3W-J and 3W-H (I think?)

Also, interestingly, as I have just read - "322 Sqn retained the code combination VL which had been used previously by 167 Sqn until late 1944 or early 1945 when it was changed to 3W".
 
paulb said:
Just to add to the variety - 3W-J and 3W-H (I think?)

Also, interestingly, as I have just read - "322 Sqn retained the code combination VL which had been used previously by 167 Sqn until late 1944 or early 1945 when it was changed to 3W".
Click to expand...

According RAF-web the the VL code was taken over by 322 squadron from 167 squadron. In fact most pilots from 167 sqn went over to 322 sqn. In October 1944 the squadron code was officially changed into 3W. However the pictures posted in the post above are definitely taken on 26th September 1944 as the Princess is on them. During the war she stayed in Canada with her children and she came over to England for this event.
So the picture delivers proof that the new code '3W' was actually already used before the official date!

Like the pictures posted by Paul show, the Dutch flew the Mk.IV with clipped wings and had the individual aircraft code letter painted in with white at the bottom of the nose.

Sorry to hijack your thread Jens-Ole, you deserved more credits for your beautiful repaint.

Huub
 
Hi Huub

I am only now reading a bit about 322 Sqn. From what I can gather, it was based at Deanland from 21 July 44 to 10 Oct 44. Apparently, the unit moved there for 'anti-diver' activities (ie vs the V-1).

Hi Jens-Ole - apologies from me too for hijacking your thread, but I know that you enjoy the history of any aircraft that you paint. BTW, that Warbirdsim P-51D looks a tempting purchase.
 
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