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new model, new paints:

Hi Jan,

Thanks very much for taking time out from your holiday to do this paint.

(If people are interested, I posted on the A2A website asking for someone to do a paint, hoping Jan would rise to the challenge!) Link: http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=93&t=30191&start=90 near the bottom. You will see why I wanted this particular aircraft.... :-)

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next one in the painting shed (still wip):

2012-7-20_10-2-24-20.jpg

2012-7-20_10-5-13-830.jpg

2012-7-20_10-5-55-153.jpg

and some background:

P-51D-5-NA 44-13557 in the colors of 5E-E "Easy Does It" as flown by Lt Richard 'Spider' Smith of the 1st Scouting Force, 8th AF. Lt. Smith was a B-17 plot with the 303rd BG and had completed his tour of 35 missions in october 1944 when he was made an offer he could not refuse. As all pilots, he had been dreaming of flying a fighter and was disappointed when he was assigned to the bombers. He now was asked to join the newly formed scouting force, which used experienced bomber pilots to scout ahead of the bomber force flying Mustangs. After 6 hours in a T-6 and 10 hours in a P-51, 'Spider' (so called because of his physique, tall, with long thin limbs) flew his first missio in a P-51 on 6 december 1944 in an old 364th FG P-51D-5, which he named 'Easy Does It' after it's callsign E. The name 'Betty' on the canopy rail referred to his future wife back in the US, but also to a nurse he was dating in the UK. On his 26th mission, on 1 april 1945, flying lead to Leipzig, his engine caught fire on the return flight, and he had to bail out over Belgium. He broke his arm when he hit the tail on bailing out, but otherwise landed safely. He was sent home to the US and came back just before his 21st birthday, having flown 60 missions. HIs story can be read here: http://www.rccr1957.com/spider.pdf.

He did not crash with this aircraft though, this was damaged during a ground collision in the winter of 1944-45, was repaired and was now flying with the 487th FS/352nd FG as Maj. 'Wild Bill' Halton's 'Slender, Tender and Tall', where it finished the war.

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Here is a drastically 'enhanced' shot of three of Jankees' repaints. All of the aircraft served with the 505th squadron, 339th group, at Fowlmere. They are posed here at an air show at modern-day Duxford. I have one of the camshaft pedestals from the Merlin engine of Elizabeth Jane on my desk as I type this.

Thanks to my friends Rich and Paul for posing for the photo shoot.

505thTrio.jpg

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P-51D-10-NA 44-14377 as flown by Captain Ray S. Wetmore, of the 370th FS/ 359th FG. Born in Kerman, California, Ray Shuey Wetmore enlisted in the Army in November 1941 at age 18 and entered pilot training eight months later. Upon commissioning in March 1943 he joined the new 359th Fighter Group which was sent to England in October that year. Flying with the 370th Fighter Squadron, in February and March 1944 Wetmore scored his first 4.25 victories flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. Upon conversion to P-51 Mustangs the group ranged farther afield and Wetmore became a 20-year-old ace with a double victory on May 19, downing two Me-109s. At month's end his tally was 8.25. At year's end he was a captain with nearly 15 kills, flying several Mustangs named Daddy's Girl.

Upon return from leave in the U.S., then-Captain Wetmore scored steadily from November 1944 to January 1945. In that period he downed 12 more enemy fighters including 4.5 FW-190s on January 14. His final victory was a rocket-powered Me-163 on March 15. His final score was 21.25 destroyed and one damaged in aerial combat, highest score in the 359th Fighter Group and eighth best of all Americans in the European Theater. On VE-Day he was a 21-year-old major.

He flew 44-14377 between 2 november 1944 and 10 march 1945, when it was damged by Flak near remagen. He scored nine victories with this aircraft, making it his most succesful mount.

ss261.jpg

ss264.jpg

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