1/32 Witold Urbanowicz's P-40M Warhawk, 75th FS(23rd FG)

[Zenon1947]

Today I'd like to show you my third P-40 model of Zarkov's kit. It's a repainted version; my grandson, Kacper(PacificWind) did the recoloring as I always wanted to build a Polish fighter ace Witold Urbanowicz's Warhawk.

Now, a little bit of history:

In September 1943 Urbanowicz joined the USAAF 14th Air Force on attachment in China. On 23rd October he joined the 75th Fighter Squadron of the 23rd Fighter Group ("Flying Tigers"). Flying a P-40 Warhawk he took part in several combat missions. On 11th December he fought against six Japanese Mitsubishi Zeros and claimed two shot down (these were actually Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo" fighters of the 85th Sentai).

According to his reports, he also shot down other airplanes over China, and destroyed some on the ground, but those victories were not officially confirmed. According to Kenneth K. Koskodian, he downed 11 Japanese aircraft while being Claire Lee Chennault's guest. He was later awarded the US Air Medal and a Chinese Flying Cross.

During the war none of Witold Urbanowicz's planes were hit by a single enemy bullet.

[Witold Urbanowicz - Wikipedia , 22nd October 2021]

Here are also links to my previous Zarkov's P-40s(one is original, the other one is my grandson's repaint):
1/32 Curtiss P-40M Warhawk
1/32 Kittyhawk Mk.III ("Lady Godiva") No. 5 Squadron SAAF, Italy, 1945

[Don Boose]

A great model of a historic aircraft, Zenon!

Always glad to see a CBI airplane.

In case you missed my thread on the topic: The Army Heritage Center Foundation recently presented a CBI-related webinar. "Fallen Tigers: The Fate of America's Missing Airmen in China during World War II. Historian Daniel Jackson, himself a combat-tested pilot, sheds light on the stories of downed aviators who attempted to evade capture by the Japanese in their bid to return to Allied territory. In gripping detail, he reveals that the heroism of these airmen was equaled, and often exceeded, by the Chinese soldiers and civilians who risked their lives to return them safely to American hands."

You can view the webinar here: Fallen Tigers: The Fate of America's Missing Airmen in China during World War II with Dan Jackson - YouTube

Don

[rifleman]

great build zenon agota love the p40 well done

[Butelczynski]

Very nice model Zenon and great work with recolor by Kacper. I agree on Zarkov model.He did really good job with this and many other models. Very well fitting models.

I have some were here memoirs by Mr Urbanowicz on his times in China. I got that book as soon as it showed up in Polish bookstore in Mississauga. good read.

[deki]

Very good work and very nice model.

[MacSongLi]

Amazing work Zenon. A very nice looking aircraft.

Don - Thanks for the link. A great presentation.

Gary

[Tom Lapinski]

Great looking build!

[Cybermac]

Nice looking repaint and a lovely model!

Congratultions Zenon & PacificWind!

Happy to see you managed to passyour hobby onto your grandson:-)

Cybermac

[Zenon1947]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments.
I have one more Zarkov's P-40 left. RAAF Kittyhawk Mk.III. It's also a repaint done by my grandson.