P-51D Mustangs

[airdave]

I have my sources...some public, some private.
Internet search, search, search...often leads to something.

Who is the pilot?
Not all planes have serial numbers, they just weren't recorded properly.
Tail numbers on Mustangs were painted over in most cases.
I have a source for Mustang SPNs.
Usually accident reports give you the best info on a plane, but obviously the plane
had to go down or be lost in some manner. Many were just scrapped and info was
often not recorded.

I think P47s came in near the end of the war...?
P40s...then p51B/C...then P51D...and P47s

correction...
looks like the 99th was flying P40s when it was eventually inducted into the 332nd,
at which time they acquired P39s and some worn out P47s.
However, the 99th apparently never flew the P47 in combat.

Seems by the time they got more P47s, the 332nd was acquiring Mustang Bs, so
that what they used. And this was around July 44.

The D models started to appear around October 1944

[airdave]

When I get the P47 cockpit and wheel wells finished, I will be redrawing the Thunderbolt template
and have plans to put out at least one Tuskegee version.

[willygoat]

The pilot is Capt. Alfonza W Davis. His last unit was the M1055 of the 332nd in Ramitelli, Italy. His very last assignment which was short with the 477th composite group in Catollica. He took over as commanding officer of the 99th FS on Oct 4th, 1944.

He disappeared on a recon flight in a P-51D on October 29th, 1944.

His record shows he rotated around various fighter groups. Started with the 33rd, 324th, 33rd again, 99th, 79th, 324th again, and finally the 332nd.


You're right on the aircraft rotations. Started "combat" in the P-40, then P-47, P-39, and finally P-51.

[airdave]

I'm not an expert on this stuff, but I think you are confusing Fighter groups that some of these squadrons were attached to,
with the individual Fighter Squadrons,
and finally the 332nd Fighter group that the combined 99th, 100th, 301st and 302nd became.

Davis started out as one of the first trainees and ended up as squadron commander for the 302nd.

Serving as Squadron Commander of the 302nd, he probably flew a variety of aircraft
and possibly never named one as his own.
One photo shows him exiting a B model Mustang.

As a Squadron Commander he would have served wherever he was needed,
but being African American, he wouldn't have gone far.

He was commander of the 302nd when he scored his single kill (a Macchi).
But later he served as Squadron Commander of the 99th
He was declared lost in Oct '44 after flying a reconnaissance mission in a P51 (a D model I am guessing because of the date)

His name appears to be mispelled in various references as Alfonza and Alfonso (W Davis).

Unless we can find a photo of him in a specific plane, the only thing you can do is choose a non-earmarked, non-personalized aircraft
and assume he may have piloted it at least once.
Up to the acquisition of D model Mustangs, many aircraft were hand-me-downs from
other Fighter Squadrons and proper records were not maintained for those.

[willygoat]

Thanks Dave. I've only recently started digging into this so I probably do have many things mixed up. I had the opportunity to meet a couple of surviving airmen in Omaha a while back, and started looking into the local Tuskegee Airmen chapter. Plus, Omaha Public Schools named a new school after Davis. I'm kinda jealous. I like being a Wildcat, but being an Aviator would be sweet!

[airdave]

I'm going to retract my assumption that he was flying a D model when he went missing, because of it being a reconnaissance mission.
If it was photographic recon, I think theres probably a better chance he was in a B/C model.
Thats all I got.

Find me some info please! I am now fascinated by this man.
I'd love to do a model.

[willygoat]

As far as presumably accurate data, here's the site I've found useful on his service history.
TogetherWeServed - Capt Alfonza W. Davis

There's a nice article here:
Capt. Alfonza W. Davis scores aerial kill : News

Here's the link to the local Tuskegee chapter named after him. Some info here as well.
Nebraska Tuskegee Airmen

[airdave]

still haven't forgotten about Alphonza W Davis!
still not sure what plane to put him in.
articles suggest a later F51(K) photo...
but a recon mission doesn't necessarily mean a photo plane.
And if it was a F51(K), was it a red tail?

I think it would be nice to put him into a Thunderbolt.
....

more mustangs?....

with Nobi's recent releases of two Mustangs of the 55th and 357th,
I have a renewed interest in the painted Mustangs...
seems like a lot of others like the green topped Mustangs too.

I've done a lot of plain metal Mustangs, and I would like to do some more
green and mutlicoloured ones.

There are some nice Mustang paint jobs in the 357th,
that include B,C and D model P51s.

The 55th FG is known more for the P38, but did have some nice looking Mustang Ds in the last year of the war.

Are there any particular liveries that would interest?
Just thought I would ask before looking them up.
I don't know whether anyone wants a 1/33 full cockpit version
of Hurry Home Honey (364th/357th)?

...but I will most likely do the 343rd's Gunfighter.
It was actually one of the very first Mustang paint jobs I considered.
But because it was a D model, I put it aside.
I still have the reference folder from four years ago.
...and now that I have a D model template, I can do one.

So, if there is a B, C or D model Mustang of the 357th (and the 55th)
that you would like to see in paper model, please let me know.

As always, my Mustangs will be 1/33 scale, and with full cockpit and Landing gear.

[willygoat]

Originally Posted by airdave

still haven't forgotten about Alphonza W Davis!
still not sure what plane to put him in.
articles suggest a later F51(K) photo...
but a recon mission doesn't necessarily mean a photo plane.
And if it was a F51(K), was it a red tail?

I think it would be nice to put him into a Thunderbolt.
....

Yeah, I think he spent more time in the P-47 than the Mustang, so that would be fitting. I'm not sure if the Mustang he flew was an F51, but based on what I've found, it was a red tail. He was lost while flying lead for the 99th.

[airdave]

Mustang Spinners

I recently created an update/modification for the P-51D (bubble top) Mustang.
A new propellor Spinner...based on the Spitfire design.

The D-model spinner has always been a touchy subject.
Its a simplified design...only three actual parts (not including the joiner strips).

If you cut the parts carefully...assemble them cleanly and tightly...and do a little burnishing and shaping,
you can get a pretty good representation of a D-model spinner.

But with only three parts...to keep the assembly as simple as possible...its not a perfect shape.
Its stepped shape is a little awkward, and if you don't achieve good seams, its got a very "paper model" look.



When I updated the B/C model Mustangs, I updated the spinner by resizing the spinner from my Spitfire models.
And I liked the result.
It has a cleaner slope to the curving conical shape.



Recently someone had some trouble with a Mustang build,
and so I have decided to offer up the same modified Spitfire spinner for the D-model.

I have correctly resized the parts to fit the D-model Mustang kit, and created a single download sheet
of modified spinners in various paint schemes (to match most of my P-51D kits).

The reason I didn't add this spinner originally (to the P-51D kit) is because its a little harder to build.
There are four parts to the body of the Spinner - giving it a smoother transition of curved shape.
But thats one extra part to assemble...and it also means smaller parts.
Especially the tip disc.

But with a little care and patience, it goes together quite nicely.

Download the update sheet at www.papermodelshop.com
...you can find it in the EXTRAS section.