Wow, Bingo, this is some great info. I will have to appeal to Skuzzy as to what should be done.
We basically have a 528th FS airplane in 530th FS markings. Is the squadron number more important than the paint in terms of deciding accuracy for what skin to use? I will explain...
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A second volume of the Aircam series, No. 5, covered the P-51B/C and added to the confusion with the first publication of a picture of P-51C No. 1078, s/n 42-103896, named “Princess.” Nearly every modeler knows this plane, as it has been portrayed time and time again in books, on decal sheets and even on box art. And the accompanying information about the plane has always been wrong. I believe this photo led Kenn C. Rust and Steve Muth to misstate the 311th markings in their otherwise sterling Fourteenth Air Force Story, published in 1977. Further, Princess was not 530th ace Les Arasmith’s plane (he flew No. 1079, “Penny”), as was indicated on Microscale decal sheet No. 48-138.
In fact, it wasn’t a 530th plane at all when the pivotal photo was taken. At that time (summer of 1945) it was a former 530th aircraft, reassigned to the 528th and carrying the 528th tail markings while retaining its 530th fuselage number. A notation on a photo I obtained from a 311th veteran, via Spokane researcher and IPMS member Dwayne Tabatt, clearly states that the pilot of “Princess” when the aerial photos of it were taken was Capt. Bob Diers, commanding officer of the 528th at the end of the war.
No wonder everyone got confused. Bill Bosworth at Accurate Miniatures got it wrong on the decal sheet and box art of his excellent 1/48th scale P-51C kit. (For the record, “Princess” never carried five kill flags, as shown in the kit.) Most recently, John Stanaway tripped over the 311th tail markings issue in his Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No. 26, Mustang and Thunder- bolt Aces of the Pacific and CBI, which just came out last year. Even Dana Bell’s terrific Air Force Colors Vol. 3, reversed the 528th and 530th tail markings.
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So, I can either do Princess and change the skin info to reflect the squadron assigned or keep the squadron as-is and skin Penny instead.
If the plane wears 530th paint but is a 528th airplane that’s an interesting historical anomaly, but it does a disservice to both squadrons in a way.
Do we have photos of Penny (did I miss them)?
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