Lt. Hjalmar Johnsen - P-51D "The Brat III" (9D*J) - 370th FG, 401st FS

[Vraciu]

Thanks to Lyric1 for his outstanding sleuthing on this one...


Lt. Hjalmar Johnsen
P-51D-20-NA "The Brat III" (9D*J)
S/N 44-72339
370th FG, 401st FS
RAF East Wretham, England, March - May 1945

This P-51D-20-NA s/n 44-72339 named "The Brat III" and coded 9D*J was assigned to Lt. Hjalmar Johnsen of the 370th FG, 401st FS operating out of RAF East Wretham (Station 133), England.   

After graduation from flight school in July 1943 he was assigned to this squadron and trained in P-47s for deployment to Europe.   Upon arrival in Andover England the 370th transitioned to P-38s in preparation for the Normandy invasion. Hjalmar flew more than 64 ground support combat missions, most of which were in a Lightning named "The Brat". On October 4, 1944 while on a bombing mission “The Brat” was hit by ground fire. Johnsen bailed out over Belgium sustaining a broken leg and was picked up by Americans near the front lines. In March 1945 the 401st received P-51s which they flew until the end of the war.

Johnsen returned home and married Rita Mederle. They had two children Jal and Lynn. He retired after a 30-year career with United Parcel Service and passed away on March 12, 1999.   His decorations include the Purple Heart and the Air Medal with 10 clusters.

Johnsen’s Mustang was sold in June 1947 to the Swedish Air Force and served as Flygyapnet (FV) Serial No. 26115 based at F-4, Ostersund. Between 1952-53 it was sold to the Dominican Republic and served as Fuerza Aerea Dominica Serial No. 1918 until 1984 when it was retired from active service.   Eventually acquired by the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas it was flown for many years as Donald Blakeslee's WD*C.  During subsequent restoration the aircraft's combat history was discovered and it was completed in its World War II markings.   It remains in flyable condition and is displayed regularly at airshows.

It has been modeled here with an olive drab anti-glare panel in accordance with wartime photos of the airplane prior to VE-Day.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/cCNNqJB

[lyric1]

 

[Greebo]

Great skin and an interesting story, thanks Vraciu.

[Shuffler]

Looks like an actual photograph of it sitting on the tarmac. Well done.

[oboe]

Looks great.  That yellow looks right on to me, difficult to do with the game's lighting.

Where do you guys find such detailed stories about pilots?  LOL, my sources are generally much more tight-lipped, divulging only name and rank of the pilot and aircraft tail code and squadron assignment.

[Devil 505]

very nice.

[Vraciu]

Thank you everyone.   (I always notice stuff to fix when I sleep on it.)

Oboe, I just do a lot of searching using variations of the pilot’s name, squadron, and group along with airplane type.   Occasionally I hit pay dirt.   I also have decades of being around warbirds so sometimes I know a little inside baseball.    Then there is always Lyric1.  His internet searches make mine look amateurish.

[LCADolby]

As a former bare metal Fabricator+Fettler I'm always impressed by the progress being made in the metal look by skinners 

[perdue3]

As a former bare metal Fabricator+Fettler I'm always impressed by the progress being made in the metal look by skinners 

True, the metal on Vraciu's skins are very, very good.

[Vraciu]

Thanks, guys.   


Learning as I go.  Baby steps...

[Vraciu]

At the risk of highlighting a deficiency...

Would this airplane have had fabric or metal elevators?   I believe the production line switched over to the latter with the P-51D-25-NA but many older airplanes were retrofitted in the field.   

[FTJR]

Great skin V,  really nice.

[Vraciu]

Thank you, sir. 

[Hajo]

Just Outstanding.  What I appreciate also is the history that comes along with the aircraft.

[Shuffler]

Yup... the history on the birds are great.