A huge thanks to Lyric1 and Waltz41 (
http://www.506thfightergroup.org/462ndfightersquadron.asp) for their research assistance. Both of these gentlemen could not have been more helpful putting up with my queries for more and more information.
Lt. Charles Frank Seale / Capt. Stanley C. Zagorsky
P-51D-20-NA "The Shawnee Princess" / "Empire Commuter" (640)
S/N 44-72620
506th FG, 462nd FS
Iwo Jima - July 1945
This is the P-51D-20-NA (s/n 44-72620) "The Shawnee Princess" / "Empire Commuter" flown by Lt. Charles Frank Seale and Capt. Stanley C. Zagorsky of the 506th FG, 462nd FS based on Iwo Jima in the Summer of 1945. The 506th was one of the Very-Long Range (VLR) Mustang Groups assigned to escort B-29s over Japan. The elements, weather, enemy opposition, mechanical irregularities, logistics, and vast expanses of open ocean were just some of the challenges faced by these fighter pilots. Though they did not have the opportunity to chalk up the victory totals of their European counterparts these brave young men established decisive air superiority over the Japanese home islands in the last months of the war.
This Mustang carried nose art on both sides: Captain Zagorsky named the plane “The Shawnee Princess” which appeared on the left while 1st Lt. Seale named it “Empire Commuter” which appeared on the right. Profiles depict the airplane with six kill flags but this is incorrect. Mission and victory marking spacers were pre-painted by this squadron, but as neither Zagorsky nor Seale were credited with any victories the six white markings on the top two rows remained blank.
Seale himself had a close call when he had to bail out near Chichi Jima on 13 July 1945 (some sources say this was in 44-72620 while others say it was a different aircraft). This island was the focus of James Bradley's book "FLYBOYS" about the execution and cannibalism of five of eight American POWs held there. It was here, in Sept. 1944, that [future U.S. President] Lt. (j.g.) George H. W. Bush bailed out of his TBM "Avenger" after being hit by anti-aircraft fire during a bombing mission where he was later rescued by a submarine.
Lt. Seale explained, "The guy in front of me (Lt. Marklin a new replacement pilot to our Squadron, it was his 1st mission) blew up and shrapnel went into my engine--I think it tore up my coolant line--I started overheating about twenty minutes later and had to go for a swim."
A second P-51 later bore the name "The Shawnee Princess" with the side number 618.
This is the third in my series of VLR Mustangs. The other two can be found here:
Pete Nowick's #599 of the 506th FG, 458th FS -
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,400576.0.htmlHarold Marx's "Tiny Gay Baba" #234 of the 21st FG, 46th FS -
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,400632.0.html
Sorry for the poor resolution on this one, but the screenshot was taken from pretty far away:
Offsite Gallery:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/mPzMTZS
