Capt. Eurich L. Bright
P-51D-20-NA "Moonbeam McSwine" (176)
S/N 44-63420
15th FG, 47th FS
Iwo Jima - May 1945
Waltz41 (
http://www.506thfightergroup.org/462ndfightersquadron.asp) suggested I tackle this one. A huge thanks to him and Lyric1 for their research assistance. Both of them were invaluable in providing photos and background on this airplane.
This is the P-51D-20-NA (s/n 44-63420) "Moonbeam McSwine" flown by Capt. Eurich L. Bright of the 15th FG, 47th FS based on Iwo Jima in the Summer of 1945. The 15th was one of the Very-Long Range (VLR) Mustang Groups assigned to escort B-29s over Japan which were referred to colloquially as "Empire Missions." Bright was a skilled fighter pilot who would doubtless have made ace had the war continued. He had three kills (Ki-61, Ki-45, A6M5) on the first VLR mission over Japan on 07 April 1945 and shared another Zero on 25 May 1945 with George Petrouleas bringing his total to 3.5 victories. He survived the war and passed away in 1966. As for his Mustang, it was damaged on 09 August 1945 in a landing accident while being flown by 1st Lt. Martin Gilbride.
The 47th was credited with seven victories during the 07 December 1941 Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Three and a half years later they arrived on Iwo Jima to take the battle to Japan itself. They were known as the "Dogpatchers" from the comic strip "Lil' Abner" and used all its characters for their nose art. 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.
Some sources suggest the black is actually dark blue. I have no conclusive evidence either way.
This is the sixth in my series of VLR Mustangs. The other five can be found here:
* Pete Nowick's #599 of the 506th FG, 458th FS
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,400576.0.html* Harold Marx's "Tiny Gay Baba" #234 of the 21st FG, 46th FS
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,400632.0.html* Capt. Stanley C. Zagorsky's / Lt. Charles Frank Seale's "Shawnee Princess" / "Empire Commuter" #640 of the 506th FG, 462nd FS
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,400847.0.html* Lt. Charles G. Pfost's "The Deacon #300 of the 21st FG, 531st FS
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,401118.0.html* Maj. Robert W. Moore's "Stinger VII" #67 of the 15th FG, 45th FS
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,401293.0.html
