Arkansas Traveller

[Greebo]

I've not recently acquired a checker fetish, this skin was a request from LNG15.

This P-47D was the aircraft of Captain Dewey E. Newhart of the 350th Fighter Squadron during the first half of 1944. He named it "Mud n' Mules" and had the front and rear of a mule painted on either side of the cowling. When Newhart was shot down and killed over France in a different Thunderbolt by Bf109s on 12th June this aircraft was then assigned to Captain Lonnie M. Davis and its squadron code was changed from "LH-D" to "LH-Q". Captain Davis renamed the aircraft "Arkansas Traveller" but kept the original nose art depicting the front half of a mule that was painted on the LH cowling as a tribute to its formed pilot.

[RichardDarkwood]

Love it!

[whiteman]

Great looking P47 and love the checkers at that diamond angle. Funny enough I was looking into a F4U-1 with same name.

[oboe]

Superb.  Your shading and grime on P-47s is absolutely fantastic.

[Nefarious]

I have a thing for black and gold. Amazing skin.

So did they just put a white circle over the rear end of the nose art?

[Greebo]

I'm not entirely sure what the story of the white circle on the RH cowl is, prior to the transfer there was indeed the rear half of the mule painted there. The photo (linked here) was taken shortly after the plane was allocated to Capt. Davis in mid-June as full D day stripes were discontinued at the beginning of July. So its likely the ground crew were still in the process of painting some new art onto it, either something personal to Davis or maybe the squadron logo.

There's also a P-38J called "Arkansas Traveler" that I believe has already been skinned, so it seems likely there was some significance to this name that I am not aware of. Anyone able to shed some light on its origins?

[oboe]

I'm not entirely sure what the story of the white circle on the RH cowl is, prior to the transfer there was indeed the rear half of the mule painted there. The photo (linked here) was taken shortly after the plane was allocated to Capt. Davis in mid-June as full D day stripes were discontinued at the beginning of July. So its likely the ground crew were still in the process of painting some new art onto it, either something personal to Davis or maybe the squadron logo.

There's also a P-38J called "Arkansas Traveler" that I believe has already been skinned, so it seems likely there was some significance to this name that I am not aware of. Anyone able to shed some light on its origins?

HI Greebo,
RE: the P-38 "Arkansas Traveler", I can't find any submission/display thread for a new skin.  I think it would be an ETO P-38J, and I don't recall it being in game prior to the new '38 3D model.   AFAIK  you're the only skinner so far who has submitted skins for the new P-38 models.   

 

Here's a bit of historical background on the term "Arkansas Traveler":

https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/arkansas-traveler-505/

[lyric1]

 

[whiteman]

I'm not entirely sure what the story of the white circle on the RH cowl is, prior to the transfer there was indeed the rear half of the mule painted there. The photo (linked here) was taken shortly after the plane was allocated to Capt. Davis in mid-June as full D day stripes were discontinued at the beginning of July. So its likely the ground crew were still in the process of painting some new art onto it, either something personal to Davis or maybe the squadron logo.

There's also a P-38J called "Arkansas Traveler" that I believe has already been skinned, so it seems likely there was some significance to this name that I am not aware of. Anyone able to shed some light on its origins?

From what I gathered its a song and a famous painting from the mid 1800's, something of pride to those from the sate of Arkansas. I'd say its a given the pilots were from there.

https://www.historicarkansas.org/Exhibits/Arkansas-Traveler/arkansas-traveler

[Devil 505]

Excellent job.

[Greebo]

Thanks Whiteman, I figured it would be something like that.

Sorry I wasn't clear Oboe, I meant to say that I thought "Arkansas Traveler" had been skinned on the old P-38J 3D model. As it turns out though I was wrong, I've just been through my old P-38 skins/skinner list and you are right, no one has skinned it before.

[LNG15]

Amazing Greebo. And its so ironic that I have a Johnny Lightning D-Day TBolt which was based on the real aircraft.