P-39Q flown by Peter A. McDermott of the 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in New Guinea during 1944. Originally built as a P-39Q-5-BE, this aircraft (Serial Number 42-19993) was outfitted with cameras in the field, making it a P-39Q-6-BE. I could not find any good pictures of the camera installations, so I did not add any to this skin.
McDermot named his planes "Brooklyn Bum" in reference to the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, of which he and his parents were fans. His personal art on the doors are of horseshoes and clovers (4-leaf on the left side and 3-leaf on the right) the right clover also has a pair of dice painted on (showing 5 on the left and presumably a 2 on the right to equal 7 - the right leaf is obstructed in the reference photo). 9 bomb mission marks are painted beneath the pilot's name on the left fuselage ahead of the door. The names of the crew chief, James W. O'Mara, and the armorer, John M. Conway, are painted ahead of the door on the right. The city name of Oswego, NY is painted on the right upper engine cover, probably as a reference to the crew chief's hometown. White theater markings cover the tail and leading section of the wings. The squadron color of yellow is on the spinner.
McDermott would say after the war, "The Airacobra served me well, and the nose art was a good-luck charm as I completed 134 combat missions without a scratch. Not bad for a bum from Brooklyn."
42-19993 was abandoned at Tadji Airfield, New Guinea in late 1944 where it stayed until 1974 when it was salvaged for restoration. It first appeared as a static display at the Australian Aerospace Museum from 1982-1988. It was later sold to and between various owners in the U.S. until it was bought by The Fighter Collection in 1994 and restored to flying condition. 42-19993 returned to the sky in 2004 with test flights at Chino airport, California. It was then shipped to the Duxford museum and airfield in the U.K. where it remains to this day - still wearing the colors of McDermott's "Brooklyn Bum 2nd" (albeit with marking errors).
