P-40M flown by Frank Leon Gaunt of the 44th Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group in the summer of 1943. Gaunt was a flight lead in the 44th and saw combat in the Solomon Islands and Siege of Rabaul Campaigns, credited with 8 confirmed kills. He earned a Silver Star for downing 3 Zeros on July 15, 1943. He would finish the war in Italy, joining the 325th FG in January 1945, but all his victories came in the Pacific.
Gaunt's P-40M was dubbed "The Twerp!" and features the name written in large bubble letters under the nose number and a cartoon figure dressed in a flight suit with a reddened nose and a toe protruding from one of his shoes. The white spinner and stripes which adorn the wings and fuselage were a IFF measure in the 5th Air Force, these were later supplemented with painting the tail white. The national insignia is still the simple blue roundel and white star.
