P-40M (Allowed on our N) flown by Geoffrey Fisken of 14 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force in late 1943.
Fisken became an ace pilot at the outset of the war flying the Brewster Buffalo over Singapore, downing at least 6 Japanese planes. He suffered wounds from a 20mm cannon shell in a dogfight with a Zero and was evacuated back to New Zealand just days before Singapore fell.
After recovering from his injuries - mostly, Fisken was posted to 14 Sqd RNZAF with P-40's. In June 1943, they were deployed to the Solomon Islands, using bases on Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal. From there they conducted missions along side of the USAAF and US Navy against Japanese held Bougainville and New Georgia. Fisken would claim four Zeros and a Betty by July 4th, but these were his last victories. Troubles from his previous injuries reduced his flying time and he was eventually medically discharged from the RNZAF in December 1943. His official victory tally stood at 11 - enough to be the highest scoring pilot against the Japanese across all air forces in the British Commonwealth.
This skin represents Fisken's personal mount, "Wairarapa Wildcat" named for a region on the northern island of New Zealand, near where Fisken hailed from. It features a ferocious cat painted on both sides of the cowling along with the aircraft's number. On the port side of the cowling are 11 flags denoting the 11 official kills to his credit and the inscription, "Wairarapa Wildcat". White stripes on the wings, tail, and fuselage were IFF markings for Solomon based aircraft under the 13th Air Force - of which 14 Sqd RNZAF was attached to. Camouflage is the standard OD green over Neutral Gray. Reference photos show the underside of the port aileron in a lighter color than the gray with patches of a color the same tone as the gray. To me this suggests that it was replaced with one from one of the squadron's P-40K's which were painted in Earth Brown and Foliage Green over Duck Egg Blue.
