Curtiss H-81a (Tomahawk Mk. 1 / P-40B) flown by Charles Older of the AVG's 3rd Pursuit Squadron, "Hell's Angels". Older's aircraft is one of the best documented aircraft from the "Flying Tigers", with the best examples coming from a photo shoot of several 3rd PS aircraft in formation over China in 1942. That being said, I still discovered flaws in my original version of this skin, which I made in 2015. This is a complete redo to have a skin of higher quality and accuracy.
Charles Older joined the "Flying Tigers" after resigning his commission in the U.S. Marine Corps. He achieved 10.25 confirmed victories before the "Flying Tigers" was disestablished in July 1942. He returned to China in 1944 as part of the 23rd Fighter Group and added another 8 victories over the Japanese. After the war, Older earned a law degree and eventually became a Superior Judge in California - entering the national spotlight again in the 1970's when he presided over the murder trial of Charles Manson.
Older's P-40 featured full unit markings with a Flying Tiger and Hell's Angel painted on each side of the aircraft. The shark's mouth was originally painted with light blue in the upper mouth, but seems to have worn mostly away by June 42. My original skin had no blue in the mouth, but I elected to include it in this rendition, although I used full coverage as the 3D model struggles to handle detail in the area under the nose. Photos taken at an earlier point show this paint in a much more fresh state. Another unusual feature not included in my original was the fact that Older's plane had a single Chinese insignia on the upper wings, on the port side. This was in light blue, whereas the underside featured insignias on both wings in dark blue. Heavy fuel and oil staining is seen aft of the cockpit, I imagine the tanks can't handle inverted flight as this is commonly seen on all AVG P-40's - Older's plane heavier than most.
