A Mustang and a Half Test title Test title Test title Test title Test title Test title Test title Test title Test title Test title Test title Test tit

[Kallisti]

Looking at the photo again closely what it looks to me is that the orange has been painted AROUND existing roundels and codes, which is why they look like they have a white outline... and the colours just look faded rather than non-standard colours.

[Jim Starling]

Hi Jim,

I'm still very sceptical about this flight. I can see Patton being daft enough, but Ike?

p.s. you don't have to leave everything in when you make a quotation. Just leave the bits you want people to have to read twice. Just leave the bits you want people to have to read twice.

Don, here's a bit more from the National Eisenhower Museum: " On the 4th of July General Eisenhower made a quick half-hour aerial tour of the Normandy battlefront, riding in the back seat of a specially altered P-51 flown by Major General “Pete” Quesada (9th Air Force commander), who was the youngest general in the ETO. Ike actually flew over enemy held positions for a brief time that day."

I'm sorryI don't remember the book where I first read about this incident. But I do remember it was a 9th Air Force pilot's memoir as he flew escort for the flight. I'll eventually come with more.

[Jim Starling]

Here's more on Ike:

"THE STARS LOOK DOWN", 355th FS, P-51B Mustang so named after the July 4th, 1944 flight. It was an OD over light gray P-51B. I don't have the squadron codes or tail number yet.

Her's the book I read it in: Big Friend, Little Friend: Memoirs of a World War II Fighter Pilot; Richard E. Turner, 356th FS.

And here's an excerpt:

For the next three days I flew no missions, letting my fight leaders take over the lead while I cleared up ever present organizational problems of the squadron on the ground. On the afternoon of July 3, I was summoned to Group Headquarters where the Group Commander, Colonel Bickell, informed me that on the Fourth of July, General Elwood R. Quesada would arrive with the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied invasion forces, General Dwight D. Eisenhower. They would fly a personal reconnaissance of the Saint-Lo area in the twin-seated Mustang. The craft mentioned was an old war-weary fighter we had modified by removing the fuselage fuel tank from behind the pilot, putting in its place a second seat. We used this plane occasionally to demonstrate tactics to new pilots, and to give rides to our crew chiefs. Colonel Bickell informed me that he had chosen my squadron to provide the other three aircraft and pilots for protective escort to the two generals during their flight over the area. I was extremely proud to have my squadron chosen to accompany such important personnel, though I must admit, the grave responsibility made me a little nervous.

I hurried back to set up the mission for the next day with engineering and operations. Together with my engineering officer Lieutenant Bernard Ginsberg, his line chief, Master Sergeant Josiah Belden and my operations officer, Captain Verlin Chambers, I selected my aircraft and crews. I selected the pilots from my senior flight commanders. General Quesada would lead the flight, with a flight commander who had flown over fifty missions on his wing and I would lead the second element with another flight commander on my wing. The three accompanying pilots would have a cumulative experience of some 175 missions and forty aerial victories. Saint-Lo and the front lines were no more than twelve miles from the strip so the mission shouldn't last more than about half-an-hour. There would be other Group aircraft deployed on routine missions nearby who would be briefed to converge on the recon flight if unforeseen enemy aircraft activity developed in the area. The plan was to carry out the flight under the guise of a routine patrol flight and to have nothing said over the RT that would give the slightest indication this was a special flight or that important personnel were involved. If anything happened to that old war-weary Mustang and its important passengers, the Allied troops would be dealt a crippling psychological blow. Needless to say I slept fit-fully that night.

The next morning as I looked over the twin-seater, I couldn't help but wonder if General Eisenhower would know that when he climbed into the back seat he would virtually be trapped there until landing when the crew chief could unfasten the closures. It would have been a near impossibility to get out of that rear seat in the air. I myself wouldn't have ridden in the back seat of that monster for all the tea in China. The other planes I had chosen were ready, but Sergeant Belden asked me if I would use a brand-new P-51D that his boys had been working on all night. While I was reluctant to fly any plane but my own, I didn't wish to seem unappreciative of the crew's hard work, and agreed to fly the 51. I had reason later to wish I hadn't.

At briefing my pilots and I were introduced to General Eisenhower who shook each of us by the hand, saying that he understood that he was to be flying with the finest fighter pilots in the ETO. It was deeply gratifying to be so addressed by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces. The general seemed genuinely interested in us and in our opinions. He was a man of authority and determination, whose manner impressed all those who saw him.

[Bertie McBoatface]

Don, here's a bit more from the National Eisenhower Museum:

Jim sent me a pm with more on the Ike Flight which I hope he won't mind me quoting in full.

Hi Don,

Here's more (below).

HTH, Jim

"We know of only one occasion on which Gen. Eisenhower flew in a P-51. This occurred on July 4,

1944. Eisenhower was visiting his commanders in Normandy, and Major General Elwood "Pete" Quesada, commander of the 9th Air Force, invited Ike on a flight over enemy-held territory. Quesada had a P-51 in which the extra gas tank behind the cockpit and the armor plate on the pilot's seat had been removed to make room for a second seat. Quesada indicated in an interview in 1975 that he changed the destination of the mission to avoid putting Eisenhower in harms way. After the press found out about the flight and published accounts of it, Eisenhower felt compelled to write his superior, General Marshall, and try to justify the flight. Eisenhower also made a brief

flight (about 10 minutes) in a P-38 Lightning over Bassingbourne, England on April 12, 1944.

Eisenhower's first visit to Normandy was on June 8, 1944, and it was by ship. On June 15 he returned to Normandy, and this time he traveled in a B-17 supplied by General Spaatz. There is no record of his conducting overflights of Normandy either before, during, or directly after the D-Day

invasion."

Sincerely,

Herbert L. Pankratz

Archivist

Missisippi State University

That's good enough for me! Somehow the 'justification' required by Marshall (ie the suggestion that Ike got a bollocking for this stunt) makes it totally believable. I guess after all the strain leading up to D-Day, he was in the mood for a bit of fun!

Thanks for uncovering this curious story for us, Jim.

Edited July 23, 2012 by per ardua ad ostentationem

[Jim Starling]

Here's the"rest of the story", to coin a phrase

As we went to our planes, I watched General Eisenhower climb with some difficulty through the small opening behind the cockpit into the cramped bucket seat. There wasn't enough room for both him and a parachute, so the general flew without one. I watched his face as the crew chief buttoned down the Zeus fasteners on the Plexiglas window with a screwdriver, and if he had any misgivings about his obvious helplessness, he showed no concern.

I manned the brand-new Mustang, and started the engine. At the end of the runway General Quesada took off with his wingman in formation, and after a quick three-count I gave it the gas and followed with my wingman. Breaking ground, I pulled up the gear and started milking up the flaps. We caught the leading element within a mile of the strip, and settled into tactical combat formation on the general's right side. After we had climbed to 5000 feet, I made a visual post-take-off check of the cockpit, which I had neglected to do earlier, so preoccupied had I been with seeing that the other planes had gotten off safely. It was then I noticed that something was wrong. The oil-pressure gauge was stopped at zero, and not a quiver of the needle indicated any lubrication of the engine. I knew that without lubrication I had about five minutes' flying time before the engine would catch fire. I had visions of the horde of German fighters which would flock to the area at the first signs of flame, and I knew I had to get out of the area as quickly as possible. I didn't dare announce my departure over the RT, the Germans were constantly tuned in to our radio communications. In desperation I waved off my wingman and closed up to the general's plane. As I caught General Quesada's eye, I pointed at my engine nose and gave the cut engine hand signal. The general gave a quick nod, and without waiting for further acknowledgment I peeled away from the flight in a 180-degree turn. After leveling-off I shoved the nose down in a dive for the strip, cutting my rpm's to reduce the friction which must be building up terrific heat.

I hoped the others would not interpret my abrupt departure as a warning of attack, and wondered what I'd do if the engine packed up before I reached the strip. I was loath to damage a brand-new plane. The temperature gauge showed a quite normal reading, which surprised me since the oil-pressure needle still hung lifeless at zero. I saw the strip coming up and came straight into the runway under reduced power, cutting the throttle even before I touched down in an attempt to save the engine. Rolling to a stop hallway down the runway, I cut the switch and turned off the transmitter.

I climbed out of the plane as they came to tow it away, and walked to squadron operations to wait for a report on the aircraft. After a while Sergeant Belden came in looking very embarrassed. It seems that the new plane had been in perfect condition except for a disconnected pressure-sensing line which accounted for the zero reading I got on the oil gauge. Fortunately no real harm was done, and I told Sergeant Belden not to worry about the incident, sending him back to the line. Personally, I was very upset at having to leave the mission under such circumstances, and swore never again to fly any plane but my own.

Soon the recon flight returned, and I rushed out to the hardstand of the twin-seater. As I arrived General Eisenhower was being helped out of his cubbyhole with a wide grin on his face. He was so pleased with the mission that he could hardly wait to get back to his planning staff and start the gears grinding. I went up to General Quesada to apologize for my sudden departure and explain the reasons for it. The general, much to my relief, understood the dilemma, and approved of my action in the face of it. Although it was consoling to receive official sanction, I still felt a little foolish in light of the nature of the false alarm. But, of course, I had no way of determining this at the time.

This was the first time in history that a ground general had personally reconnoitered the terrain of a planned battle operation from a fighter aircraft in the presence of the enemy. Toward the end of July we took part in this operation which became known as "the breakthrough at Saint-Lo." In these operations General George S. Patton and his famed Third Army made the dramatic gains on enemy territory. Their advance was not halted until the supply line was weakened by distance before the defenses of Metz.

[wellzy]

Thanks for the story Jim

Got that on my Builds list .

wellzy

Edited July 23, 2012 by wellzy

[Jim Starling]

Jim sent me a pm with more on the Ike Flight which I hope he won't mind me quoting in full.

Hi Don,

Here's more (below).

HTH, Jim

"We know of only one occasion on which Gen. Eisenhower flew in a P-51. This occurred on July 4,

1944. Eisenhower was visiting his commanders in Normandy, and Major General Elwood "Pete" Quesada, commander of the 9th Air Force, invited Ike on a flight over enemy-held territory. Quesada had a P-51 in which the extra gas tank behind the cockpit and the armor plate on the pilot's seat had been removed to make room for a second seat. Quesada indicated in an interview in 1975 that he changed the destination of the mission to avoid putting Eisenhower in harms way. After the press found out about the flight and published accounts of it, Eisenhower felt compelled to write his superior, General Marshall, and try to justify the flight. Eisenhower also made a brief

flight (about 10 minutes) in a P-38 Lightning over Bassingbourne, England on April 12, 1944.

Eisenhower's first visit to Normandy was on June 8, 1944, and it was by ship. On June 15 he returned to Normandy, and this time he traveled in a B-17 supplied by General Spaatz. There is no record of his conducting overflights of Normandy either before, during, or directly after the D-Day

invasion."

Sincerely,

Herbert L. Pankratz

Archivist

Missisippi State University

That's good enough for me! Somehow the 'justification' required by Marshall (ie the suggestion that Ike got a bollocking for this stunt) makes it totally believable. I guess after all the strain leading up to D-Day, he was in the mood for a bit of fun!

Thanks for uncovering this curious story for us, Jim.

Your very welcome Don. Always happy to help!

[Bertie McBoatface]

Now, with Ike out of the way for now, how will I paint my two seater?

Some masking and 'foaming'.

I masked the wheelwells with the doors. Seems obvious when they are this good a fit.

I thought pre-shading would give me a chance to get used to Tamiya paint in the 'gun. Nice stuff.

Then I shot some white in the general areas of the codes, the tail and the blue nose panel. I plan to mask the codes

and then fill in the centres with a brush. I'll also mask a white pinstripe around the nose and tail blue areas, spray the

blue and then mask before laying the red over the top. Sometimes I seem to know what I'm doing but on this occasion

it's mostly guesswork and hoping that I have the plan worked out OK!

[Smiffy]

There was an article in the July 1998 issue of Finescale Modeler, regarding "The Stars Look Down". Frank Cuden did a rather nice conversion of the Tamiya P-51B.

[wellzy]

There was an article in the July 1998 issue of Finescale Modeler, regarding "The Stars Look Down". Frank Cuden did a rather nice conversion of the Tamiya P-51B.

Yeah got the same mag super scale do the same decals

wellzy

[Bertie McBoatface]

Back on the job at last but it's not a tale of unremitting progress. Read on...

I sprayed some Tamiya White gloss X-2 where the marking were to go. Since I believed white wouln't be very

opaque I decided on 'negative masking' if you know what I mean. It will become clear in a moment.

The white went down pretty well and dried fast.

Making the masks. This is a new brand of tape to me called frogtape. It cuts ok and sticks very well but is a bit

thick compared to Tamiya. Loads cheaper though.

Not exactly laser cut! lol!

I masked and sprayed the blue parts. It came out unexpectedly bright but the thinness of the paint and

evenness of the finish impressed me. Strike 2 to Tamiya.

Now the red. Oh dear. This red is like a glaze. Hardly opaque at all. Then I realised that the blue was the same,

except that I'd inadvertently undercoated the area. Well maybe a second coat would help...

...or not. Oh crap. This paint is great for pre-shading techniques but lousy for covering the big white splodges I'd

applied earlier. My current dilemma is whether to strip and restart or to whack some Vallejo on top. Knowing me

dear readers, what do you think I'll do?

*************************

And talking of Vallejo, when I switched from Humbrol enamels recently, I really missed the old tinlets. They sat

in the drawer without rolling round or falling over and I could even see the colours without having to spin them

round. Not so the little squeezy bottles from Spain. I do like the paint for brush painting though so what to do?

Head on down to Lakeland wher these babies are reduced to £4 each set of three.

They stack too. Taking 16 bottles of paint perfectly and stopping them rolling too.

They even modulate with Tamiya and will stack, I think with these bottles as well.

Lurvely stuff for the more 'retentive' of us.

[wellzy]

Hi Don

the blue looks good the photo`s I have she looks a bit pinki in places give it another coat

she is well faded

Les

[Bertie McBoatface]

Nah Wellzy, the Tamiya red is far too transparent, there will always be a bleed through even after ten coats and the colour over the grey primer is horrible. But I learned about painting from that. Over white primer this would have been brilliant. I suspect that matt red would have been a lit more pigmented so I'll get a bottle in later. I decided not to spray the Vallejo because it warns against it on account of the cadmium which is very bad shot to inhale! Oddly the bottle is marked non-toxic? Maybe cadmium is only absorbed through the lungs? Whatever, they say son't spray so I'll not spray. I'm not risking my health for a model I've more or less lost interest in anyway.

[Arniec]

Hmmm, I have never hade any problems with tamiya paint. Maybee you thinned it to much? I normaly thin it about 3 parts paint and on part thinner (tamiya).

But don't be frustrated by my comment and keep up the good work.

[Jim Starling]

Nah Wellzy, the Tamiya red is far too transparent, there will always be a bleed through even after ten coats and the colour over the grey primer is horrible. But I learned about painting from that. Over white primer this would have been brilliant. I suspect that matt red would have been a lit more pigmented so I'll get a bottle in later. I decided not to spray the Vallejo because it warns against it on account of the cadmium which is very bad shot to inhale! Oddly the bottle is marked non-toxic? Maybe cadmium is only absorbed through the lungs? Whatever, they say son't spray so I'll not spray. I'm not risking my health for a model I've more or less lost interest in anyway.

I would imagine Vallejo could be sprayed safely enough with a proper mask and a spray booth.

Still, I commend your caution. Most of us (craftsmen, hobbyists, artists) are totally unaware of the dangers posed by the materials we use. Even the dust from certain woods pose extraordinary hazards.

And don't lose heart. The build is coming along fine outside of the one paint hangup. And you are almost finished.

[theclay]

moving along nicely

[Bertie McBoatface]

Hmmm, I have never hade any problems with tamiya paint. Maybee you thinned it to much? I normaly thin it about 3 parts paint and on part thinner (tamiya).

But don't be frustrated by my comment and keep up the good work.

You may be right. I thinned it three to one in the other direction - old enamel habit! I still think the gloss colours in acrylics are thin. They have more binder and less pigment i think. Um the fuselage it was a problem but the wings look great to me so it's all learning. I'm also learning to keep going when it's turning feet up! I will not be a perfectionist any more! haha

I would imagine Vallejo could be sprayed safely enough with a proper mask and a spray booth.

Still, I commend your caution. Most of us (craftsmen, hobbyists, artists) are totally unaware of the dangers posed by the materials we use. Even the dust from certain woods pose extraordinary hazards.

And don't lose heart. The build is coming along fine outside of the one paint hangup. And you are almost finished.

Thankee for the kind words Jim. In the end I weakened and sprayed Vallejo! In my booth. It sprayed well, my first go with it. Swapping to acryl has made me a novice again so there's lots of exciting things to discover.

moving along nicely

Ta, nearly done now. Pictures later.

[Jim Starling]

You may be right. I thinned it three to one in the other direction - old enamel habit! I still think the gloss colours in acrylics are thin. They have more binder and less pigment i think. Um the fuselage it was a problem but the wings look great to me so it's all learning. I'm also learning to keep going when it's turning feet up! I will not be a perfectionist any more! haha

Thankee for the kind words Jim. In the end I weakened and sprayed Vallejo! In my booth. It sprayed well, my first go with it. Swapping to acryl has made me a novice again so there's lots of exciting things to discover.

Ta, nearly done now. Pictures later.

Looking forward to seeing the finished phots, Don.

[wellzy]

Come on Don you can do it

Les

[Bertie McBoatface]

Looking forward to seeing the finished phots, Don.

Come on Don you can do it

Les

Patience deah bois!

A semi-opaque Vallejo red, heavy over the top of the pinky areas and dusted over the rest.

The villain is unmasked!

Shined up again for the decals with floor 'wax' sprayed on. I'm fairly pleased with the lettering.

Although I was aiming for a new paint look, I have stumbled onto a fair technique for preshading. Well, I like it anyway.

Underneath too is nicely varied in tone.

And on go a few decals.

This is the first brush painted prop I've done in years. Passable at best. Better when decaled and glossed, I hope.

So there you go.

[AnonymousDFB1]

Nice one Don

[Bertie McBoatface]

This is the first brush painted prop I've done in years. Passable at best. Better when decaled and glossed, I hope.

So there you go.

Does anyone know for certain (no guessing please) of what material the blade cuffs were made; metal, rubber? I dont know how to weather them.

[Col.]

Does anyone know for certain (no guessing please) of what material the blade cuffs were made; metal, rubber? I dont know how to weather them.

Although the Mustang experts will be along to keep us right soon enough in the meantime I'd say the cuffs would have to be metal to withstand the forces acting against them in use.

Nice save on the main paint finish by the way Don. The faded look seems just right against those photos.

[Bertie McBoatface]

Although the Mustang experts will be along to keep us right soon enough in the meantime I'd say the cuffs would have to be metal to withstand the forces acting against them in use.

Nice save on the main paint finish by the way Don. The faded look seems just right against those photos.

You are guessing Col. lol. There are similar structures at the base of some modern props which are made of all sorts of stuff, composites, rubber etc. Often associated with anti-icing. I have no idea about this one though.

[lancfan]

The cuffs on the Hamilton standard propeller were made of hard, moulded rubber (dug one up from a crash site once).

David.