StevieD Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 I know he didn’t have an assigned P40 but after looking at photos and conflicting profiles I’m ready to get cracking on the Special Hobby P40N. This is my best guess for the one Urbanowicz flew... Tail code – white ‘188’ OD/ Neutral Grey. Disruptive green patches on the tail (and possibly wings?) Insignia with white bar - no red or blue outline. White spinner with OD band at rear. Shark mouth and eyes. Any other opinion or info on this aircraft? Would this carry US ARMY under the wings? Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatgonzo Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 We do not know what specific planes were flown by Witold Urbanowicz. Yet we can exclude some quite popular presentations in profiles and paintings. The most probable candidate seems to be the P-40K Deacon Sad Sack of Lyndon Lewis - 169 on the tail. 188 is tricky. The number is supposed to be the one for the bird Urbanowicz was supposed to belly land. Lot of supposition and not much confirmation in documents and it was a 'K' anyway. We know quite well what types were flown by Polish Ace, but, unfortunately, no serials. This P-40 has been a Holy Graal for Polish modellers for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieD Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) 5 minutes ago, greatgonzo said: We do not know what specific planes were flown by Witold Urbanowicz. Yet we can exclude some quite popular presentations in profiles and paintings. The most probable candidate seems to be the P-40K Deacon Sad Sack of Lyndon Lewis - 169 on the tail. 188 is tricky. The number is supposed to be the one for the bird Urbanowicz was supposed to belly land. Lot of supposition and not much confirmation in documents and it was a 'K' anyway. We know quite well what types were flown by Polish Ace, but, unfortunately, no serials. This P-40 has been a Holy Graal for Polish modellers for years. Yes I thought it might be tricky. There is a photo of 188 (on a Polish site I can't read) that looks to me like an N with the squared off rear canopy. As far as I know there are no decals for Sad Sack which is why went for 188. Edited February 23, 2021 by StevieD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatgonzo Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 How about a link? I can surely read Polish ;). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieD Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 5 minutes ago, greatgonzo said: How about a link? I can surely read Polish ;). Good idea! It's at the bottom of the page on the right http://www.kartonowki.pl/modele-galeria/model/4256,curtiss-p-40n-warhawk-75fs-23fg-usaaf-flying-tigers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatgonzo Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) Nothing's there. It is just a pic of this 188 which was a basis to prepare the paper kit. We know nothing of Urbanowicz's Ns, except they where N-5 in operational flights. Urbanowicz was a guest, he flew only a few missions (13). An himself was not very modeller-friendly in this matter. During his visit in Poland, when surrounded by historians and enthusiasts and asked about details of his aircraft, he finally spread his arms wide and said: 'Listen, it was decades ago. I didn't care. If you asked me what colour of the eyes had the lady bartending in Orchard, I might have had a chance, but with the colour of something painted on my plane - no goddamned way! Edited February 24, 2021 by greatgonzo 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieD Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 31 minutes ago, greatgonzo said: 'Listen, it was decades ago. I didn't care. If you asked me what colour of the eyes had the lady bartending in Orchard, I might have had a chance, but with the colour of something painted on my plane - no goddamned way! He sounds a lot like my dad - who was Polish. He didn't give much away but always remembered the women. I dropped into the Orchard a few years ago. All signs of the Poles had gone. Shame. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 And responding to the same quote: Sounds to me like he had his priorities straight! (An anecdote I read once- I think on Hyperscale- concerned a B-24 crewman who was asked some question about the interior colors. His response: "What color is your office chair?") 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmig Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 To muddy the waters a bit more, here's a screen grab I took years ago. I don't know anything about it beyond what it says. The URL is mostly visible, so perhaps someone could do some sleuthing. http://www.iliad-design.com/misc/brit/Stinky.jpg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatgonzo Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Urbanowicz flew no 'M' at all. One of those ideas we can exclude. And funny thing is there is no reports of that belly landing. Only a note he damaged the undercarriage running on some stones on night landing Dec. 8th 1943. No accident report for that, so poor chance for proper belly landing. And Stinky is supposed to carry 188 by the way. He was a man and a half. Personally claims over 6 kills flying with 14th (officially credited with 2). Proud, educated, intelligent and observing. A word 'noble' comes to mind when you want to summon it up in one word. As a man he stood up from the typical picture of fighter pilot. His writing is excellent too. The books he wrote are much better then ordinary memoirs of the time. Very interesting, as he concentrates on so much more then fighting. Fire over China/Flying Tigers is just literature. Great read, but I am afraid no English editions. Not sure about that. Pity for Orchard. Man would have think the Polish connection could be a good idea to built the identity of the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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