tank152 Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 A nice film clip taken around D-day showing pre opp preparations and take off of Mustangs of the 354th FG Shame there's no sound especially towards the end. B-26 Marauders being serviced and bombed up. Again no sound. 7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 (edited) Great footage and very interesting- especially how the bombs got loaded on the Mustangs. Lots of Mustangs with nose art I have never seen before! BTW, those Marauders were from the 323rd BG, which I found out when I went looking up the codes that were visible in the 2nd video. The codes from all four squadrons were visible, so it must have been a maximum effort mission. In case any of you are interested, for your modeling projects , here is a link to the USAAF WW2 aircraft squadron codes for the ETO. Mike https://www.worldwarphotos.info/usaaf-codes/ Edited November 20, 2021 by 72modeler corrected spelling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Harmsworth Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 The first clip is shot at RAF Lashenden; still in use today and these days called Headcorn - being close to the village of that name. Some great images of the 354th FG P-51s on or around D-Day. Their first missions in support of the landings were escorting C-47s towing gliders - with the pilots being astonished at how the glider pilots simply crash landed. On the 7th June they were bombing bridges which probably accounts for the images with the bombs. Later in the month they relocated to their first airfield in northern France. Shame that it is labelled on YouTube as 'Us Air Base 1943' though. Mark PS This is Headcorn airfield today : https://headcornaerodrome.co.uk/ - definitely worth visiting in June for their BoB airshow 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paramedic Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 Really nice vids! Thanks for sharing, I have not seen them before. Re: 1943, yeah.. Saw those 6 MG wings and chuckled too. When did the first bubbeltops arrive? May-June -44? July? (Just in time to "steal" the glory from the ´bolts and b/C ponies that dealt with the Luftwaffe in preparation for D-day.. ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAG Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 Dang, that combat footage from @16:15 - 16:40-ish in the B-26 video with all the flak and fifty cal tracer rounds, INTENSE stuff. 😬 Epic post, thanks for the fascinating videos @tank152! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 That's an "ouch" moment around 2:06 when the guy who arrives to help with the bomb gets his foot under it. Great footage, thanks for sharing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 An interesting early P-51D from 355th FS. "Too Bad" with olive drab (?) in front of the fuselage D-day bands. Blue spinner and noseband? Cheers / André Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Harmsworth Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 1 hour ago, Andre B said: An interesting early P-51D from 355th FS. "Too Bad" with olive drab (?) in front of the fuselage D-day bands. Blue spinner and noseband? Cheers / André That dark colour in front of the stripes does look odd doesn't it? I think blue is right for the spinner and noseband. 44-13335 (a P-51 D-5) was flown by a number of pilots with some success. While at Lashenden: 13th May '44 Col George Bickell 2 Bf109s destroyed with a third damaged 28th May '44 Capt Charles Lasko 1.5 109s destroyed with a third probable 14th June '44 Capt Maurice Long a 109 destroyed All this from the rather excellent book: 'The Pioneer Mustang Group: the 354th FG in WWII' by Steve Blake Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 3:27 on the first one is a good close up of the invasion stripes. Rather rough! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 19 hours ago, tank152 said: A nice film clip Thanks for posting these. They are fascinatin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paramedic Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 6 hours ago, MikeC said: That's an "ouch" moment around 2:06 when the guy who arrives to help with the bomb gets his foot under it. Great footage, thanks for sharing. That would have been me - had it been today.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Harmsworth Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 I thought this might be of interest, This is a print by Nicolas Trudgian which shows P-51s of the 354th FG escorting B-26s of the 397th BG over Normandy on D-Day plus one. It is hanging in my man cave above a cabinet (if you look closely you might spot a B-26): Whether that actual mission really took place I'm not sure - but it's a great image. I can't speak for the B-26s but the P-51s seem to be good representations of planes that flew from Lashenden. The print is signed by pilots who flew missons around that time including a couple from the 354th FG. Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tank152 Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 Nick Trudgian at his best, that's a cracking print. I've got a few of his myself from back in the day. Did you used to go to Aces High when he released his latest prints there for the signings they held? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Harmsworth Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 On 21/11/2021 at 12:53, tank152 said: Nick Trudgian at his best, that's a cracking print. I've got a few of his myself from back in the day. Did you used to go to Aces High when he released his latest prints there for the signings they held? Not been to Aces High I'm afraid. I picked that print up at a Duxford airshow - probably Flying Legends. I then had it framed at a shop near me where they also happened to have a print by Robert Taylor (Strike and Strike again) of Beaufighters exiting a fjord - another great image which is now on the other wall. That print was a presentation copy for one of the pilots that had signed - and they had been asked to sell it for him. The pilot was best known as a mossie pilot and I'm sure one of his planes is going to be a future project. I'm quite proud of that one. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 2 hours ago, Mark Harmsworth said: The pilot was best known as a mossie pilot My goodness! I initially scanned that as "best known as a mousse pilot..." and for an instant wondered what kind of dirty euphemistic reference THAT was. Maybe I need a bigger monitor! bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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