[ektra79]

I stumbled across this thread by accident and thought I'd add to the information posted.
As mentioned in an earlier post, Hofer was flying QP-X (43-6746) on FRANTIC II (21 JUN 44) and was forced to land at a field near Kiev. He stayed for a short time, leaving on 25 JUN. He went to Piryatin to join three other Mustangs flying on to Italy on 29 JUN.
Troy White’s book states Hofer was detained in Kiev until they could verify he was an American pilot. It does not state where specifically in Kiev he was held.
Russell's kite 44-13399 remained in Russia and was salvaged there.
It is almost a certainty now that Hofer's Salem Representative (42-106924) did not go on FRANTIC II. New information has surfaced identifying a 4th FG P-51D wearing the coded QP-L in Italy (44-13314); Preston Hardy's log book corroborates this; it indicates he flew a P-51D coded QP-L to Russia.
The 4FG tower log indicates the presence of the P-51D coded QP-L as soon as 11 JUN. It was likely the replacement for Salem Representative, but Hofer was in hot water at that time for refusing to get inoculated so he could participate in FRANTIC II. The D model was likely held from him as a consequence.