[aaatripp]

"He made claims with P-51Bs coded FT-N, FT-J, FT-V and FT-G (the latter apparently his assigned aircraft) as well as P-51D coded FT-W and P-51D-5NA (44-13948) FT-G Arson's Revenge in which he was shot down..."

Thanks,
Tom[/quote]
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Tom---I've tracked the confirmed kills in FT-J, V and of course G. However, I can't find the record regarding FT-W. Also, N was credited only as a Probable. Can you tell me more about the claim in "W" ?
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The Peaceful Penguin in the photo above is the a/c which was destroyed on the ground by an accident during the servicing of the oxygen unit on 4 May 44. BTW, Bud got 1 confirmed kill in PP, a FW190 on 13 Apr 44. 3 weeks later the PP was a pile of burned debris.

Bud's replacement a/c (named "Arson's Reward) was the P-51B pictured in an earlier post, which clearly displayed 6 aerial victories. I do not have a Ser. # for that a/c, but Steve Blake's book indicates that Bud was credited with 6 kills in a FT-G with no ser. # indicated.

It's now possible to confirm the dating of the two photos of Bud's "Arson's Reward" a/c. The 1st one is clearly a B-model with 6 kills. On 13 May Bud got his 4th & 5th kills (a pair of ME109s). Then he got 3 kills on 28 May (2 109s & a 190) which are 6, 7 & 8. Most likely he got #6 in the morning, posed for the photo with 6 kills, then got 7 & 8 in the afternoon. OK, sounds plausible. For the photo of his P-51D sporting the 11 kills, this must clearly be a/c #44-13400. On 29 June Bud was credited with 0.5 confirmed (a FW190) which gave him a total of 10.5. On 26 July he's credited with 2.5, so this photo of 44-13400 must have been taken mid-day of 26 July 44 before the addtl. 2 kills were added to give him 13. THAT WAS INDEED AN UNLUCKY NUMBER....because 8 days later that a/c was bellied in....fortunately the pilot, Bud Rose, survived the crash.

Bud Emmer's next NEW P-51D (to replace 44-13400) was 44-13948. He got a ME109 on 7 Aug and that gave him a total of 14 aerial victories....his official total when he was shot down on 9 Aug 1944.

Would appreciate assistance from all readers in determining the Ser. # of the FT-G which Bud was flying from mid-May to mid-June '44. Yes, it's the B-model in the photo with 6 victories painted near the canopy. Thanks!

Tripp