Photo USAAF Aircraft

[musec04]

Hello,


Currently on ebay is a nice photo of a Sharkmouth P-51 captioned as CBI theater at:


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Photograph-...oAAOSwfVhf4lcO


I guess it may not be at Kunming, given that its not a P-40 as captioned.Outside my area of expertise, so can anyone provide more information on the aircraft shown? From one of the units of 51 st Fighter Group?



Regards,


Clint

[Stig Jarlevik]

Hi Clint

Both 23FG and 51FG operated their Mustangs with Tiger Shark mouths.

Since the code visible on this P-51C is 287 I believe it is the 51FG (all P-51s I have seen from 23FG had codes in the 100 range, not counting those aircraft which belonged to their TRS)

It seems
25FS used codes in the 200-249 range
26FS used codes in the 250-299 range
16FS used codes in the 350-399 range

So this should thus be P-51C 43-25200 from 26FS 51FG
This unit was never based at Kunming, but since aircraft are moveable it is not impossible of course it could for one reason or another have been there when the photo was taken.

The usual lack of accurate date is annoying....

Cheers
Stig

[musec04]

Hi Stig,


Very full information. Thank you. As you say 'outstanding' data quality. Still a nice photo I thought and so worth posting despite the obvious accuracy issues from the seller.


Regards,


Clint

[Buckeye30]

Hi Stig. You are right on the numbers but also the 26th had a distinctive "wavy" sharkmouth with a large eye above. Part of the squadron was at Kunming 10/43 to 5/44 but the yellow tail bands date it from late 1944; the other 2 squadrons didn't normally have sharkmouths on their Mustangs and the 23FG used various styles on theirs.
Regards
Nick

[Stig Jarlevik]

Ha, ha Nick

You got me there. No I didn't know that (or it's possibly somewhere in my books...) and I confess I don't have a good enough photo base either.

Nice to get it right without knowing the full details...

Cheers
Stig

[bearoutwest]

Malcolm Rosholt's book "Days of Ching Pao" has a photo of a similarly marked P-51B/C razorback. The caption notes the person in the foreground as an armourer of the 26th Fighter Squadron, and the first two tail numbers are 25...(the 3rd is not visible). The field, with low hills surrounding (perhaps the same field as this photo) is noted as Nanning in 1944.

So, Stig's tail number data seems to confirm a 26FS aircraft. Any idea where the 907th Engineers HQ was based?

There's another photo in the book of a wavy-shark-mouth P-51B/C razorback captioned: "Louis Hughes, one time commander of the 51st Fighter Group, poses with Steve Nagy in front of the 'Stenka Henna" (P-51 nose name above exhausts, tail number not visible), probably at Kunming, in January 1945."


Adding my 2c to the pot, stirring madly,
...geoff

[Buckeye30]

The 907th Engineering Co. ( Fourteenth AF HQ) ( activated 13 July 1942 at March Fd.) was based at Kunming along with HQ Fourteenth AF Service Command .
Nick

[bearoutwest]

Nanning was occupied by the Japanese during the Ichigo Offensives in Nov/Dec 1944. (Wiki says Jan-Feb 1945.) It was likely the air squadrons were evacuated to Kunming temporarily. Kunming is some 700km to the west of Nanning and approx 300km to the east of the Japanese offensive out of Burma as part of Ichigo.


Best map seems to appear here:
https://ww2db.com/images/battle_ichigo3.jpg
(But this also appears on an alternate history webpage, so taken with a pinch of salt until confirmed elsewhere.)


So reading Nick/Buckeye's data of yellow fuselage theatre bands dating late 1944, then possible that photo is at Kunming during Ichigo evacuations late 1944/early 1945, where it is snapped by personnel of 907th Air Force Engineers HQ.



...geoff

[bearoutwest]

There appear to be a host of other photos taken by the 907th, including one of a P-40 and a 2-bladed P-43 (possibly dummy aircraft). Perhaps some of these might help confirm timeline dates of events.


https://www.ebay.com/sch/popcentury/...&_dmd=2&_sop=1

[Revi16]

Originally Posted by bearoutwest

There appear to be a host of other photos taken by the 907th, including one of a P-40 and a 2-bladed P-43 (possibly dummy aircraft). Perhaps some of these might help confirm timeline dates of events.


https://www.ebay.com/sch/popcentury/...&_dmd=2&_sop=1

Chinese Ki-43
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Photograph-...kAAOSw69Ff4lrM

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Photograph-...sAAOSwWZlf4luu