363rd TRG F-6C Bouncing Baby ID?

[Hamsterman]

Hi all,


Do any of you know the serial number and fuselage code for an F-6C named "Bouncing Baby" flown by Lt. Frank Seely, Jr of the 363rd TRG, 162nd TRS? I think the "in-squadron" code might have been either K or X.


Thanks!
Chris

[edwest2]

Here is a photo of what may be this aircraft if you scroll down a little. Partial codes are visible on a few other aircraft in this collection.


http://axis-and-allies-paintworks.co...opic.php?13365

[Hamsterman]

Originally Posted by edwest2

Here is a photo of what may be this aircraft if you scroll down a little. Partial codes are visible on a few other aircraft in this collection.


http://axis-and-allies-paintworks.co...opic.php?13365

Thanks. I saw that site which is what lead me to ask. That picture of Bouncing Baby is at just the wrong angle so it obscures the serial. Grrrr! At least I know now that the 162nd squadron code was C3. Hopefully someone has the definitive answer.

Cheers!

[Ted51abcdk]

Chris:
The ID that I have for this aircraft nickname is not quite the same as what you are looking for but it might be the correct one. The a/c is 42-103495, IX-X, that was lost with Bobby W Killough on 14 April 1945. This a/c was a transfer from the 111TRS. The nickname that I have is "Bouncing Baby and Pesky". I hope that this helps a bit. IDs of the 363TRG are hard to come by. Ted51

[Alex Smart]

In the photo the a/c letter extreme lower part does suggest an "X".
Also there is a little shown of the a/c serial number which could be "102" or "103" .

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...SQUADRON-7.jpg

[Stig Jarlevik]

All

The 9th AF recce squadrons seems to be more problematic than initially thought.

We (well, at least I) do have a problem for instance with 162 TRS which is claimed to have used both the codes C3 and IX. Why?

Was Ken Rust correct when he listed 162TRS as belonging to both 10PRG and 363TRG?

In spite of other books claiming 162TRS only belonged to 363TRG he says it was initially assigned to 363TRG but was transferred to something he called Prov RG in Oct 1944 and finally to 10PRG in April 1945
The unit was coded C3 when belonging to 363TRG but changed its code to IX when transferred to Prov RG and 10PRG.

Someone who knows the truth?

Cheers
Stig

[Ted51abcdk]

Stig:
At War's end there was a great deal of shifting around of Squadrons and Groups within the PRGs and TRGs. The 162nd for the most part was with the 363rd PRG/TRG. The Unit was on detached service with the 1st RG(P) on 31 March 1945 at Hagenau (Y-39). On 26 April 1945 the Unit was attached to the 10th PRG at Furth (R-28). It was at this time that the code changed from C3- to IX-. You are quite correct in that these transfers and attachments are confusing. Hope that this helps a bit. Ted51

[Stig Jarlevik]

Thanks Ted

Yes indeed, it helps a lot
It certainly explains why there are photos on the website mentioned where the C3 code is still visible in early 1945.

Since you seem to know a whole lot of all this, may I ask if the Prov RG mentioned by Rust was something which belonged to the 1st TAF? I have a book about them, but as usual I cannot locate it right now....

Cheers
Stig

[Hamsterman]

Thanks everyone. I didn't realize this was going to be a question fraught with so many questions.



Forgive me for asking but who is Ken Rust? Did he write a book about the 363rd? I only have a copy of Kent Miller's book about the 363rd and he doesn't mention the 162nd TRS, Bouncing Baby, any plane with the serial number 42-103495 coded IX-X or Lt. Frank Seely, Jr., hence a lot of my confusion.



For what it's worth, the more closely I look at that photo of Bouncing Baby (links provided by Alex and edwest2) I think you can just see a portion of the squadron code over the port wing. The portion visible is very small but, if the plane were carrying the C3 code, the portion of the code that's visible should be at a 45 degree angle. In this case, the visible portion forms a 90 degree angle which would be consistent with the IX code. I also tend to agree with Alex that the portion of the letter visible under the port wing is an X, not a K. So 1) if Ted is correct about when the 162nd was transferred to the 10th PRG and if 2) the code on the plane is IX-X, then the photo of Bouncing Baby was likely taken in April, 1945?



Ted, if the 162nd was transferred to the 10th PRG on 26 April 1945 but Bouncing Baby/Pescky, IX-X, 42-103495 was lost on 14 April 1945, does that rule out the plane in the photo ID'ing as 42-103495?


Sorry for all the questions. I love these PR/TR groups/squadrons and the photo of Bouncing Baby was a new one for me so I thought I'd ask.


Cheers!
Chris

[Stig Jarlevik]

Chris

Ken Rust is (was?) an author who wrote many books about USAAF.
I was looking into his book about the 9th AF

I don't have Kent Miller's book, but it is extremely puzzling he is not mentioning 162TRS since it 100% was a part of the unit.

Also I want to amplify that Ted is not saying anything about transfer, he states attached, which is something totally different. 162TRS still belonged to 363PRG and you can say that an attachment worked as a kind of loan, on a temporary basis.

I have no Mustang listing, so I cannot say if the photo shown of Bouncing Baby is 42-103495 or not, but there is a photo of said aircraft on the net, but called Mild Max and with a puzzling code (well what is visible)

Cheers
Stig