Help identify this P-51 Mustang
Sat Nov 10, 2012 8:34 am
Looking for any additional information on this particular mustang.
Re: Help identify this P-51 Mustang
Sat Nov 10, 2012 10:35 am
Scott WRG Editor wrote:Looking for any additional information on this particular mustang.
Greetings, El Presidente Rose!
It would seem the same question has been posted at many boards.
Perhaps the path to an answer lies with another WIX post:
http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.o ... p?p=108202
Martin's (Swiss Mustangs) discovery that presentation Mustangs were often the same P-51 (no serial # stencilled, just wipe off the name and add a new one) may mean that "Wings of Corry" may also have multiple personalities. In other words, was the Cory bird's serial censored out or just never added yet when the photo was taken?
Now, did NA practice this already with olive drab Mustangs or not until they were left in natural metal off the production line?
Re: Help identify this P-51 Mustang
Sat Nov 10, 2012 11:08 am
Upon closer inspection, it would appear that all three examples of presentation Mustangs ("Wings of Corry" + two from Martin's post) have names stencilled on the same thin section of cowling.
My semi-educated guess is that the NA paintshop simply painted multiple examples of that cowling section, and then Dzused (if "Dzused" wasn't an actual verb before, it is now!) the panels on-and-off for photo sessions on the same bird.
What are the odds that the same cowling section on the port side of "Wings of Cory" has a different name? Just turn the plane to make use of the natural lighting!
So...
The best one could probably hope for is finding other photos of the same olive drab Mustang with a variety of presentation names. Since none of them will probably have the serial #...seems like a dead end on securing an individual identity.
My semi-educated guess is that the NA paintshop simply painted multiple examples of that cowling section, and then Dzused (if "Dzused" wasn't an actual verb before, it is now!) the panels on-and-off for photo sessions on the same bird.
What are the odds that the same cowling section on the port side of "Wings of Cory" has a different name? Just turn the plane to make use of the natural lighting!
So...
The best one could probably hope for is finding other photos of the same olive drab Mustang with a variety of presentation names. Since none of them will probably have the serial #...seems like a dead end on securing an individual identity.
Re: Help identify this P-51 Mustang
Sat Nov 10, 2012 2:02 pm
Dan K wrote:
The best one could probably hope for is finding other photos of the same olive drab Mustang with a variety of presentation names. Since none of them will probably have the serial #...seems like a dead end on securing an individual identity.
And yet, perhaps there's hope after all.
Apparently this Mustang from (Martin K's post)...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v503/ ... ndMich.jpg
...has been positively identified as 42-108036.
MustangsMustangs indicates that a large-print version of this pic is displayed at a library in Richmond, Michigan. Apparently the ID was determined from the stencil under the windscreen!