Tuskegee Paint Scheme

Hey phule. I live just up the road from you in Merritt Island.

Mike

renarts, where in florida do you live, i used to live in Tampa, then moved to Spring Hill, now i live on the East Coast of Florida near melbourne

Probobly won'y help you much, but I shot a bunch of pics of Lee Archers P51C over at Fantasy of flight today.

Let me know if you want any and I'll e-mail them to you.

Mike

For all info on Tuskegee Airman, go to Ebonywings.com. A/C markings, profiles and history in one place.

to mer1122
the 332th started as a composit group until they were made as a fighter group of the 332th.this means that there beginging aircraft were all differant types and were not flowen by just coloerd flyers.it was not until they were made a fighter wing did they became all colored an there planes were replaced with the p-51c/d models.in n.afraica the fighting 99th started with p-40s and were quickly replaced with a-36/p-51bs.there were a lot of red tails flying with differant groups but was adopoted by the 99th/332th
fighter groups known as the tuskegee airman.to the germans as the red tail devils.you
can find a lot of info trought the history channel web site on this also you will find there
offical patch witch is a red panther with wings.hope this help you little bit.

I'm in the process of building a complete set of TA aircraft. My listing shows T-26, P-39A, P-40C, P47B, P51D and B-25J for the bomber group that never saw action. There was a site for TA but there was some dispute and it went away. Photos show different variations of red color scheme, not always by squadron (individual variations), but all had red vertical tails

I am really surprised that the Tuskegee Airmen site does not have anything on the P-40, since that is what the 99th started with, and started coming into it's own while flying them. Not surprised there is nothing on the P-47, as the 332nd only flew them for a month or so I believe.

If you are interested in 99th FS P-40's the Osprey book on P-40 aces of the MTO shows a couple. When I turned to page 78 I was blown away - the 57th FG P-40 #32 is being flown by a friend of mine. I believe the new AMtech P-40F/L kit has markings for a 99th FS P-40L.

Jim

I know what you mean mer...

I am about to embark on a Tuskegee Mustang with the same bare-metal finish as well....and it'll also be my first time with an airbrush....I haven't even started yet and my nerves are shot!!

Here is a great Tuskegee website pointed out to me by a squadmate:

http://www.ebonywings.com/

Weird though-- I don't see anything on the P-47 or the P40 though...but it has an excellent section on the different squadron markings...I would add to Captain Caveman's endorsement of the Osprey book....if it is anything like the book I bought on the Mustang aces-- it is full of great profiles.

thanks for all the good info guys! i'll post pics for sure no matter what, but i'm starting to get intimitated by the bare metal finish on the bulk of the plane...i'm not sure my skills are up to getting the plane as finely finished as it needs to be pre-metal...regardless of how she ends up dressed, i'll post photos...thanks again for all the help!

QUOTE: Originally posted by blackwolfscd The 99th did fly the Jug for a while, but I don't believe they flew them in combat.

Steve-O:

I believe you are correct - I seem to recall now that the 79th was still working up on the Jug at the time the 99th was detached.

Jim

Mer,
Here's a magazine/ book that has an article on P-47's.
International Air Power Review by Airtime Vol.7 . The article mentions the 325th FG flew P-47's till May 1944 when they turned them
over to the 332nd. The 332nd flew them for two months before
getting Mustangs. They shot down 5 aircraft on thier first mission 7 June later that month two pilots sank a German
destroyer. Lots of pictures b&w and color but none of the 332nd.
fuzzy

The 99th did fly the Jug for a while, but I don't believe they flew them in combat.


Fade to Black...

I just happened to think of something else - I believe the 99th FS was still attached to the 79th FG at the time the 79th started re-equipping with P-47's, so perhaps the 99th flew Jugs for a short period of time. From what I can recall reading as well as from what was told me by a 332nd pilot, many of the 99th pilots were unhappy when the squadron was transferred to the 332nd. As far as the C.O. of the 79th was concerned the 99th was as much a part of the 79th as the other three squadrons and was treated acordingly - no segregation. The 99th really had started to come into it's own while a part of the 79th. When the 99th was moved to the 332nd it was back to the old segregation BS .

I have the Oprey book on 9th and 15th AF P-47's, and while the 332nd is mentioned, there are no photos or illustrations of their P-47's.

Jim

The 332nd was part of the 12th AF while flying the P-47, if I'm not mistaken. When they switched to the Mustang they were then attached to the 15th AF for Ramrods into Germany. I'll have to check on that though...


Fade to Black...

have you tryed this book?
ive got the mustang one about the Ninth and Fithteenth and theres a couple of Tuskagee schemes in that

I recall a notation in one of my sources that credits a Re Tail jug with sinking a German cruiser in an Italian port. Either the pilot knew where the powder magazine was or got lucky. Either way it was the first recorded, or credited sinking of a enemy ship by a fighter plane. He had two wingmen with him at the time so he did get the credit. I've forgotten the pilots name but my brain tells me it's true.

Merideth: Of course you will post a pic when it is finished won't you ?

Steve-O: If my memory serves me correctly that color profile has the same markings as the Testors kit, but I think in the kit scheme the yellow stripes are shown further inboard.

Muzzleflash: That image at that web site appears to be of an 86th FG airplane, as the 86th had red/white striped tail, while the 332nd was solid red.

Jim

thanks everyone for all your help! this is really useful stuff

JGUIGNARD the testors kit you mention is, i think, the one i have. i'm glad to know that it looks good in this paint scheme

muzzle

QUOTE: If you paint the jug shiny, it better show the pilots face in the reflection or you didnt make it a Tuskegee bird. :)

dude, that's a lot of pressure for a new builder! [:0]

gar i'll look for the magazine. maybe they'll have it at the hobby shop

steveO as always, you rock

Hey Mer,

They're not photos, but I haven't gone through everything yet. I'm also not the greatest proponent of color profiles, but they can be helpful nonetheless. Kinda crappy scans too, anyhoo...

This is a Jug of the 100th FS, 332nd FG in 1943.






Fade to Black...

I am building a P-47 razorback and I found a magazine in my local newsstand called flight journal they have 6 issues a year but they produce special issues and the lattest is on the P-47 it has lots of pics and color drawings. Look for it I hope it will help.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention one other thing. If you paint the jug shiny, it better show the pilots face in the reflection or you didnt make it a Tuskegee bird. :)

Sorry no pics, but here's info I found in the book "Tuskegee's Heroes"...

In the back of the book is a list of aerial victories by Tuskegee Airmen in WW2....
listed as pilot, squadron, a/c flown, a/c destroyed, number


June 9, 1944
1/Lt Charls M. Bussey, 302nd, P-47, Me-109, 1
2/Lt. Frederick Funderburg 301st P-47, Me-109,2
1/Lt. Melvin T. Jackson 302nd, P-47, Me-109, 1
1/Lt Wendell O. Pruitt 302nd, P-47, Me-109,1

I did not find one pic of a P-47 in the entire book, nor on google. I did, however, find a CGI image online that you might use as a guide...

http://www.abacuspub.com/tg/p47.gif

and

http://www.abacuspub.com/catalog/s382-2.htm


Oh yeah, the book is signed by a half-dozen Tuskegee aviators and I keep it on the top shelf. Thanks for making me pull it back down for another perusal

keep us posted and post pics when you can,

Merideth:

The only reference that I have ever seen of a 332nd FG P-47 is the 1/48th Hawk/Testors kit. It has the markings for Gabreski's bubbletop and a NMF 332nd razorback. I have seen a photo of a 57th FG NFM raxorback with red tail surfaces. I am betting it had been a 332nd airplane that was transferred to the 57th when the 332nd coverted to P-51's, and the 57th didn't bother to remove the red paint from the tail. - at least it had not been removed at the time of the photo.

This is my recollection of the markings in the Hawk/Testors kit:
red cowl front (theater marking)
yellow band around each wing (also seen on 15th AF P-51's)
two-digit black number in front of intercooler doors
red tail surfaces

I live close to March AFB. For a time, March was 15th AF headquarters. The museum on the base has many models on display representing 15th AF aircraft, including that Hawk/Testors kit done up in the 332nd scheme. That old kit certainly is not state of the art, but the model looks attractive in the 332nd scheme.

Jim

yep...they had the ole D

Did they get the D model?
I saw last night they made emntion of the Getting rid of the Jug and getting the P51C. . .Just askin'

Don