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Lt Col James H. Howard's P-51 Mustang with 12 kill marks for aerial victories over German and Japanese pilots. A victory marking (also called a victory mark, kill marking, or kill mark, or mission symbol) is a symbol applied in stencil or decal to the side of a military aircraft, ship or ground vehicle to denote a victory achieved by the pilot or crew against an aerial target.
Miss Helen, a P-51D in its wartime markings as flown by Capt. Raymond H. Littge of the 487 FS, 352 FG, on aerial display in 2007: It is the last original 352 FG P-51 known to exist. In 1958, the RCAF retired its 78 remaining Mustangs.
Louis Edward "Lou" Curdes (November 2, 1919 – February 5, 1995) was an American flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II who held the unusual distinctions of scoring an official and intentional air-to-air kill against another American aircraft as well as shooting down at least one aircraft from each of the major Axis powers.
On December 20, 1943, during an escort of American bombers over Bremen, Howard shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109, his first aerial victory over Europe. [10] Howard with markings showing aerial victories. On January 11, 1944, Howard led three squadrons of 354th FG P-51s on an escort mission to support bombers on the target leg at Oschersleben ...
The 4th Fighter Group was an American element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force during World War II. [1] [2] The group was known as the Debden Eagles because it was created from the three Eagle Squadrons of the Royal Air Force: No. 71, No. 121 Squadron RAF, and No. 133 Squadron RAF. [3]
Fifty-five of these P-51-1s were outfitted with a pair of K.24 cameras in the rear fuselage for tactical low-level reconnaissance and re-designated F-6A (the "F" for photographic, although confusingly also still referred to as the P-51 or P-51-1 [7]). Two kept their P-51-1 designation and were used for testing by the USAAF. [clarification needed]
The markings were two-letter fuselage squadron codes located on one side of the national insignia and a single letter aircraft code on the other side. However sixteen squadrons of B-17s of the new VIII Bomber Command , beginning in December 1942, also received this identification system, which continued in the spring and summer of 1943 when ...
The first aerial victory by a 357th pilot occurred 20 February 1944, with the downing of a Bf 109 by 1st Lt. Calvert L. Williams, 362d Fighter Squadron, flying P-51B 43-6448 (G4-U Wee Willie). The final victory was an Me 262 shot down on 19 April 1945, by 2d Lt James P. McMullen, 364th Fighter Squadron.