I got a set of Super Scale decals, no. 48-900, on which is a P-40E flown by Lt. John Landers. It seems this guy flew a lot of planes! I have seen at least 4 so far, including the famous “Texas Longhorn,” as well as the one on the decals. It has an eagle on the midfuse behind the canopy, which is shown as partly covering the rear canopy panels. It also has a cartoon mosquito with a machine gun and the word “Skeeter” on the nose. Is there a source of info where I can see Lt Landers and the planes he flew? Particularly this one?
A link for a short professional biography, and a picture of the Lieutenant can be found here.
The best way to find his planes that I know of is to search google images for “Lt. John D. Landers” which will bring up all sorts of things, but mostly images of his planes.
… and I found what I was looking for. John Landers flew several planes, including the well known P-51 “Big Beautiful Doll,” after Aug., 1944. But Landers, then a LT., was also a Pacific Ace in the Warhawk and flew out of Darwin, Australia for awhile. One of the planes he flew, in Feb., 1942, was a P-40E named “Skeeter.” It looked like this:
This is probably the lesser known of his mounts and I came by it by luck on a sheet of “ebay sell-off” decals. Note how the eagle at midfuse overlaps the rear canopy panels. Many versions of this plane do not portray it this way, but I believe this is correct.
I have always thought the P-40 was one of the best looking planes that ever flew. While not the greatest performer, it served well and it sure looks good.
