Hi guys,
My dad gave me a picture which his mom gave to him back in 1946. It’s a picture of a P-80 and the tail number is clearly discernable. It was taken during “Army Day” on Hamilton Field in CA (at least that’s what it says on the back of the photograph). My dad grew up on that base and I thought it would be a hoot to build a model of the particular plane depicted in the photograph.
Anyway, is there a way I can trace the tail number to find out the fate of this plane? I’m at work right now but if my memory serves me, I think the number was “485069”. The code on the side of the plane (in larger numbers) was “PN-069”.
Thanks for all the tips, help and advice!
Eric
Could it be “Rhapsody in Rivets” that did a transcontinental flight in 1946;
http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww3/f/129/3/0/28
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/decals/super/ss72142.htm
I have no more info, but the above may help you find some (if it’s the correct A/C).
Wow! Thanks Milair! I was able to find that Superscale sheet but, as you can see, it said nothing about the transcontinental flight!!! What I really need to do is scan the picture in tonight and post what I’ve got. In the old black and white photo, the plane is devoid of any nose art, fuselage bands, kill marks, etc. It’s way too hard to tell if there’s any yellow trim on the nose and tail and there are no tip tanks on the plane in the photo.
The Superscale sheet indicates that the plane is pearl grey. Again, I can’t tell from the photo if the plane is in NMF or pearl grey.
The tail numbers in any given plane would never change, would they?
Eric
For any US military aircraft, use joebaugher.com. In this instance, 44-85069 fell into a black hole as he doesn’t have a listing of it.
I think the tail number would most likely stay the same…
The wings palette main P-80 page has some additional info on some publications where the plane is featured (7th or 8th listing down);
http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww3/f/129/3/0
With regards to NMF or pearl grey, 85069 only seems to have served with the 412th FG, so if you can find any images of P-80 from the 412th from the same era, this may answer the question - although it looks like the 412th were only a test wing for the P-80, so there might not have been that many P-80’s with them.
Check Dana Bell’s Air Force Colors, vol. 3, Pacific and Zone of Interior, US; as it covers these early P-80’s. If I remember right, they were painted grey.