P-51B/C's x 2: "Berlin Express" 357thFG June 1944 (now V1.1) and August 1944

[Bo_Nidle]

Here's a couple I have been working on this week, both named "Berlin Express" and flown by William "Bill" Overstreet of the 363rd Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group.

 

The first is a P-51C that Overstreet used to chase down a Bf109 at rooftop height over Paris in the spring of 1944. The pilot of the Bf109 tried to evade Overstreet by flying throught the arches of the Eifel Tower. It didn't work, as Overstreet followed him through and shot him down!

 

After this aircraft was written off in July 1944, during a takeoff accident whilst being flown by another pilot, Overstreet was assigned a Malcolm Hood fitted P-51B that had previously been Clarence "Bud" Anderson's "Old Crow". This also had artwork on the port side in the form of a highly stylised "winged Mustang"....which I thought was a dragon when I was building it! There are many contradictory sources with regards to the arts colouring (once again) but I based my efforts on a photo on a Pyn-Up decals illustration.

 

Hope you like them.

 

P-51C "Berlin Express" June 1944 (V1.1) has now had its metal finish modified to take advantage of the improved metal finish in the latest patch.

 

P-51C "Berlin Express" June 1944 download (V1.1):

https://www.mediafire.com/file/94hgpjndq9jdz4j/357thFG_363rdFS_Berlin_Express_June_1944_V1.1.zip/file

 

P-51B "Berlin Express" August 1944:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/8erjrjmiyet8ifk/357thFG_363rdFS_Berlin_Express_Aug_1944.zip/file

 

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Bo_Nidle

[Rjel]

Nice. The 357th is probably my second favorite FG. If you've never read Leonard "Kit" Carson's book, Pursue and Destroy, I highly recommend it. It was based on a series of articles published in the mid 1970s in Wings/Airpower magazine.

 

The magazine itself was published from 1971 until 2007. Broke my heart when they ceased publication. It was an excellent magazine. All the issues are available as downloadable PDFs by year or as PDFs of specific aircraft. The Mustang edition (as do others) comes with several pilot manuals and other related wartime publications. All the digitized magazines are of excellent visual quality. The print is sharp and the photos are very clean looking. Nothing compares to holding a printed book or magazine IMO, but these make an acceptable substitute.

 

https://airwingmedia.com/downloads/p51-mustang/