P-51B "Shangri-La" March and April 1944 versions

[Bo_Nidle]

Now I know that there is a "Shangri-La" already included with the Battle of Normandy P-51B, but I am a fan of the Mustang, especially the Razorback version and especially especially "Shangri-La" flown by Captain Dominic "Don" Gentile of the 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group......so I was definitely going to do my version(s) regardless.

 

I have done two versions. The first is how "Shangri-La " appeared in March of 1944. Gentile had achieved a celebrity status in that he was the first WW2 American ace to exceed the tally total of famous American ace from WW1: Eddie Rickenbacker. The press visited Debden for the story and Gentile had many photos taken of him next to "Shangri-La".

At this time the 4th were in the process of overpainting the white noses of their Mustangs in what would become their trademark red. At the time of the March photos the painting of the nose of "Shangri-La" had only been partially completed, hence the red and white spinner with the crude demarcation between the two colours. The victories banner below the cockpit reflected Gentilies victories up to that time and the wheels were painted red. I have attempted to recreate this as accurately as I can.

 

Edit: Since writing the above, fellow skinner Rjel made me aware of an alternative explaination for the spinners appearance and upon researching further I found this which seems very plausible:

"The red was painted right over the white ETO recognition nose paint in a hurry with little preparation of the surface prior to application of the red. The very first batch of red paint was purchased from local civilian stores and was a lacquer type with a relatively low pigment content, rather than an enamel; that is, it had almost a nail polish transparent quality - and took 3 or 4 coats to cover well. Very thin and watery as one hangar technician stated. Shortly thereafter, on one of the first flights (March 17?) with the new red noses, some of the Mustangs flew through "rough weather". A sleet storm was encountered by some of the P-51s, and the ice just peeled that cheap red paint right off their spinners. That was why Shangri-La's spinner sported that very ragged edge to the spinners red/white demarcation line. "

 

Whilst I am still unable to find the direct source I tend to go with this latter explaination.

 

Download: https://www.mediafire.com/file/gwz506wdw7eixi7/4thFg_336thFS_Shangril-La_March_1944.zip/file

 

The second version depicts "Shangri-La" on its final mission with a fully painted nose and spinner and the victories banner extended to show Gentiles full tally.

 

The real "Shangri-La" met a somewhat ignominious end when, on April 8th 1944, Gentile returned to Debden from the final mission of his tour with the press waiting on the airfield to record the event, Gentile decided to "showboat" and buzzed the field. This was in direct contradiction to the standing order of the C.O. of the 4thFG, the legendary Col Don Blakeslee.

On Gentile's second pass he apparently forgot that there was a rise in the terrain in the middle of the airfield and struck the ground, bellied in and tore "Shangi-La" in half behind the cockpit. Blakeslee, not a man to be trifled with, let alone have his orders ignored, grounded Gentile immediately. Legend has it that he could be heard tearing a strip off Gentile in his office from the other side of the airfield. What we British call a "colossal bollocking".

However Gentile still returned to the USA as a celebrity and conducted tours around the country promoting war bonds in a new P-51D, also named "Shangri-La". (Which may be forthcoming if I can get the bloody checks to line up!)

 

Sadly Dominic "Don" Gentile was killed in a flying accident in 1951 whilst at the controls of the new T-33 jet.

 

Download: https://www.mediafire.com/file/nhi92rmtaj9371u/4thFG_336thFS_Shangri-La_April_1944.zip/file

 

I will also be uploading these to the HSD.

 

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by Bo_Nidle

[Rjel]

I might be remembering this wrong, but I think I remember reading somewhere that the red paint on the spinner flaked off exposing the original white after she was flown through some rough weather. The pictures I seen of it make the paint on the spinner look very ragged.

 

[Bo_Nidle]

Well I'll certainly stand to be corrected on that point mate, but that's the first time I've heard that.

 

I tend to go with the partially painted account due to the way the paint looks. I was a car sprayer (refinisher) manyyyyyyy years (decades) ago, and the way the paint appears in period photos, translucency, lack of gloss finish, certainly tends to suggest unfinished painting rather than erosion,  but I may be misinformed.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by Bo_Nidle

[Rjel]

28 minutes ago, Bo_Nidle said:

Well I'll certainly stand to be corrected on that point mate, but that's the first time I've heard that.

 

I tend to go with the partially painted account due to the way the paint looks. I was a car sprayer (refinisher) manyyyyyyy years (decades) ago, and the way the paint appears in period photos, translucency, lack of gloss finish, certainly tends to suggest unfinished painting rather than erosion,  but I may be misinformed.

Like I said, I'm going by memory so it might be me who's wrong. Regardless, excellent skin.

[Bo_Nidle]

You piqued my curiosity and I did a search of the t'internet and found a model forum thread on this subject and it appears that I was indeed misinformed:

 

""P-51B-7-NA Mustang (43-6913; VF - T): A Markings Chronology"

"Mar 15............. 4th FG receives red noses. The red was painted right over the white ETO recognition nose paint in a hurry with little preparation of the surface prior to application of the red. The very first batch of red paint was purchased from local civilian stores and was a lacquer type with a relatively low pigment content, rather than an enamel; that is, it had almost a nail polish transparent quality - and took 3 or 4 coats to cover well. Very thin and watery as one hangar technician stated. Shortly thereafter, on one of the first flights (March 17?) with the new red noses, some of the Mustangs flew through "rough weather". A sleet storm was encountered by some of the P-51s, and the ice just peeled that cheap red paint right off their spinners. That was why Shangri-La's spinner sported that very ragged edge to the spinners red/white demarcation line. The rear half of the spinner was touched up with red paint, but evidence of the chipping remained just forward of the spinner break (see photo at the bottom of this page). Within a short time, Don had the white forward half of the spinner touched up so that there was a nice hard edge between the red and white parts at the spinner break, making his kite look better and also facilitating better aerial recognition between Don and Johnny in combat. The red/white cowl checkerboard and the red wheels would have been painted on at this time. The nose colors were new at this time in 8AF, and Don wasn't "called" on this unique red/white nose coloration - until later."

 

I actually like this reason as it is not only very plausible, but it's certainly more interesting than the partially finished explaination I had believed for all these years.

Red is always a nightmare to paint in real life, due the pigment content, (yellow is a similar pain in the rear for the same reason).

 

Everydays a school day

 

Thanks Rjel.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Bo_Nidle

[Misty06]

Outstanding Bo - really nice . I was hoping someone would redo Shangri-La.................. and Ding Hao ! 

[Misty06]

Yep...................dammit  - I saw that after I posted?