Combat Vet P-51's ending up in post-war ANG Units? ...

[Mark Allen M]

Was this common or rare?

Below is North American P-51D-25-NA Mustang 44-73108 with an ANG outfit (can't quite tell which state ANG though) Could be Minnesota ANG.




and below is North American P-51D-25-NA Mustang 44-73108. Maj. Louis H "Red Dog" Norley Jr., [Conrad, MT]. 334th Fighter Squadron, ex RCAF. P-51D 44-73108 QP-O "Red Dog XII". This was the last P-51D Mustang assigned to Major Louis H Norley, Commanding Officer of the 334th Fighter Squadron. Transferred to 358FS, 355FG, 8AF USAAF.






Duane Doyle's P-51D, 44-72907 Red Dog XII, N334FS
http://www.mustangsmustangs.net/p-51/su ... l/44-72907




Maj. Louis H "Red Dog" Norley Jr

[junkman9096]

This guy thinks it might be South Dakota ANG.
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/s ... ta-ANG-zip
Not knowing the colors of the lightning bolt nor having the aircraft card, its kind of hard to tell. I've seen similar bolt schemes on Minn ANG and Ohio ANG Mustangs.

[JohnTerrell]

This is the photo I worked from in order to do those graphics depicting 44-73108. Note the amber recognition lights mounted on the side of the fuselage, used as formation lights, which was an 8th Air Force mod done back during WWII.



The white wing tips was purely a guess, based on the above photo (nothing I could do about adjusting the placement of the light on the side of the vertical fin, which was based (in the model) on the placement seen for most USAF/ANG Mustangs).

[Mark Allen M]

This is why I enjoy doing the small things I do .... it's all about the vets and their kin. Anyone who can help us out it would be greatly appreciated and I have an award for you if you can help out.

"Hi Mark,
Thanks for posting these photo's, Louis is my cousin and I am a Merlin engine guy. I have built an engine for this airplane. So, from the photo's his airplane ended up in a guard unit back in the states. Do you have any idea what finally became of the airplane? I suspect probably scrapped.

Perhaps you could help me with something. Louis brother Mark is still with us and he has given me a leather patch off of Louis jacket with the Red Dog pissin on it. His flight jacket was thought to have been in the local Museum in Conrad, MT. I am originally from Shelby, MT which is 25 miles north. Anyhow, I wanted to locate the jacket to get photo's of the artwork on it so I can duplicate it for myself and Duane Doyle. We think my uncle may have taken the jacket to the CAF Museum in Mesa, AZ. We know he took a bunch of Louis's 4th Ftr Grp books there to be displayed. I have e-mailed those folks and never gotten a response.

So, I would like to acquire either wartime photo's of his flight jacket or be able to locate were the jacket is currently and gets photo's of it. Would you be able to help with any of this or point me in a direction that I can follow up further?"

[Dan Johnson II]

Oh to find out that his kite still survived. No doubt she met the scrap heap but fun to imagine

Thanks for sharing that history

[Flat 12x2]

Oh to find out that his kite still survived. No doubt she met the scrap heap but fun to imagine

Thanks for sharing that history

Many close to her on the production line survived
from Joe Baugher's site
73053, 73079, 73081, 73098, 73117, 73129, 73140, 73142, 73149, 73163, 73177 are all still around
That's a high survival percentage
73108 is not listed, so ...

[junkman9096]

Was there any nose art on the starboard nose during WWII? There's a Draw Decal sheet from the big Mustang gathering in 2007 showing a forlorn looking bloodhound but I think its a postwar addition.
http://www.drawdecal.com/red-dog-xii-p-51d-released/

[C VEICH]

There are at least a couple of guys on the board here that are, or were, associated with the CAF Arizona Wing and may be able to help in regards to finding out if they have Maj. Norley's jacket in the collection. I can pay a visit to the museum if nothing else but I think Mutt Gunsch or somebody else might be more inclined to get an answer.

[Mark Allen M]

Yes indeed Chad, that would be great if you could stop by and do a recon mission. It means a lot to those that matter in the issue.

Anyone else who has a connection to those folks at the CAF AZ wing much appreciate a hand as well. Hopefully the jacket can be located. I'll make some calls Monday as well, that's if we survive the fires.

[sandiego89]

Was this common or rare?

Getting back to the original question, I have no documentation, but I would think it was more rare for combat vets to go to ANG units. I believe we have quite a few P-51 survivors that were ANG survivors, but a smaller subset of survivors with a WWII combat history. Would this suggest that post war active duty and ANG units tended to get later production aircraft that stayed stateside most of their career? I imagine the active duty units would still get the best new production D and H models, but with fewer active duty units needing the P-51 can we surmise the ANG would pick the next newest aircraft they could get? Didn't many combat vets never make it home from Europe or the pacific, or if they did were war weary and went to the desert for rather quick scrapping?

[John Dupre]

Any idea on how the aircraft ended up back in the US? Did the pilot return as part of a war bond drive? Anything could happen but I understood that almost any fighter aircraft with significant combat history was left in place whether Europe or Asia/Pacific. Many were then scrapped and of course many others were sold on to local air forces. Were there other aircraft from that unit returned to the US?