Another "War-Weary" P-51B two-seater ...

[WIX_Archive]

Here's another interesting hot-rod. Two seater, malcolm hood, filet added to tail, War-weary hack. (WW usually means retired from combat and now used as a hack for Bomb Groups etc.)
North American P-51B-10-NA Mustang/42-106703

42-106703 was with the 1st Bomb Division as a war weary from 12th October 1944, having been with 352nd FG, and went to 20th FG on 27th January 1945. Might account for the 1BD triangle on the tail?

Photo credit: Arthur Sevigny

[phil65]

The back seat doesn't look too comfortable...

Phil

[Snake45]

Very nice! Don't think I've ever seen that one before.

[A68-1001]

Double Malcom hood. It's on Pinterest hopefuly link works
https://www.google.com/search?q=436865+ ... VmBr8qM%3A

[junkman9096]

I find it interesting that it still appears to be armed and has the gun sight.

[bdk]

The back seat doesn't look too comfortable...

Looks like it might even have a third seat! At least it has another window behind the second seat.

[airnutz]

The back seat doesn't look too comfortable...

Looks like it might even have a third seat! At least it has another window behind the second seat.

I was thinking the rear window is about where the passengers head would be which might make it a bit less cramped than it initially appears.

[Mark Allen M]

So tired and weary ...


War Weary P-51 55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group.


P-51 Mustang WD-2, 43-12193, War Weary of the 335th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group.


A two seat P-51 Mustang of the 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, (CY-9, serial number war weary 43-6928) taxi accident, 13 April 1945.


P-51 Mustang WZ-S serial number 43-6953 War Weary used as a hack plane by the 78th Fighter Group at Duxford.


P-51 & P-47 78th FG WW


A two-seat P-51B Mustang of the 335th Fighter Squadron 4th Fighter Group at Debden.

[Firebird]

Wow, is that a P-51 Malcolm hood modified to be the rear canopy on a two-seat WW P-47........?

[JohnTerrell]

With regard to the dorsal fin fillet, all P-51B's/C's still in use by the fall of 1944 in the ETO would have had the dorsal fin fillet installed. They were supplied as kits from North American in April 1944 and first began being installed on the B's/C's in England around May/June 1944. The last 400 P-51C's actually came from the Dallas factory with the dorsal fin fillets already installed.

The P-51B/C dorsal fin fillet was different than that of the P-51D/K type (longer and less surface area), but was of similar construction and shared purpose. The earliest P-51D's (D-5-NA) of course also didn't have the dorsal fin fillet from the factory, and North American provided kits for those as well at the very same time as that of the B/C fillet kits. The dorsal fin fillet was installed from the factory on P-51D-5-NA 44-13903 and all subsequent production. All Dallas-produced P-51D/K's (except for the very first one, which was a manufacturing test airframe), had the dorsal fin fillet installed from the factory.

Wow, is that a P-51 Malcolm hood modified to be the rear canopy on a two-seat WW P-47........?

P-47's also received Malcolm hood canopies, but were of course of different design.

[JohnTerrell]

Footage of the modified two-seat P-51B-5-NA 43-6877 of the 355th FS, 354th FG used by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The aircraft had been damaged in a landing incident and repaired by the 461st Air Service Squadron, at which time the two-seat conversion work was performed.



The aircraft would later go on to receive a completely fresh coat of paint and was named "The Stars Look Down". The Collings Foundation's TP-51C is supposed to be getting painted in the markings of this aircraft, as it looked when named "The Stars Look Down", once the restoration/major overhaul work is completed at American Aero.

[C VEICH]

I think it will look most attractive as "The Stars Look Down" which, IMHO, was one of the nicer two seat conversions.

[mike furline]

A War Weary "D" with a modified canopy.

http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/18945

[junkman9096]

A War Weary "D" with a modified canopy.

http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/18945

And the other side, shamelessly taken from Ebay