North American P-51D Serial 44-72773 "Lucky Lady VII"

Matthias Dorst · **Posted:** Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:22 am

<< another thread recovery :shock:

As I told you, I want to introduce you the planes stored and maintained at MeierMotors. So, at first my favorite plane at EDTG .... how should I say, the plane "talks" to me. It´s a bit special I know. There are not many planes which talk to me, but this one does. Perhaps its the history, I dont know. Its everytime a special moment when I am alone with this ship.

Of course I invite you to share this thread with me, will say, post all informations and pictures you have concerning 44-72773 in this thread. Since I met the Lady I am researching the history of that fighter, but there are not many pictures of her life before, especially her combat life.

okay some newer history ......

This aircraft belonged to „The Real Airplane Company“ (England, Yorkshire) and was sold to MeierMotors in 2007. On 30th of September 2008 the ferryflight from Great Britain to Freiburg Airfield was announced. Die plane was baptized “Susy”, later “Darlin Ann”.
In the year 2009 the plane was sold to the new owner Christoph Noethiger, and this one gave that beautiful bird the new idendity “Lucky Lady VII”.

.... and here´s the vita << thanks to Mustangsmustangs.com for your help

Construction Number 122-39232, USAAF Serial 44-72773

13.02.1945: accepted by the USAAF
16.02.1945: delivered to the USAAF
02.03.1945: arrived at Newark/ New Jersey
12.03.1945: ferried to South Italy >> any pictures ?
16.03.1945: action over Italy (??)
28.08.1945: ferried back to the USA, „surplus“, storage 4108th BASUT
03.03.1947: ferried to Kelly Field, storage 4121 BASUT
09.09.1951: 131st Fighter Bomber Wing, George AFB, Victorville/ CA
07.06.1953: Air Material Center at Norton AFB, CA
14.02.1954: 182nd Fighter Bomber Squadron, Texas ANG, Brooks AFB in San Antonio
31.05.1958: sold as surplus
31.05.1958: Fuerza Area De La Guardia Nacional De Nicaragua reg. GN120
08.07.1963: new owner Will Martin, Palos Park/Illinois, civil RegNr. N12066
The Mustang had at this "second" 805:25 flighthours
15.07.1963: Aero Enterprises Inc.
03.12.1963: Appliance Buyess Credit Coroporation
13.04.1964: new owner D.C. Barratt
15.12.1964: new owner Variety Motors Aircraft Sales
15.12.1964: new owner Alvin B.Celcer
15.06.1965: sold to J.N.Buchinall Jr., Texas
23.04.1983: sold to Robert L. Ferguson, Massachusetts
18.06.1987: sold to Charles Church, G-SUSY
1990 : new owner Paul Morgan, nun „Darlin Ann“
2007 : new owner MeierMotors GmbH
2009 : sold to Christoph Nöthiger (Schweiz), “Lucky Lady VII”, Crew Chief: Stefan Hangartner (Schweiz)

The aircraft got rid of the colours in December 2008. The plane was polished by the MeierMotors-Team and shows now a bare metal skin.

A North American P-51 Mustang in pure shape.
As the plane was polished, all those historic scars were kept and not restored. So this fighter plane kept is historic up to the smallest scratch.
This pure elegance was also emphasized through the new idendity “Lucky Lady VII” .

Matthias Dorst · **Posted:** Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:43 am

we write the year 2007, exactly 30th september ....

Elmar gave me a phone "Matthias, we will get another Mustang, approach today about 15.00". Wheww another Mustang. Another Mustang, what a message for me. The Huntress was already a sensation, but two Mustangs at one place in Germany ... wow. As you might know, Germany is a "green" country, will say cars with electrical power, lots of bicyclettes, Freiburg is called "Green Village". It is very very difficult to get acceptance with warbirds, there are lot of people against the Freiburg airfiled cause those aircraft are so loud ...... we talk about Cessnas !!!!!!!! ..... and now such an angry loud gasolin guzzler approaches Green City

Not so easy .... the last time Freiburg inhabitants saw Mustangs 1944-45. The fighter is well known by the older people, the shape the sound .... no good memories. As later in the year the "Darlin Ann" hammered over our house in Freiburg, my mother (91 years old) said in a very special calm voice "son, this was a Mustang"... she did not saw the plane, it was too fast, she only herad it ... it was the particular sound of that fighter bomber. Mustangs often attacked Freiburg city in the late stage of the war and shoot at everything which moved. My mother said, that they called those Mustangs "terrorplanes". She had some luck and was unhurt in the winter 1945 as such a "terrorplane" attacked her in the streets of Freiburg. Thats also history .... Freiburg is not so easy for a homebase for Mustangs :wink:

30th September 2007.... waiting on the Freiburg airfield .... Tower: "fast plane approach from west" .... and we heard that fantastic sound of the Merlin engine... wide curve from west to east, and in line with the tarmac then full throttle .... I will never forget that sound (sry for the poor quality of those shots, but I was too nervous and I had a bad equipement)

Matthias Dorst · **Posted:** Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:50 am

...short final on EDTF

the old MeierMotors shop EDTF

a very very happy Elmar Meier

some close up´s

What a day !

Matthias Dorst · **Posted:** Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:04 am

stored and maintained in the old shop .... what a difference to the shop today in EDTG !

In December 2007 the plane was ferried to the new facilities on the old fighter base Bremgarten (EDTG), a few kilometers south. At this base, there are much better conditions for the shop and of course for the pilots. EDTF is directly in the city, EDTG is outside. Big airfield, very long and wide runway ... I saw Starlifters overthere in my active Luftwaffe time. The runway was good for those RF-104G and RF-4E ... so it should be good enough for those slow Mustangs :lol:

In December 2008 I got a phone from Achim " Matthias come into the shop, you must see that. The Darlin is polished" .... okay I dont like polished planes ... up to this particular moment. The plane caught me and I was in another world .... she talked to me

stars & bars

what a beauty !

Matthias Dorst · **Posted:** Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:23 am

Spring 2010 .... Achim told me that the plane was sold to a new owner. I was a bit sorry and saw "my" fighter leaving the country. But Achim told me "no it stays here, storage and maintenance by MeierMotors" ... I think he was very happy .... me too

The new owner is Christoph Noethiger (Switzerland) and his crewchief is one of the best informed Mustang-specialists. Stefan Hangartner knew the Mustangs from their time at the "Schweizer Fliegertruppen" (Swiss Airforce), he was responsible for the immortal "Temptation" and of course took care for the famous "Double Trouble Two". Yes, also "Miss America" was under Stefans magic hands. Christoph is very happy that Stefan is his crewchief, and I tell you Stefan loves that bird. You can see both men with that special smile in the face when they are in the shop. Its a real team and Christoph said to me some months ago "you can not ride such a fighter alone, you need a team. You will need a very good team. Stefan is friend and team"

on the left wing Stefan, on the right wing Christoph

Christoph wanted to give that fantastic fighter a new idendity. The now as D-FPSI registered fighter should get a "double name" but an unknown name in the scene. Something like "Ferocious Frankie". Steven Atkin was contacted and he gave Christoph a list of Mustangs with "double names" ... one of the favorites was "Red Dog". Christoph´s wife decided at least

and so the plane was baptised "Lucky Lady VII" .

Christoph researched of course the history of that "Lucky Lady VII".
Some words to the wartime "Lucky Lady" and her pilot :

Col. Ernest E. Bankey, Jr. flew the P-51 Mustang “Lucky Lady VII”, (44-73045), when he was assigned to the 385th Fighter Squadron, 364th Fighter Group, 8th USAAF, in the European Theatre of Operations. He enlisted with the Army Air Corps on April 1, 1941, and after completing flight training school, was assigned to the 383rd Fighter Squadron, 364th Fighter Group, and accompanied the Group to England. He flew on the Group’s third combat mission as well as the last, compiling over 100 sorties and 500 combat hours during two tours of duty, the latter being assigned to the 385th Fighter Squadron. Mission reports from the 364th Fighter Group credit him with 10.5 air-to-air victories, 1 probable, 5.5 air-to-ground victories, with 5 more aircraft damaged on the ground. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (Ace in a day) for shooting down 5.5 aircraft on December 27, 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge, in which he made the famous radio call: “I have 50 Jerries cornered over Bonn!” He was also awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with Clusters, the Air Medal with 9 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the French Croix De Guerre with Palm. Col. Bankey retired from the United States Air Force in 1968, and then worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California on deep-space projects, some of which are still flying to the outer edges of the solar system today.
Sadly, Col. Ernest E. Bankey was not able to see the resurrection of his plane, he passed away in the early summer 2009 in the USA. But Christoph is in contact with the son of that famous pilot, perhaps we will see a "reunion" of the "following generation".

wartime shot of the Lucky Lady VII

and the "Lucky Lady VII" in 2010

Matthias Dorst · **Posted:** Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:37 am

Christoph in action, April 2010

PROP FREE !

up and away

back on the base

a highly concentrated Christoph

may 2010 .... fighters at MeierMotors

in action ..... visit the Kehl airshow in May 2010, Jürgen Meier as backseater

some maintenance work with Vintage V12´s .... here you can see José Flores at work

"Lucky Lady" over Breitscheid

Matthias Dorst · **Posted:** Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:51 am

thats it .... this is the story of the "Lucky Lady VII" hope you enjoyed my thread.

Feel free to post your pictures of 44-72773 in this thread. I would be very happy when there are some pictures of the old times, will say times when the fighter was used by armed forces.

here some pictures of 44-72773 in the civil aera

N120066 in the year 1964, source MustangsMustangs.com , copyright Howard Chilton

source MustangsMustangs.com, copyright overthere !

early shot of the Susy

in camouflage ... source mustangsmustangs.com, copyright Ben Rogers

redvanner · **Posted:** Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:26 pm

Hi Matthias, as you requested to hijack your thread, I am just doing that. No old pictures, but "new" ones. All taken August 2010 at Breitscheid Airshow. All pics copyright by me.

Feel free to browse my other uploaded pics at photobucket.

http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/kk208/michaelmlerg/

Michael

360-up.com · **Joined:** Mon Aug 20, 2012 12:34 pm **Posts:** 1

Fasten your seatbelts ...

current interactive pictures of "Lucky Lady VII" can be seen here:

http://www.360-up.com/index.php/was-noc ... birds.html

Matthias Dorst · **Posted:** Tue Dec 11, 2012 5:06 pm

End 2011 Lucky Lady VII suffered an engine damage. The Merlin was revised by MeierMotors engine partner Vintage V12´s Tehachapi/CA

June 2012 , the Lucky Lady got her new heart and a revised propeller

stock-exhausts 65mm

and those glass-sparkplugs for dehyrdating the engine while transport

Matthias Dorst · **Posted:** Tue Dec 11, 2012 5:08 pm

finalworks end August 2012

Matthias Dorst · **Posted:** Tue Dec 11, 2012 5:10 pm

some impressions

blacknwhite

Matthias Dorst · **Posted:** Tue Dec 11, 2012 5:14 pm

10hours control in November 2012

Mustang rulez :supz:

Patrick at work

Mr.Merlin, Felix Ohlhoff

Erik doing some hydraulic tests

Teamwork

Old SAR pilot · **Posted:** Tue Dec 11, 2012 5:58 pm

As always, EXCELLENT pics and "story line", Mattias! :supz:

..And those guys look like they REALLY enjoy working on those birds!

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Tue Dec 11, 2012 6:52 pm

Great stuff Mathias, thanks

Warbird Information Exchange

North American P-51D Serial 44-72773 "Lucky Lady VII"

Who is online