What would this P47 lost in New Guinea in 1944 look like?

[carlisle1926]

After coming into possession of many of the personal effects of 2nd Lt. Thomas E. Bullington Jr 0-678826., a P47 pilot that was killed somewhere near Wewak, New Guinea 11 April 1944, and spending weeks sifting through his letters home and reading his log book, I would like to know what his plane would have looked like. This is what I know- His plane was a P-47D-11, 311th FS, 58th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force. station APO 503, unit 1. The plane was named "Cowtown Cyclone". I had posted many of the artifacts on WIX a few weeks ago in another thread.

I would like to find out what an accurate paint scheme would have been at the time of his death in 1944. I have a junk T28 fuselage that is going to be towed on a trailer in a 4th of July parade and I would like to paint the T28 like his plane in Honor of his sacrifice. Plus I intend to build a scale model of the plane to display with the artifacts. Sadly, I don't even know if his plane was a razor back P47 or a bubble canopy---I don't know a lot about P-47s.

Jason Barnett

Last edited by carlisle1926 on Tue May 29, 2012 2:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Sutts]

There appears to be a colour profile of a P-47D named "Cowtown Cyclone" on page 79 of the publication "Fifth Airforce Color Profiles".
The index is available on this link:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/47626514/FIFTH-AIR-FORCE-COLOR-PROFILES

[carlisle1926]

I opened the link you posted and I can see that there was a P-47D" Cowtown Cyclone" on page 79. The trick is where is page 79? Any idea as to how to see anything other than an index page. I'm not much of a computer guy.

Jason Barnett

[Mike Bates]

A D-11 would be a razorback. You might try here.
http://www.p47pilots.com/

HTH
Mike

[carlisle1926]

I just emailed a company that creates color profiles out of Australia of 5th Air Force Color Profiles. Hopefully they are the ones that produced the above link.
Jason

Last edited by carlisle1926 on Tue May 29, 2012 1:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Django]

Not much help, but here's the page on Pacific Wrecks.
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p ... 75289.html

The book with the profiles...
http://aerothentic.com/Products/fifth_i ... color.html

Another.
http://livres.histoireetcollections.com ... force.html

[carlisle1926]

Not much help, but here's the page on Pacific Wrecks.
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p ... 75289.html

The book with the profiles...
http://aerothentic.com/Products/fifth_i ... color.html

Another.
http://livres.histoireetcollections.com ... force.html

The aerothentic site is the one that I had already emailed. The website is a little odd. It shows them to be selling this book on a CD, but there seems to be no way to actually buy it. I'll give the other site a try now.

[jamesintucson]

Not much help, but here's the page on Pacific Wrecks.
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p ... 75289.html

The book with the profiles...
http://aerothentic.com/Products/fifth_i ... color.html

Another.
http://livres.histoireetcollections.com ... force.html

The aerothentic site is the one that I had already emailed. The website is a little odd. It shows them to be selling this book on a CD, but there seems to be no way to actually buy it. I'll give the other site a try now.

I have the "Fifth in Color" CD. There is nothing in it related to the plane you are interested in. The Fifth AF book that is supposed to have the profile drawing is a different one.

James

[Lightning]

Howdy all

www.pacificghosts.com

Lightning

[ZeamerB17]

Can anyone confirm that the Squadron/Signal book book Air Force Colors:Volume 3 Pacific and Home Front 1942-1947 covers the general markings for the 58th Figher Group?

Sort of. A quick look through the book found this info:





Sorry - too lazy to fire up the scanner ...

I'll go through it more in depth and report if I find anything of interest.

[JDK]

The aerothentic site is the one that I had already emailed. The website is a little odd. It shows them to be selling this book on a CD, but there seems to be no way to actually buy it. I'll give the other site a try now.

Though the conversation's passed this point, I can't see the problem claimed - at the bottom of the page there's a link: "ORDER NOW via PacificGhosts.com USD $22.50" and on the linked page is the book, which can be bought from there.

http://aerothentic.com/Products/fifth_i ... color.html

Which goes, (as a previous poster put) to the shop here:
http://www.pacificghosts.com/

Regards,

[carlisle1926]

Can anyone confirm that the Squadron/Signal book book Air Force Colors:Volume 3 Pacific and Home Front 1942-1947 covers the general markings for the 58th Figher Group?

Sort of. A quick look through the book found this info:





Sorry - too lazy to fire up the scanner ...

I'll go through it more in depth and report if I find anything of interest.

Thats a start! Thank you. The pictures shows the plane to have just a red stripe on the cowling, but the text says it should have been a blue stripe- weird. At least now I know the large numbers on the side of the plane would have been between V-67 and V-99.

[carlisle1926]

I found reference to one recent book covering the 58th FG written by Anthony J. Keupferer, No Glamour…No Glory! The Story of the 58th Fighter Group of World War II, Taylor Publishing, 1989. 320 pages, over 300 photos, maps, appendices, roster. Originally printed by the the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Found on AbeBooks here http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDet ... no%2Bglory

Found also on AbeBooks decal set for 58th FG - your color/group/squadron scheme found! http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDet ... 1%26y%3D16

Also, the original post war Group book Memoirs of the 58th Fighter Group, Officers and Enlisted men of the 58th, 1945

I was able to open the link showing the decal set for the 58th Fighter group, 311th and 310th FS. It is showing the planes of Bullington's 311th FS to have been natural aluminum finish with a red/white striped rudder, but the 310th to be olive drab. I suspect that the natural finish paint scheme of the 311thFS that is depicted in the link would be a 1945 paint scheme and not an April 1944 scheme--- or am I way off as usual. I've had it in my head that the 311th FS would have had olive drab paint in April of 1944 like most all other P47 flying over New Guinea at the time.

[carlisle1926]

The aerothentic site is the one that I had already emailed. The website is a little odd. It shows them to be selling this book on a CD, but there seems to be no way to actually buy it. I'll give the other site a try now.

Though the conversation's passed this point, I can't see the problem claimed - at the bottom of the page there's a link: "ORDER NOW via PacificGhosts.com USD $22.50" and on the linked page is the book, which can be bought from there.

http://aerothentic.com/Products/fifth_i ... color.html

Which goes, (as a previous poster put) to the shop here:
http://www.pacificghosts.com/

Regards,

I've finally noticed the link after you pointed it out! Thank you.

[ZeamerB17]

It is possible you could get the No Glamour. No Glory! The Story of the 58th Fighter Group of World War II book through an interlibrary loan, and copy the info you need from it. Not real likely since it was probably a limited printing and not many libraries would have it. Worth a shot, though.