This war bond purchase by citizens of Hewlett Woodmere, Long Island was given another name of "Hairless Joe" when assigned into the 56th Fighter Group and this was applied to the left side of the nose cowling. A cartoon figure from the popular "Lil Abner" strip, the personal emblem for deputy CO Maj(later LtCol) David Schilling, was also added. Schilling gained at least two of his victories in this aircraft, on 8th October and 29th November 1943.

42-7938 crash landed on 3rd February 1944, was repaired but declared "war weary" and re-assigned to the 306th Bomb Group for use in a non-combat role as its formation plane.

Prior to its belly landing at Lyons Farm, Bulcamp, flown by Lt John Fields, it had claimed 4 victory kills with the subsequent swastikas painted just below the cockpit of the left side. To accommodate the war bond dedication of the left side of the fuselage the squadron code "LM" was painted in a reduced size. The right side carried the normal sized markings which remained in place even after its transfer to the 306th but were later painted out. The tail fin serial was replaced as WW-7938. It is likely that the camouflage paint was eventually stripped off to reveal the natural metal finish

 

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© Ray Bowden 4 December 2023