More P-40s Off the Line

I have completed the very basic scheme I am using for a pair of scenarios (Darwin A Flight and B Flight - found on the downloads page) I am hosting at CincyCon in March. These represent the 33rd Pursuit Squadron over Darwin. The planes are a bit of a compromise as some illustrations show "U. S. Army" on the undersides, while others do not. Same is true with the type of roundel used but most sources indicate the red ball and white star was used, although the red ball had been reduced in size with white paint applied in the field - I was not about to try that in 1/285 scale decals!

Additionally there should be some small plane numbers added to the tail and in some cases the front portion of the fuselage, in either black or yellow. I've not been able to source two digit numbers small enough to use. Lastly, some of the pilots had individual markings on their P-40s, but again, decals for those in 1/285 are lacking.

Keeping the scheme simple however allows a variety of early war uses - along with Darwin they could be used over Pearl Harbor or the Philippines. They will also get use as the 9th Pursuit Squadron for another action near Darwin as the 9th's planes initially had the red ball/white star national insignia.

Paints:

Vallejo - Neutral Gray (71.051), NATO Black (71.251), N 41 Dark Olive Drab (71.316), Natural Steel (70.864)

Foundry - Bavarian Cornflower Blue Light (73C)

Decals:

Flight Deck Decals

Varnish:

Army Painter Satin

The 9th Pursuit's First

49th Pursuit Group P-40E Warhawks over Northern Territory, 1942

In the aftermath of the Japanese surprise attack on Darwin, Northern Territory, in February 1942, the lead elements of the 49th Fighter Group, specifically the 9th Pursuit Squadron, were sent to bolster the air defenses of the threatened Australian town, which was in range of land-based Betty bombers and their escorts, the formidable Zero, flying from airfields in Java. Darwin was an important port town and had been used to stage convoys of supplies and material into Java before the fall of that Dutch colony. Darwin now became the front line as the Japanese launched a campaign to neutralize northern Australia and potentially invade the continent.

Stephen (Steven/Stephan) Poleschuk

The 9th Pursuit, manned by well-trained but inexperienced pilots and based south of Darwin at Batchelor, would obtain their first victory against the Japanese on March 22nd, when a Babs recon plane, flying at 19,000 feet and escorted by three Zeros, flew over Darwin in preparation for a bombing mission slated to hit Darwin later that day. The Japanese incursion had been picked up on the Royal Australian Air Force radar at Dripstone Cliffs. The Babs and the Zeros became separated and a section of P-40Es pounced on the helpless Babs before the Zeros could intervene, resulting in the loss of the recon plane, which crashed near Bathurst Island with one crewman parachuting from the stricken aircraft. Credit for the American victory was determined by a flip of a coin as Second Lieutenants Clyde L. Harvey and Stephen "Polly" Poleschuk had both caused damage on the Japanese recon plane - Poleschuk was the winner of the coin toss.

I have created a work in progress Check Your 6! scenario for this action which can be found on the Downloads page. 

Sources:

ADF Serials Newsletter, August 2004.

Ferguson, Steve W. & Pascalis, William K - Protect & Avenge: The 49th Fighter Group in World War II. Schiffer Military History, 1997.

Hess, WIlliam F. - 49th Fighter Group: Aces of the Pacific. Osprey Publishing, 2004.

Lewis, Dr. Tom - Eagles over Darwin: American Airmen Defending Northern Australia in 1942. Avonmore Books, 2021.

McDowell, Ernest R. - 49th Fighter Group. Squadron/Signal Publications, 1989.