History[]
Named *My Lady/Miss Marilyn* upon assignment, it was normally flown by Henry Longs.
This plane, flown by Lt. Thomas Todd, was one of four P-51s of the 318th FS who were detailed to escort a F-5E[N 1] of the 32nd Squadron. However, all failed to return, due to adverse weather conditions.
Two of the P-51s, the P-51D 44-15174 flown by Lt. Norval Weers. and the P-51B 42-103458, landed in a field in Austria, near the Hungarian border. While Lt. Weers crash landed his plane (wheels up) Lt. Todd. who was the element leader, landed wheels down.[N 2]
The two P-51s were retrieved by the Germans. The P-51D flown by Lt. Weers was 35% damaged, and was only used for parts,[3] While the P-51B was tested at Rechlin, Germany, in Olive Drab/Yellow camouflage scheme.[4]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Unarmed Photo-reconnaissance aircraft based on the Lockheed P-38J
- ↑ In 1995, Weers stated his belief that Todd had landed in order to pick him up, before flying back to base, despite not having sufficient fuel.