P-47D serial dilemma. RESOLVED!

[quang]

Dear modeller friends,

As the Kate is on the completion stage, I’m embarking on a new project, a P-47D

Name: Haul’in Ass II
Pilot: 1st Lt James McWhorter.

Unit: 386th sqn, 365 FG

Location: Florennes, Belgium (A-78), 1945

 

I found this color photo of the nose art and am looking for photographic confirmation of these artists’ renditions of this P-47D:

 

 

…and this marvelous colour pic of the nose art:

 

What puzzles me is that while it’s the same plane, the depicted serials are different: 44-33446 vs 44-19791.
The first one should belong to a P-47D-30, the second to a P-47D-28.

 

What do you guys think? Your comments are greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Quang

Edited March 29 by quang

[mozart]

The simple answer Quang you already know: NEVER TRUST A PROFILE!!  I don't understand what their rationale is, but if I was in that trade I would research, research, research until I was 100% sure of my ground, then produce the art work.  In my last two Hurricane builds I have found basic mistakes in colour profiles which should never have been made.

An alternative answer of course is that the designs were transferred from one plane to another after one of them had been lost in action, written off or whatever.  Seems like you'll have to do the research on this one, like you did with your last Japanese plane.

[quang]

2 hours ago, mozart said:

The simple answer Quang you already know: NEVER TRUST A PROFILE!!

That is exactly why I asked, Max  This is a text-book exemple of how profiles can be misleading.
I found a video of Haul’in Ass II taking off but unfortunately not conclusive because the serial is illegible.
The game’s still afoot!

Cheers,

Quang

[mozart]

Just to throw another into the mix:

 

 

This is a “skin” for FlightSim fans. They are normally well researched but you draw your own conclusions.

[Kagemusha]

Have you seen this? Max might well be right, there could have been two different aircraft,  very similar nose art. I would have thought the profile in the link has a very good chance of being correct given it's owned by the pilot.

 

I think there might well have been two different aircraft, two different pilots, I'd send Nigel (lampie) a pm, he's written a few books on the P-47D, such as this one.

[quang]

 

14 minutes ago, mozart said:

This is a “skin” for FlightSim fans. They are normally well researched but you draw your own conclusions.

I’m well aware of the ‘skin men’, Max. Except from truly dedicated ones like John Terrell, most of the time they based their creations on the very profiles we’ve learned to distrust.

The living proof is that the skin you posted represent the first version of Haul’in : correct serial for the earlier version (D-25) of the Jug, yet with the wrong nose art. 
Here’s the first Haul’in from the Barracuda decals instructions:

Here’s the nose art of the 1st Haul’in Ass

 

Here’s the nose art of the ‘Haul’in Ass II’. 

 
The second Ass II is the plane I’d like to model. It’s a later version (D-30) as you can see by the extended red fin fillet.

 

[mozart]

I guess what’s needed is the American equivalent to the British National Archives where individual operations (missions in Yankee speak?) can be seen with listings of pilots, planes, target etc etc. 

[quang]

46 minutes ago, Kagemusha said:

Have you seen this? Max might well be right, there could have been two different aircraft,  very similar nose art. I would have thought the profile in the link has a very good chance of being correct given it's owned by the pilot.

I already know of your link.

I agree interviewee Mike Cannon also flew on Haul’in Ass II during his stint with the 386th sqn but the plane was assigned to McWhorter who initiated the name. Furthermore the serial on his drawing is of a P-47 D-28 (sans fillet). Of course they could have added the fillet later.

Thank you for your input.

Cheers,

Quang

[quang]

I found James McWhorter’s daughter on Facebook. I’d take my chance and ask her about her father plane’s serial. Who knows?

Watch the superbly-restored video about the 365th fighter group and their Thunderbolts 

HERE.

Still searching for the lost serial…

[quang]

 

Don Barnes, one of the authors of the Hell Hawks book, contacted me and confirmed that 44-3346 is the correct one.

Mary McWhorter, the pilot’s daughter, says she’d be delighted to see the finished model. Now I’m trapped in my own game! 

I still have to find a photo of the real plane with the serial although the video could have been a great help. Anyhow I now have something to move on with my build.

Thanks @mozart and @Kagemusha for your input.

Cheers,

Quang

[quang]

At long last.

Here’s the MiniArt 1/48 P-47D-30 depicted as 1st Lieutenant James McWhorter’s “Haul’in Ass II”.

Thank you all for your assistance in building up this model.

Cheers,

Quang

 

 

Edited March 28 by quang

[MikeMaben]

Silly, you fergot the wings 

 

[quang]

… and the wheels 

[Mach3]

Very nice Quang!

[BiggTim]

228296 does not fit the format, so it has to be 42-28296.

Here is the official log that confirms what Barracuda shows for Haul'in Ass (1st): (I assume McWhorter was not flying it when it was lost)

42-28296    (MSN 1958)    10th Depot Repair Squadron, 10th Air Depot Group, 9th AF Service Command, 
                    Villacoublay [A-42], France; Damaged 4Nov44 taxying at Villacoublay; 386th FS, 
                    365th FG, 9th AF; Damaged by flak during a dive bombing attack on an 
                    armored column at Much, 17 miles NE of Bonn, Germany January 23, 1945. The aircraft headed home 
                    and reached allied lines where the pilot bailed out rather than risk a forced landing, his 
                    aircraft crashing at Erkelenz, Germany. Leaving the aircraft, the pilot was swept back by the 
                    slipstream and slammed into the vertical stabilizer. On reaching the ground he was taken by 
                    GIs to a field hospital but died of his injuries enroute.  MACR 13332.

 

43-3446 corresponds to a B-25D-30 that converted to an F-10.

44-33446 does come up as a P-47D-30-RA, official entry here:

44-33446 (MSN 4407) 365th FG, 9th AF; to Türk Hava Kuvvetleri as serial 7002; 9 Alay/1 Bl; WFU

 

41-9791 comes up empty, and I suspect is far too early a number for a P-47D, so it must be 44-19791, which comes up as a P-47D-28-RE, official entry:

44-19791 (MSN 5199) War Bond aircraft; "Scarsdale Comet" - One of more than 100 P-47 Thunderbolts purchased 
                    through War Bonds by residents of Scarsdale, NY; 386th FS [D5-X], 365th FG, 9th AF; "Mississippi Rebel III"

Note that this plane was assigned to the same FS as McWhorter, so it's possble that this plane was renamed as Haul'In Ass II when 8296 was lost while being flown by another pilot. 

 

Bottom line, I think either 3446 or 9791 could be the right one, so if your other sources confirm 3446, that lines up well enough for me.

 

I can find no other references for any P-47Ds named Haul'in Ass or flown by a pilot named McWhorter in Joe's DB, but feel free to look for yourself: https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.html

 

Tim

 

PS: Thanks for giving me something to do at work that's more interesting than work.....

 

Edited March 29 by BiggTim