Barracuda Studios have
been very busy!
At an action packed NATS in Orlando they launched two of their
newest sets of products in their resin and decal ranges. Some 1/48th
Spitfire stuff we showed you last week and now we have the privilege of
showing you the decals for the P-47 Thunderbolt in 1/72 and 1/48th
scales that have everyone talking. Fans of the 362nd fighter group rejoice – your time in the spotlight has come!
We look at the schemes on offer and add some pictures of the real aircraft into
the mix as well..
Barracuda Studios is proud to announce the
release of a brand new scale decal sheet in both 1/72nd and 1/48th scale in the
BarracudaCals line.
These two new sheets are the result of a collaboration between Barracuda Studios and Chris
Bucholtz, noted aviation author and owner of Obscureco. Chris and Roy have been
friends for many years now and have worked together in the past. Chris
approached Roy with the idea of doing a new sheet on the 362nd Fighter Group in
World War II.
He has unearthed a number of colourful new P-47 schemes from
this unit, and the team have also taken the opportunity to update and correct a
scheme (Damon's Demon) that was included on a decal sheet Chris produced back
in 1998 for the IPMS/USA national convention. The sheet is available in 1/72nd
and 1/48th scale, and the two are identical. It is a limited edition decal
release and when they are sold out, they
will not be reprinted.
Thanks to Chris Bucholtz for his invaluable help in bringing
this sheet to fruition. Thanks also to his excellent site from where most
of these pictures and profiles came from – the website
of the 362nd fighter group (– who by the way can also be
found on the Facebooks as well –
like like like.)
P-47D-21-RE 42-25518
B8*B “Damon’s Demon”
379th FS, 362nd FG, USAAF. Flown by Capt. George Rarey - Based
at Headcorn, England, June 1944
Rarey was one of the best-loved pilots of the 362nd FG.
Having worked as a commercial artist before the war, he designed and applied
the nose art for no fewer than 28 aircraft, including his own. The plane
started out as “Archy and Mehatibel,” a reference to characters in Don Marquis’
poetry, but when Rarey’s son Damon was born the plane’s name changed.
Sadly, Rarey never met his son; he was shot down by flak on
June 27, 1944 while strafing road traffic and was killed. Standard camouflage
of olive drab over neutral grey, with white bands on the nose and tail
surfaces. Note the red rudder trim tab. Curtiss Electric propeller.
P-47D-27-RE 42-27215
B8*T “1950”/”Super Rabbit”
379th FS, 362nd FG, USAAF, Flown by Lt. Ralph Sallee - Based
at Etain, France, December 1944
Sallee flew this aircraft through the Battle of the Bulge,
during which he scored two victories over Fw 190s on Dec. 26, 1944. The nose art
on the right side of the cowling reflected where the crew wished to be in five
years.
Sallee, originally from Hollywood, California, eventually
moved to Montana, where he lives to this day. Curtiss Electric symmetric paddle
blade propeller.
P-47D-30-RE 44-20425
B8*W “Kentucky Colonel”
379th FS, 362nd FG, USAAF, Flown by Capt. Wilfred
Crutchfield - Based at Etain, France, January, 1945 (not the profile above is with the red nose cowl - the aircraft portrayed in this decal sheet is from 378th. The sheet has the yellow cowling
of the 379th.)
Crutchfield, a veteran leader with the 378th Fighter
Squadron, brought his plane with him upon his transfer to the 379th. On January
22, 1945, he spotted 1500 German vehicles concentrated in a small area around
Prum, Germany, as the Sixth SS Panzer Armee was embarking for the Eastern
Front.
In the next six hours, the group destroyed 315 trucks, seven
tanks, seven half-tracks and 15 horse-drawn vehicles in a bloody battle that
cost the group five P-47s and four pilots. Crutchfield stayed in the Air Force
after the war, but disappeared in 1968 while flying a training flight with a
student in a T-33; the crash site, on a glacier on Mt. Rainer in Washington,
was not discovered until October 2004. Curtiss Electric asymmetric paddleblade
propeller; note the red rudder trim tab.
P-47D-30-RA 44-33287
B8*A “5 By 5”
379th FS, 362nd FG, USAAF, flown by Col. Joseph Laughlin - Based
at Etain, France, March 1945
Laughlin assumed the position of group commander when Col.
Morton Magoffin was shot down and captured on Aug. 10, 1944. Laughlin achieved
two remarkable successes individually: the sinking of a large vessel (possibly
the hulk of the incomplete battleship Clemenceau) at Brest, and the key hit
that destroyed the sluice gates of the Dieuze Dam. He also scored the group’s
first air-to-air victory.
Laughlin had eight “5 By 5’s”, all of which carried nose art
painted by George Rarey; crew chief Joe Carpenter dutifully transferred the
painted panels of the cowling from plane to plane, concluding with this
aircraft. The P-47D in the USAAF Museum is painted to represent this “5 By 5.”
Curtiss Electric asymmetric paddle blade propeller; note the yellow propeller
spinner and rudder trim tab, and the dorsal fin fillet.
P-47D-30-RE 44-20413
B8*Y “Bonnie Lynn”
379th FS, 362nd FG, USAAF, flown by Lt. Gene Martin - Based
at Illesham, Germany, April 1945
Martin’s aircraft was initially named “Bonnie” after his
wife, but added “Lynn” when his crew chief Robert Shaw’s daughter Lynn was
born.
On April 5, 1945, Martin was flying this plane when he shot
down two Fw 190s (although the second was unconfirmed). Two days later, he shot
up a Bf 109 but again the victory went unconfirmed. Martin destroyed two more
aircraft while attacking airfields. Curtiss Electric asymmetric paddle blade
propeller; note the yellow propeller
Both of these sheets are now up on the website and available
for purchase.at the http://www.barracudacals.com/ site,
along with all of Roy’s other great stuff – Also I must thank Chris Bucholtz for his profiles and his excellent site on the 362nd - check them both out!