P-39 and P-40 of the
15th Fighter Group
I got fascinated by
the 15th Fighter group from reading about them on the forums. They were
based in Hawaii in WW II but frequently deployed to other bases in the Pacific.
In the summer and fall of 1943 they were deployed to the central Pacific.
Their new bases were on coral islands so the aircraft were painted
"coral" with a custom mix of light blue undersides.
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images below to see larger images
From what I have been able
to determine the P-40s of the 45th FS were painted a very light pink coral
with a mic of insignia blue and whit undersides, very close to the RAF
Azure blue in color. The AMT P-40N kit was used. The fit was
good. While not as detailed as the Hasegawa kit the build was not as
finicky and still looks OK. The Hasegawa P-39Q kit was used for the
46th FS build. They were painted a darker coral with a much lighter
blue on the undersides
I can only wonder
about the usefulness of the coral paint scheme when parked on white surfaces or
flying over the blue Pacific. On both build I had painted the tank neutral
gray on the assumption that the tanks would have come from supply and not been
custom painted. On the other hand, we both know what happens when you
assume...........
John Doerr
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images below to see larger images
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