1/48 Tamiya P-51B and P-51D

Gallery Article by Sinuhe Hahn on Aug 1 2003

Switzerland - Foundation of the Swiss Confederation

 

P-51's in Swiss Air Force service

P-51B
On 19 July 1944 Ist Lt. Curtis Simpson had to make an emergency landing with his P-51B in Switzerland. This aircraft was restored to airworthy condition and tested extensively by the Swiss Air Force, who found the flying characteristics of the aircraft to be exceptional, surpassing anything in their inventory at that time.

This aircraft was flown in a variety of schemes. My interpretation of the B&W photos suggests that the D-day stripes were retained in combination with the Swiss neutrality stripes, the reason being that the bands are of different widths (metric vs imperial?). Although allocated a Swiss serial number (J-900), this never appears to have been
implemented.

 

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The aircraft was handed back to the USAF after cessation of hostilities on 20 Oct. 1945, Lt. Simpson taking the liberty of a very low flypast over Zurich as he bade farewell to the city that had been his home for over a year.

I used the excellent Tamiya P-51 B for my model. Paints were a mix of Alclad and Gunze acrylics. The white Swiss crosses were printed on an Alps printer. 

P-51D
The Swiss Air Force was so impressed with the P-51B, that they readily made use of an offer of the USAF for the purchase of a large number of P-51D's following cessation of hostilities. Probably cheaper to sell them than scrap them! The model shown depicts the testing on an experimental camouflage scheme, whereby the top part of the aircraft was sprayed a dark green. The natural metal scheme was retained on the lower wing surfaces. As the exact shade of this green is not known, I used  Gunze Black Green as an approximation. Decals for this aircraft were provided by Topkit (
www.modellshop.ch). Although printed on an Alps they are of excellent quality, and even provide the silver backed serial numbers. Once again, I used the excellent Tamiya P-51D for my model, and Alclad for the metal finish.

Sinuhe Hahn

      

Photos and text © by Sinuhe Hahn