carol - the story of a p-51 mustang

Heavymetal

The story behind“Carol.”

V1- 9/2009Artwork and copy ©John Mollison - all rights reserved, except where noted

Click here to go to www.ww2fighters.blogspot.com

Click here to email John

http://www.ww2fighters.blogspot.com


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I have been interviewing WW2 fighter pilots since 1999. I’ve been drawing their planes since 1969*.

In my interviews, I try to learn about their character, leadership, personal development and wisdom in addition to the “combat stories.”

But in the meantime, this presentation is a small part of the story behind a piece aluminum that came from the wreckage of a WW2 fighter plane.

*Drawing dogfights on my schoolwork made it more exciting but didn’t help my marks. The Morane 406 with the crappy clouds is circa 4th grade.

“Red” James, a Corsair pilot in WW2 and Korea is holding a framed print of my ‘pretty good’ rendering of his Korean-era F4U-4,

352nd FG ace Don Bryan is horsing around with my kids, a little P-39 I drew in my sketchbook and Col. Bill Creech shows me the Presidential

Unit Citation his 528th FS earned.

Artwork and copy ©John Mollison - all rights reserved, except where notedClick here to go to www.ww2fighters.blogspot.com


Heavy Metal The story behind“Carol”

These men have become mentors, friends...and one day, I’ll get it all collected into a readable, reproducible form.





16,700-odd airplanes bearing the moniker “P-51” were built. The very first ones trickled into the United States Air Force in 1942. The last P-51 left military service with the Dominican Air Force in 1984. In between, 30-some air forces around the world used P-51s at one time or another.

By any stretch, the P-51 is one of the most famous aircraft, ever.

But for common thought, the P-51 is best known for its role in World War Two.








!

Some historians make a case that the P-51 and its long range allowed strategic bombing to prevail and thereby ended the war in Europe against Hitler’s Germany.

Others make a case that the P-51 was the greatest fighter plane that ever flew, period.

But one fact cannot be argued.

The P-51 was a tool.

A tool used by people to do a job.



*If you’re new to a knowledge of WW2 aircraft, understand that people

get passionate about “their airplanes.” I’ve actually seen Brits weep at

the sight of a Spitfire’s gorgeous curves sashaying down the airfield,

engine roaring and making one last bounce before slicing into the air...

And would you believe my artwork is on more Luftwaffe planes than any other type?!






Compared to other airplanes of the day, the Mustang was a solid performer.

It was fast - about 440mph.

It was well-armed - 4 to 6 machine guns, bombs and rockets.

It was easy to fly - once a pilot had a little time under his cap, of course.

But many other airplanes were fast, well-armed and “easy” to fly.

However, the crowning glory of the Mustang was its combat radius. This was huge - 600+ miles.

Now, fighters could roam Europe, protect bombers from the Luftwaffe AND have enough fuel to return to base - a very important feature, you know.



A Spitfire had a radius of about

200 miles“Extra fuel?”

“No tanks.”*A P-38 Lightning

had a radius of about500 miles

“Extra fuel?”“Tank you.” A P-51

Mustang had a radius of about

600 miles“Extra fuel?”

“Tanks!”

extra, expendable gasoline tanks

are HEAVY and their function is rather complicated.

Fortunately, the Mustang design accommodated

“Drop tanks” easily, giving it a largecombat radius.

*Spitfires did use drop tanks, butthey were awkward affairs that weren’tcommonly used save for Ferry Flights.






Want to know more “Mustang”? Here are four more little bits:

1.P-51s come in 3 flavors*. “A” flavor with an Allison engine. “B/C” flavor that introduced the Rolls-Royce engine and “D/K” flavor with a bubble-top canopy.

2. P-51s were one of 4 primary American fighters in WW2 in Europe. The other three were P-38s, P-40s and P-47s.



The A-36 was called an “Apache” and almost identical to the P-51A except the Apache had 6 guns to the P-51A’s 4. (yawn). And it was called “Apache”, not Mustang.

*Yeah, yeah, I know about the A-36 and the P-51H model. The basic P-51s listed will satisfy most basic conversation around the wine & cheese table at the Country Club. I don’t want to tempt you to be too geeky.

Digression:

The map below is a United States Census map circa 2000 that shows the various ancestral influences.. “Light Blue” symbolizes German ancestry and takes up a good 50% of the land area.

North American Aviation’s president, (circa 1940) James H. Kindelberger, was German.

It just goes to show you - there’s always a little bit of Us in Them. And vice versa.

P-51A’s, B’s and D’s were built inNorth American Aviation’s plant

in Inglewood, CA.Just outside of Los Angeles.

P-51C’s and K’s were built inNorth American Aviation’s plant in Dallas






3. P-51s were a cooperative project between the British and the Americans. Both countries played pivotal roles in making the airplane great.

4. P-51s were a product of quick, decisive leadership. The time elapsed between Order to 1st Flight was an astonishing 178 days. That’s like building a 3,500 sq. ft. home in a week.




• British inspiration• British name• British purchase• British engine

• American entrepreneurship• American engineering• American manufacturing• American improvement





But remember - the Mustang wasn’t a magical Unicorn with supernatural powers.

Without people to build, fly and maintain them, P-51s were useless.

On February 9, 1921, a little person was born with all of the natural ability and potential to put the P-51 to good use.



Excellent eyesight

Coordinated

Intelligent and able to think abstractly

Loyalty

Love of

Raymond Roy Mitchell

Willing to do challenging things(even if scared silly)

Vertically oriented but also verticallychallenged.*

*finally - a place for short, little guys! Cramped fighter plane cockpits!






Ray grew up a gentle, positive, admittedly insecure kid. But in Searsboro, IA, there wasn’t much else to do than to be gentle, positive and admittedly insecure.

THEN...*

...approximately 3,978 miles away, in the American Territory of Hawaii, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.



Ray’s days of being gentle, positive and admittedly insecure were suddenly over. His country was at war and his skills and talents were now needed.

His occupation at the time: “laborer.”

*for the love of history, I will not state the date. Every American over the age of 10 should know it.

Pacific Ocean

Searsboro, Iowa






Ray decided to join the Air Corps.



Climbing from an Iowa farm to 30,000 feet was a difficult task.


About 50% of those who tried, didn’t make the grade.

Ray did.





In July of 1944, Ray was a qualified Warrior and ready to take his place on the team.

His team was the 352nd Fighter Group.

When the 352nd exchanged their Thunderbolts for Mustangs, they also exchanged their drab paint jobs for something a little more exciting.

Blue.

Ray was no longer a “Laborer.”

He was now, a Bluenoser.



Red was the rudder color of the 328th

squadron’s P-51sSquadron letters: PE

Yellow was the rudder color of the 486th

squadron’s P-51s Squadron letters: PZ

Blue was the rudder color of the 487th

squadron’s P-51s. Squadron letters: HO

The first blue noses were sort

of this color.

Toward the end of 1944, the blue got

a little darker.

PE

HO

PZ

I’m a New Guy and this isn’t MY airplane. But some day, I’ll get my

own and when I do, it’ll have a big M on the tail and I’ll name it...

KNOW YOUR 352ND FIGHTER GROUP MARKINGS

THE 352ND FIGHTER GROUP

HAD 3 DIFFERENT FIGHTER

SQUADRONS AND EACH HAD

THEIR OWN MARKINGS

PILOTS HAD SOME SAY IN THE NOSE ART AND

TAIL LETTERS OF THEIR AIRPLANES.

THE BLUE COLOR WAS ASSIGNED

TO THE 352ND FROM VIII FIGHTER

COMMAND AS A WAY TO IDENTIFY

DIFFERENT GROUPS.

Before the 352nd transitioned to P-51s in the Spring of 1944, their P-47s were painted “olive drab.” Donald McKibben’s P-47 is shown at left, Charlie Price’s P-51 is shown at right. Notice the “X” on the tail - the letter P was

already used by someone else..






After his tenth mission, Ray got his own P-51. A “K” model, S/N 411229.

He named it “Carol.”

Why “Carol?”

“Oh. Just a girl.”* (laughs)

*Ray’s wonderful wife Helen was standing

next to him when he said that.



“K” model P-51s had different props than “D” models.

That’s it.

“Lt. R.R. Mitchell” was hand painted in

red in a sort ofOlde English

script

Aerial mast, but no antenna wire. Most

8th AF Mustangs didn’t use the wire.

“M” for Mitchell.

The Bar beneath meant there was

another “M” somewhere in

the Group.

Since no clear photograph of the nose

art is known to exist, I used a painting by artist Troy White as a reference. Ray also blessed this artwork. But really, we don’t know if this script is

perfect.

Bomb racks were removable, so I

removed them for this profile.

“PE” means 328th Fighter Squadron.

FYI - when I did this profile in 2002, it was a rush job. My skills have certainly

improved and I might redo

Carol.






Edwards, Mitchell, Wilson 1944



“Carol” was never really Ray’s girl anyway. It was Air Force policy to assign an airplane to the CREW CHIEF not the pilot.

When the 328th moved to Asch, Belgium in 1944, Ray was given a box of spark plugs before flying to the new base.

“I wouldn’t have had the slightest clue what to do with them! I hadn’t ever opened the hood let alone change the things!” (laughs)

The Ground Crew showed up a day or so later.

Ray gave the spark plugs to Larry.

ARMORER:Edwards, Orville

CREW CHIEF:Wilson, Larry

The Rolls Royce Merlin 69

1,490 horsepower at 3,000rpm.

Flying a fighter was one thing,

keeping the fighter flying was

another. Ray and Larry knew

where each other stood.

P-51 D/Ks had six .50 calibre

machine guns - 3 in each wing.

Every time those guns went off, a

spray of black metal clips and spent

casings spewed from beneath the

wings, littering the ground below.






Regardless of Ray’s mechanical (in)ability, Ray and Carol were positively terrifying together.

As part of their work, they protected bombers, strafed troops & trains and engaged the Luftwaffe any chance they could.

Ray was soberly aware of the ultimate purpose of his job.

Sixty years later, Ray went back to Bodney, UK and got to see a restored P-51 buzz his old airfield. For old-time’s sake. The thing just about cut his hair!

“Can you imagine what that must have been like for the Germans?!”



...engine howl, pounding heart, clenching fear, six sparkling gun ports...

...then eternity.






Regardless of Ray’s more gentle nature, he was good at his new job.



#1

#2

#3

#4

Ray was in the #4 position of “White Flight” - a group of 4 P-51s of the 328th FS, 352nd FG

This is an old rendering I did of Luftwaffe ace Erich Hartmann’s Bf 109. Erich flew on the Eastern front and would not have met Ray in combat. However, it’s the only German-marking 109 handy, so I’m including for reference.

Nevertheless, a masterfully flown Bf 109 was more than a match for a P-51.

The winner in air combat was a mixture of surprise, positional advantage, pilot skill and aircraft capabilities.








And he worked with others who were good too - like Ed Heller, a particularly courageous ace who also went on to achieve over 3 victories in the Korean War, too.

Ed, Ray...they fit right in with the 352nd as the Group was an A-list team.

In fact, the 352nd was, as their official slogan states, “Second to None.”






In 10 months of combat, Ray logged69 combat missions.

59 were in Carol.

On April 7, 1945, Ray and Carolflew together for the last time.

Ray was going home...



...but Carol stayed behind.






Ray exchanged his trigger finger for a green thumb by beginning a lifelong career in wildlife and land conservation.

But, blue noses tend to be permanent. One day, about a year after the war, he bumped into a 352nd buddy...

“Great to see you Ray! Did you hear about Carol?”

“Uh...no...?”











Ok. Step back for a second.

Ray was just one of16 million

Americans who served in WW2.

Carol was just one of an estimated300,000

aircraft built to fight in WW2.

*never ever ever ever underestimate the power of an idea, good or bad.

Harry S. Truman was absolutelycorrect in dropping The Bomb,

by the way.

War is a game of numbers - people and things.

The one with the most replacements win.

Lt. John F. Reiners was a replacement.








Lt. John Reiners graduated from Ridgefield Park High School in 1940.

He went to Columbia University to learn the money trade.

He spent a year working in New York City before signing up to join the Air Force.

His occupation was: “Securities Clerk.

Then John became...

...a Bluenoser, too.

City Bank Farmers Trust Company, New York City.

Ridgefield Park, New Jersey

Bodney Airfield, Norfolk, UK

Capt. Robert A. Lewis, co-pilot of the

Enola Gay (the B-29 that dropped

the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima)

was from Ridgefield Park, too.







For whatever reason, Reiners didn’t make it to Bodney until February, 1945. By then, “The Numbers” of war were pretty obvious - Hitler was doomed.

But there were still dangerous numbers to roll over Germany and Reiners’ commitment was every bit as strong as Mitchell’s.

Reiners was a New Guy. Like Ray, he didn’t have his own plane at first.

A dozen or so missions later, and some time after April 7, he met Carol.


Some Replacement Pilots renamed their airplanes.

Some didn’t.

“Carol” must have ‘fit’ some howbecause Reinerskept the name.

And “Carol” was still

WILSON, LARRY’sairplane.

(Ground Crew didn’t rotate out like combat pilots - many stayed for

the entire duration of the war.)







On April 19, 1945, a flight of four P-51s of the 328th Fighter Squadrontook off from Bodney air field.

John was flying #4 in the formation.

The formation was low and Reiners, being the lowest of the 4, hit a tree as he and Carol were inching into the sky.


#1

#2

#3

#4







Eyewitnesses remember seeing Carol snap upward and start a climb.

But Carol hadn’t yet achieved the necessary airspeed to maneuver.

Man and machine went up, around and back down - it happened so quickly and at such a low altitude, Reiners had no hope of bailing out.

The two crashed at the very edge of the air field.


When I heard that boom, I knew exactly what had happened. High trees bordered our Ready Hut...when taking off, pilots kept their eyes glued on the plane closest to them...they never looked down at the ground...

J.N. White, 487th FSEyewitness and buddy of Reiners





The war was over 19 days later.



John was killed.

He was 22.


He’s the guy in the middle.







Carol was a complete loss.








That’s my friend Bill Espie.








This is dedicated to the memory ofJohn F. Reiners and the imagination of all

that he could have been.








July, 2009 - The Carol “Recovery Crew” celebrates at a pub in

Cambridge, UK. This is the worst conceivable photo I could find of

me, Wayne, Eric and Steve. Unfortunately, it’s also the best one, too.

The following veterans, historians and enthusiasts made this presentation possible.

Armchair Experts & Technical GeeksEric MolbertWayne BallingerDon LittgeSteve CunninghamBruce Eide

WW2 pilots and crewRobert “Punchy” PowellRaymond MitchellJames WhiteJames Bliedner

HistoriansBill EspieMarc HamelSam SoxJoe NoahAda RuizTodd Gehrke

Photo and art credits:

352nd Fighter Group Association

John Mollison

Unknown - please let me know if you know so I can ensure proper credit.

The crude sketches, copy and final artwork of Carol is mine - ©John Mollison, blah blah blah.

Grace and MercyMy wifeMy familyClients, colleagues and vendors

Bah. Don’t even think for a minute that this motley group of gomers

can do anything beyond picking up a piece of aluminum from the

brilliant and masterful Bill Espie. He did ALL the hard stuff. We just

said, “Thanks.”






Pilots really liked the P-51. Compared to other airplanes of the day, the Mustang was a solid performer.

It was fast - about 440mph.

It was well-armed - 4 to 6 machine guns, bombs and rockets.

It had a long range - about 1,200 miles with drop tanks.

It did just about everything* well.



100 miles 500 miles 1,000 miles

100mph

200mph

300mph

400mph

500mph

TOP SPEED

RANGE

Spitfire Mk 14

Nakajima Ki-84

Messerschmitt 262

North American P-51 B

P-51s assigned to the The Seventh Air Force in the Marianna Islands (otherwise known as the Pineapple Air Force) routinely flew what they called “VLR” (Very Long Range) missions to Japan. Time in cockpit - EIGHT HOURS, with most of it over enemy territory or open ocean.

*Well, it was relatively easy to shoot down. One

hole in the coolant line and 5-6 minutes later, the

engine stopped. Don’t believe me? Wait until I

write about Bill Creech and his experiences!






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