UPL 15468
IMAGECaption from p.103 of '4th Fighter Group - Debden Eagles' by Chris Bucholtz: 'Two unnamed pilots pose alongside the last Mustang assigned to Col Don Blakeslee when CO of the 4th Fighter Group.' By the time this photo was taken, Colonel Blakeslee had rotated home and 44-13779 had been reassigned to Second Lieutenant (Previously Flight Officer) Olin A Kiser. The extended red nose band (24") appeared in early December 1944 and lasted until about 1st January 1945 when it was swept down under the nose to a point which ended and centered at the wing leading edge. As can be seen, 335 squadron aircraft had white rudders with a thin red outline. This embelishment dated from about 10th October 1944.
Revisions
Removed associations from this image as a better quality image - UPL 15533 - has now been uploaded.
See: http://www.americanairmuseum.com/media/15533
Personal research & 4th Fighter Group 'Debden Eagles' by Chris Bucholtz.