42-75465 Damon's Demon, Archie and Mehatibel

media-38728.png UPL 38728 Watercolour(?) by George Rarey, of his airplane, P-47D Thunderbolt "Damon's Demon". Artwork on airplane was desgned and painted by Rarey himself.

From Andy Anderson, "Blood, Sweat and Tears:"
Capt. George W. Rarey of Enid, Oklahoma and Washington, D.C., who came to the 379th in Bradley Field, Connecticut, as a lieutenant and an original flight leader, was one of the most talented guys I had ever met. There was also no question that he was one of the best liked men of the squadron among enlisted men and officers alike. He had an enormous talent for art and maintained an extensive collection of drawings of fellow pilots which were remarkably accurate. He was also an accomplished caricaturist and cartoonist with a fertile imagination and mind. A pilot would tell Capt. Rarey something about himself, his likes, his interests, his dreams, and Capt. Rarey would come up with an insignia and nickname for him fitting him to a "T." Then he would transfer it in a painting on the nose of the pilot's P-47. Of all the aircraft art I witnessed, and I witnessed a lot, the work created by Capt. Rarey for the 379th Fighter Squadron was the most clever and professionally done. His own P-47 was named "Damon's Demon" and featured a caricature of a chubby bird of some unknown breed (lovingly called a "Rarey bird" by his fellow pilots) sitting atop an 8-ball, smoking a pipe in his very large bill, and holding a dripping paintbrush. The bird's one visible eye pointed skyward like he was thinking some evil thought.

Object Number - UPL 38728 - Watercolour(?) by George Rarey, of his airplane, P-47D Thunderbolt "Damon's Demon". Artwork on airplane was desgned and painted by Rarey...

Personal aircraft of George "Dad" Rarey, 379th Squadron's main nose art artist until his death (KIA in another aircraft, P-47 42-75042).



Aircraft was lost in a collision on June 17th, 1944 while being flown by Lt. Richard Gordon.

Connections

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Units served with

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 362nd Fighter Group 379th Fighter Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-793536
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Fighter Pilot

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Crashed

17 June 1944 While flown by Lt. Richard Gordon, collided with another airplane from Squadron, which also crashed. Both pilots survived and successfully evaded capture back to Allied lines

Revisions

Date
ContributorTanteMu
Changes
Sources

Bucholtz, Chris: "Thunderbolts Triumphant - The 362nd Fighter Group vs Germany's Wehrmacht". Casemate Publishing, Philadelphia & Oxford, 2018.

Date
ContributorTanteMu
Changes
Sources

Buchholtz, Chris: "Thunderbolts Triumphant - The 362nd Fighter Group vs. Germany's Wehrmacht". Casemate Publ. Philadelphia & Oxford, 2018

42-75465: Gallery (2 items)