We’re coming up on the 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, a fight in which air power saved a lot of American lives on the ground. It was still our costliest battle in World War II, but it would have been far worse had our tactical air units not done such a masterful job of cutting off the German armies’ supply lines and hunting them down before they could organize for attacks on our troops.
I have an article coming up in Flight Journal magazine about the 362nd Fighter Group during the Battle of the Bulge, featuring, among others, Gene Martin, Duncan Morton, Joe Hunter, and especially Ralph Sallee, who was great at answering questions about the battle, especially the dogfight of Dec. 26, 1944, in which Sallee knocked down two enemy fighters. Ralph was also kind enough to send me the negatives of his wartime photos; Flight Journal didn’t use them, but they’re still darn useful to me as an author and as a modeler. Here’s a taste – this is Ralph’s P-47D, B8-T, of the 379th Fighter Squadron, 362nd Fighter Group:
Here’s one that will be in the article, thanks to Gene Martin. This is Gene with his Thunderbolt “Bonnie Lynn;” this plane was on an AeroMaster decal sheet as simply “Bonnie.” It acquired “Lynn” to honor its crew chief’s new daughter – and it also got a yellow cheat line on the anti-glare panel somewhere in there…
Another photo that didn’t make it into print was this one of Wilton Crutchfield, supplied by Tom Ivie. I love this posed shot; I know when I paint, I prefer to be wearing full flight gear, including a parachute! Crutchfield’s “Kentucky Colonel” also went through an evolution of markings, acquiring a cartoon hillbilly character on the cowling sometime in early 1945. Here it is before the hillbilly was applied:
I’m lobbying Roy Sutherland of Barracuda Studios to do a decal sheet with these planes – he clearly likes P-47s, and these are three more 362nd planes well worth modeling.
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Flat Spins and Milk Runs 
Chris,
As I am an actual Kentucky Colonel (Yes there is an actual organziation) I’d love more inof on that aircraft. Do you knnow if anyone does the decals for that a/c in 72nd?
No, not yet, David. Tom Ivie (noted author AND scale modeler) also wants desperately to do this one, so I will continue to beat on Mr. Sutherland with my COPIOUS references on it…!
Hello,
Seeking information on the first P-47 Captain Kent C. Geyer. The P-47 named “STUD” a Horse, bucking over the state of Texas.
What has become lost on a mission, and its serial, coded B8-?
Regards,
Dan
My grandpa was a mechanic in WWII … he worked on the Bonnie Lynn – I was just looking for more photos of it … my Mom is named after that plane.
Many thanks for the posting of the photo of my father’s plane, Kentucky Colonel.
His first name of the photo is incorrect – it is Wilfred B. Crutchfield, not Wilton.
Or – to his friends – he was always just Crutch.
He was finally interred at Arlington National Cemetary on Dec 7, 2005.