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The Obvious:
1. As O7-Q, this aircraft may be "Skirty Bert II". All other Skirty Berts were coded O7-Q
2. The fact that Maj Converse B. Kelly chose to have this aircraft next to him at the awards ceremony suggests this may be his plane. Another indication this may be "Skirty Bert II."
3. http://p-47.database.pagesperso-orange.fr/Database/42-2xxxx.htm contains the following entry:
|
42-26460
|
P-47D-25-RE
|
365th
406th |
388th
514th |
C4-R
O7-Q |
Atterrissage forcé le 12/03/45 vers St Trond/A-92 (Bel.) - Pilote : Stewart R. Bross |
4. Two possibilities:
a. 42-26460 was issued to the 388th FS in Apr or May 1944 and damaged, returned to depot for repair, re-issued to 514th FS in time for June/July 1944 photo.
b. 42-26460 was issued to the
514th FS in May or June 1944, showed up in the photo, then was damaged,
repaired, re-issued to 388th FS, damaged, repaired, then
re-issued to the 514th FS when it became
O7-A.
5. Either way, the aircraft appears in June/July 1944 as O7-Q with Hamilton Standard propeller and in February 1945 as O7-A with Curtiss-Electric propeller. This probably indicates it was damaged and received extensive repairs at some point in between those dates.