Arguably the most reliable, fast and most powerful all around aircraft, the North American P-51 Mustang earned the love and respect of its pilots during the dark years of the Second World War. Responsible for many victories against the German Luftwaffe, this aircraft was used as an escort, a fighter plane and a fighter-bomber. Needless to say, the P-51 Mustang had produced more aces than any other aircraft of the time.

Captain John C. Meyer of the 352nd Fighter Group, 487th Fighter Squadron, was among these P-51 Mustang aces. Meyer commenced his flying career flying P-47’s and on November 26, 1943, he earned his first victory. He would later score two more flying the Thunderbolt. But it was in the successful P-51 Mustang where Meyer earned his ace status. On January 1, 1945, approximately 50 German fighters, including Bf109’s and Fw190’s, attacked the Y-29 airfield in Belgium thinking they would catch the Allied airfields by surprise. Leading a group of 12 Mustangs, Meyer shot down one Fw190 just after retracting his landing gear. By the end of the day, his Fighter Group was responsible for 23 victories. The superb actions of the 487th Squadron earned them a Distinguished Unit Citation. By the end of his flying career, Meyer claimed 24 air-to-air victories including a German jet, and 13 ground targets for a total of 37 victories.

I used Hasegawa’s 1/48 scale P-51 Mustang for this project. Minimeca tubes were tediously inserted to mimic the original machine guns and the canopy brace was accurately drilled out with a pin vise for added realism. This is an extraordinary, highly detailed replica of Meyer’s famous "Petie 2nd". Enjoy the images!

Above Photo: John C. Meyer's P-51D Mustang "Petie 2nd".