AIRLINES

SUGARLAND MUSTANGS

Enjoyed reading the article on Chris Woods' Mustang February in the March issue and this brought back memories of a trip I made to Sugarland, Texas, shortly after the Fuerza Aerea Guatemalteca Mustangs had been acquired by Don Hull.

Mr. Hull was a gracious host and let me into his hangar which was packed with the camouflaged Mustangs and the hulk of a Bell P-39 Airacobra which would be restored to flight status by the Confederate Air Force.

The Mustangs were in amazingly stock condition and I have included a few photographs from my visit.

Gerald Liang

Lancaster, CA

STRAFER LIGHTNING

I recently came across a photograph which your readers might find of interest and which, hopefully, might generate some additional information. I found the photo of the Lightning at a local swap meet and you can see why it attracted my interest. USAAF s/n 44-24649 appears to be on display in the States, perhaps at an immediate post-war airshow. The nose has been modified to hold eight .50-cal Browning machine guns while non-standard pylons have been added under the outer I wing panels to hold pods fitted with two .50-cal guns each, thus giving the Lightning a combined total of twelve forward-firing .50-cal guns. This certainly would have been effective in the strafing role for which I am presuming the modification was intended. However, I do not have any further information. Was this a one-off aircraft or were others produced? I am sure one of your readers has the answer.

Rob Middleton

Columbus, OH

Editor's Note: This certainly is an interesting photograph. We have seen shots of P-51 Mustangs that were modified, apparently, in the field to carry similar pods on their underwing pylons - giving an additional four .50-cal weapons. We agree that the modification must have been for strafing purposes and, like Mr. Middleton, hope that readers can fill in the blanks.

LOOKING FOR AN IDENTITY

The first copy of your magazine that I purchased was the August 2003 issue and very much enjoyed the pictorial on nose art. Later, while re-reading the magazine, and upon closer inspection of one of the photos, I became convinced that one of the photos was of my former neighbor in Montgomery, Alabama - Col. George Saylor (Savior's Trailer, p.31). I moved from Montgomery several years ago as did Col. Saylor and his wife.

Well, convinced that this photo was indeed of Col. Saylor, I contacted the retirees' office at Maxwell AFB and found Col. Saylor's location. I called and we had a good talk and, indeed, I was correct.

Col. Saylor has an amazing history with the Air Force and recently declassified information revealed that he was in the very first squadron of F-86s to overfly Russia on recon missions. His mission was to attempt to confirm intelligence reports about the Russian attempt to duplicate the B-29 bomber. His squadron shot photos of 37 of these aircraft at a previously unknown base outside of Leningrad and this was years before Frances Gary Powers flew U-2 missions over Russia.

Travis Rutherford

trutherford@cbrextra.net

There is an insert of a photograph of two airmen in front of a B-24 Liberator named Maggie's Drawers on page 27 of the August 2003 issue. I am almost certain that the one wearing a hat is Lt. James D. Pirie, a navigator whom I knew in the 5th Photo Recon Squadron in Italy during World War Two. Would any of your readers have information on him? I knew his whole family - he was from North Tarryton, New York, and his dad was a supervisor at the Chevrolet plant in the town.

Orval E. Wood

549 Castle Dr.

Moses Lake, WA

98837

Copyright Challenge Publications Inc. Apr 2004
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