Product Details

As one of the most distinctive P-51D Mustangs of the European theatre, ‘Daddy’s Girl’ was the mount of Captain Ray ‘X-ray eyes’ Wetmore, who became one of the leading USAAF Mustang aces of the war. His nickname comes from his uncanny reputation for spotting enemy aircraft well before any of his Squadron mates could pick them out and usually dispatching one or two of them. The Mustangs of the 359th Fighter Group had their noses painted in a light apple green colour, which was reputedly sourced from British paint stocks and has proved a notoriously difficult shade for historians to corroborate and modellers to replicate. Named after his daughter Diane, ‘Daddy’s Girl’ had her most successful day on 14th January 1945, when Wetmore destroyed four Focke Wulf Fw 190s and shared in the destruction of a fifth, during the same mission. His final victory came against one of the elusive Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket fighters on 15th March 1945, taking his final aerial victory tally to 21.25 enemy aircraft. By V.E Day, the 21-year-old Wetmore had attained the rank of Major.