P38 Yoke badge

Nick, PM sent. Thanks Brian, ‘Disney at war’ brought up a lovely page of “Disney cartoons spur combat flyers”, great images and the 48th FS badge as you spotted. That cat was used by two other units, I wonder what the character was called?

There is a colour pic of the 48th logo in Disney at War stating it is 48th Pursuit Squadron Hamilton Field CA

Cat is Black with Blue paws/skin. Goggles are yellow Bug is blue winged and orange bodied. The circle is yellow with white streaks and orange stars.

Very dissapointed to have heard nothing from you or Gareth about the dig under the circumstances! since his last email a couple of weeks ago 🙁

Yes, it evaded detection through being under the floor of a Turkey shed for thirty years. Gareth had the good fortune to visit in the brief window between the shed being cleared away and the land redeveloped. The dig was challenging to organise as the landowner was( understandably) very concerned about strangers using mechanical plant on his land. Legal documents were signed and passes issued. The pilot’s family have been contacted and there is a piece earmarked to go back to the states. The aircraft narrowly missed a very large boulder at about six feet down and this was left on the surface by way of memorial marker. I’ll post some more photos when I’ve cleared my account. Interesting re the P39s. A second was lost near Shawbury and I was fortunate to find an eyewitness who was a keen plane spotter during the war and rememberd it vividly. When I got a copy of the accident report it contained an eyewitness report by the gentleman I had talked to, written when he was aged thirteen!

I know very little about the Atcham P-39s. One was lost in a crash near Bridgnorth I believe. A friend of mine digging in the sand in the butts at Atcham in the 1970s found some spent 37mm rounds!
So that P-51K has finally been dug.

You’ve mentioned them before Andy. I will enquire again but to coin a phrase, I know nothing. As for the unveiling…. http://www.redkitebooks.co.uk/aa/ex10_P51_Cheshire.html

Will need a bit of cleaning first but they have done an excellent job with the engine from P7533.

Thanks so much for that Dave, a near perfect match and certainly the same unit. Would be interesting to know if came via the UK or North Africa. However it got there it was raising funds for an animal charity. Will look out for the book but fear I have now spent too much! To plumb your knowledge further, do have any info on the P39s which were briefly stationed at Atcham? Through some convoluted swapping I’ve manged to get back a cannon label which Philippa helped recover in the early eighties. All the best, Ian.

An unveiling at Fort Perch Rock?

Tell me more Ian…..

I always get interested when I hear that name. Always curious as to what became of the Merlin, DB601 and Wright Cyclone I lent them!!!!

The scanning job proved unusually easy! A couple of copies of this 2003 book are listed on abebooks at around £20 but the postage from the States is a bit steep. A must though for an Atcham addict like me …

I’ve cracked it now for sure! Just remembered that I have a book entitled From Model T to P-38 Lightning, an account of the life of 48th FS/14th FG pilot William Schottelkorb killed in N Africa. In it is a monochrome pic of the sqdn badge for the 48th and it’s identical to yours. I got my copy of the book quite cheaply via abebooks from a dealer in California and it is signed by John Steges, another 14th pilot. I believe he has passed on now and there may be a connection with your relic. Will get the scanner fired up!

Thanks Dave. There should be another unveiling ceremony at Fort Perch Rock in the not too distant future. See you there!

Hi Ian
I’ll see if I can scan the badge which is monochrome but the colours are described in the text. It’s a thick volume and it may be difficult. Just realised which Ian you are!
Dave Smith

Thanks very much, the yoke came from the states (California) but if there was an Atcham connection that would be astonishing. I’ve spent a long time looking for some of their aircraft and some pieces of one of their P47s right next to me. Would you be able to scan a photo, copyright permitting? I’ll certainly have a look myself though. Thanks again.

It just could be the 48th FS, 14th FG, a P-38 unit. Four stars and eight stars equal 48. The book Combat Sqdrns of the Air Force shows the badge to be a similar star pattern each side of a red flash outlined in yellow. The badge was only approved officially in 1953 so yours may be an early version with a cartoon character. The 14th FG was at Atcham, Shropshire (my favourite airfield, hence my forum name!) in 1942 then moved to North Africa. May I ask where the eBay seller comes from?