P51D Mustang Dove of Peace
by John Wills
Title
P51D Mustang Dove of Peace
Artist
John Wills
Medium
Digital Art - Digital Artworks
Description
My digital render of the P51D Mustang, “Dove of Peace”.
Built in 1944 and shipped to Australia fully assembled in June 1945 under the Lend-Lease Agreement. A copy of the original documentation, which details the record of this aircraft while on charge with the Royal Australian Air Force, recorded only 11 hours flying time on arrival in Australia and was registered A68-674.
With WWII drawing to a close, the aircraft was not allocated to a squadron but placed on “special reserve” and finally struck off charge in December 1948. It was later stripped and disposed of. The fuselage was purchased by a farmer in Victoria who used the airframe hydraulic fittings to keep his farm machinery going. It then spent a further 20 years in the open in Mildura outside a museum.
Eventually it was sent to the USA in 1984 for restoration to flying condition. During restoration the Mustang was sold by its Australian owners. The aircraft eventually returned ‘down under’ in 2004 when Rob Broek brought it to Wanaka where it has remained ever since.
To this day the aircraft has one of the lowest timed airframes of any Mustang flying in the world. The aircraft is painted to represent the “Dove of Peace” as flown by American WWII Fighter Ace Col. Glen Duncan.
Uploaded
November 1st, 2020
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Comments (2)
Denise F Fulmer
Wow, according to history this one really made the rounds. A beautiful rendering, and I like the title, Dove of Peace. L/F
John Wills replied:
Thank you, it's an interesting tale for sure. So long ago now, amazing that they still fly and dazzle crowds across the world.
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