P-51D Mustangs
Little Friends

by Ronnie Olsthoorn

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Squadron.com

These images were made as a present for two veteran fighter pilots. They flew the P-51D Mustang with the 359th Fighter Group during World War II. The main image shows their aircraft flying in close formation on the first leg of an escort mission into the heart of Germany.

This is the first work I have made for actual wartime veterans and it's been a pleasure doing this. It was made on the request of a friend of these pilots, who presented the prints to them last autumn. The response of the veterans was better than I'd hoped for. Both loved the prints and said they bring back lots of memories ("some good; some not so good"). The 18"x12" prints will get a place in their living rooms, which is a great honour to me.

Flying with different squadrons, these two pilots never flew together as illustrated in the image. But being friends for over 60 years now, they should have. I dubbed the image "Little Friends" for obvious reasons.

The first aircraft is P-51D-20-NA "Hubert" as flown by Capt. Rene L. Burtner of the 369th FS/359th FG and shown in spring 1945 markings.

The second machine is P-51D-20-NA "Satan's Lady" as flown by Lt. John W. McAlister of the 370th FS/359th FG and shown in late-summer 1944 markings. Unfortunately this machine was lost on 28 September 1944 while being flown by Lt. Howard E. Steussy (KIA).

Many thanks to Tim Gagnon for giving me the opportunity to do artwork for real veterans! It's been a great experience for me! :)

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

More of  Ronnie's 3D virtual models may be seen at his website -  http://www.skyraider3d.com

Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2005 by Ronnie Olsthoorn
Page Created 14 September, 2005
Last Updated 14 September, 2005

Back to HyperScale Main Page