Aleutian Tigers P-40, a corner of the Alaskan front in 1/72 scale

[Brian da Basher]

When originally established to protect the frozen wilderness of Alaska, the 343rd Pursuit Group was seen as a punishment tour for misbehaving pilots and ground crew.



This would all change in the summer of 1941 when Captain Jack Chennault took command of the 343rd's 11th squadron. As the Flying Tigers had gained fame over China for blunting a Japanese air raid on Chowhon in late 1940, Capt. Chennault thought a new squadron marking based on the famous Shark Mouth would be a huge morale boost. Thus the Aleutian Tigers were born.





This would come none too soon as things heated up in the Pacific and all U.S. military units there were placed on a war footing. The entire 343rd Group would begin flying defense patrols in earnest over the forbidding territory.







While the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor became one of the most memorable moments of W.W. II, completely forgotten today are Japanese actions much further north.



Fortunately, Capt. Chennault and his Aleutian Tigers were there and ready to meet the threat. A combination of bad weather and a vigorous air defense would stymie Japanese aggression. The attacking aircraft would be forced to jettison their bombs early to escape the Aleutian Tigers who would claim 12 victories. Three of these fell before Capt. Chennault's guns.



This would be one of the only bright spots of Sunday, December 7th 1941. The 343rd Group would be featured in a full-color Life Magazine photo feature and Capt. Chennault would be promoted to Major and made deputy commander of the entire 343rd Pursuit Group.



The Aleutian Tigers' original P-40Bs would eventually be replaced by more up-to-date aircraft and they would go on to gain more notoriety defending Alaska from Japanese invasion in 1942.



Capt. Chennault's famous Aleutian Tiger P-40B eventually found a home in Nome at the Alaska Air Museum where it remains on display to this day.



While utterly forgotten today in the lower 48 states, for one brief moment, Capt. Chennault and his Aleutian Tigers were the only force defending Alaskan skies.



Brian da Basher

[Old Wombat]

Nice! :)

That's real history, slightly BdBashered, right?

[Brian da Basher]

This all began with the venerable Academy 1/72 Flying Tigers P-40B. Isn't that box art great? You can almost taste the action!



Speaking of action, there's lots of it in this kit. Don't be fooled by the simplicity of the sprues.



While it appears simple, it's not an easy build. Mis-aligned, short-shot parts and a bad fit are par for the course here. Don't worry, the problem's not you or your skill, but the kit itself. Still, it can be built if you approach it with patience and a few tricks, such as using a big rubber band to ensure some wing dihedral.



Of course, it helps if you remember to use all the parts. I forgot the insert for that big chin intake and had to scratch one after the model was built using a bit of scrap plastic.



This was a blessing in disguise as I like the look of the new intake much better regardless how incorrect it might be.



The model was painted in acrylics with a hairy stick, Model Masters Primer Gray mostly. The prop spinner was finished in Insignia Yellow and the canopy tinted in Testors Gold.





The real star of this model is the decals. A while back I picked up a great sheet of P-40 markings which included the Aleutian Tigers and that cool white Eagle from the 11th squadron.



The white stripe and tail numbers were swiped from an FCM sheet but what's really amazing are the rudder stripes, roundels, and U.S. Army markings are from a Monogram P-36 sheet dated 1966. That's right, these were 50 year old decals and worked an absolute treat.



I guess most of my luck in life not needed while driving applies to old decals. I'm astonished how nice these look considering they came out about the same time as the Bealtes' Revolver LP. These things were made to last.



I had a lot of fun "retro-fitting" the Aleutian Tigers with older P-40s even though this build wasn't the slam-dunk I'd hoped for.



It took me about a week to put this together and I'm glad I turned up this old kit while doing a deep dive into the kit stash.





I hope you enjoyed my Aleutian Tigers' P-40B and reading about another forgotten corner of aviation history.



Brian da Basher

[Kerick]

Well done story and build.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Nice work Brian!  Changing the intake shape and appearance makes your P-40 look like one of the much earlier Hawk models created by Curtiss. 

Still remember landing at Shemya Island and seeing a derelict P-40 parked in front of an abandoned hanger at the airport/airfield.  Often wondered what became of that airframe as it looked to be in fair shape at the time. 

[pigflyer]

Another BdB winner, great work Sir.

I look forward to "The history of the air wars, by Brian da Basher", I just hope its illustrated.