US Army Air Force

"Helen"

325th FG

This North American P-51D Mustang, number 53, with seven kills markings, was the plane flew by Col. Arthur Fiedler which he named after his wife “Helen” when he was assigned to the 317th Fighter Squadron, 325th Fighter Group, the “Checkertail Clan”, 15th USAAF in Lesina, Southern Italy, 1944. According the history of 325th Fighter Group, Col. Fiedler flew 66 combat missions and he is credited with eight air-to-air victories and one probable, making him an ace. On June 28, 1944, he claimed his first two victories, both Bf 109s, during a fighter sweep over the massive oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania. His third victory came on July 9th, when he destroyed a Bf 109, again near Ploesti. He became an ace on July 26, 1944, when he downed a Bf 109 and then a Fw 190. During the mission, he and his squadron jumped 64 Fw 190s that were attacking a formation of B-17s 20 miles southwest of Wiener Neustadt, Austria. His armourers then named his guns “Hell’s Bells”. On September 15, 1944, he shot down a Ju 52 during a mission to Greece, and on October 12th, he downed a He 111 near Budapest, Hungary. He scored his last victory on January 20, 1945, when his flight of four P-51s intercepted 40 German fighters that were attacking the B-17 group they were escorting to Regensburg, Germany. Note in the photo the dispersal area covert by the PSP, Pierced Steel Planking. Victor Sierra