The Kittyhawk Mk.IIa (P-40L) in 3 Sqn RAAF Service (Page 5)

Two photos of CV-L FS420 the aircraft flown by F/Lt Jack Doyle. This was another long serving machine, Jack flying it from 21 Aug 43 till 22 Apr 1944. Both photos were taken at Cutella, the sand dunes that the strip was built on being once again being very visible.

Photos Ken Richards

Kittyhawk Mk.IIa, CV-L, FS420, Cutella, 1944. Pilot: Jack Doyle
Temperate Dark Green/ Dark Earth uppersurface scheme. The undersurfaces were painted in a colour called 'Sky Grey' (roughly #FS36595).
Being an early receipt on the Sqn (Aug 43) it has the rounded style of code letters.

And now we come to the one that I'm sure you are all waiting for as it featured on the decal sheet in the AMTech P-40L kit. Although you would not know it from the AMTech instructions which are too useless to actually acknowledge the source, I was the one who supplied the info to Alan Griffiths and his decal artist for this machine.

This very interesting machine was the personal aircraft of Brian Eaton who was the leader of 3 Sqn from Aug 43 to Feb 1944. It went through a number of changes in markings. Originally it did not have the artwork on the nose, the only unusual thing being the S/Ldrs pennant positioned on the rudder. I do not know if it was on the starboard side of the rudder as I don't have photos showing that area. AMTech says it is on both sides in their instructions but that is guesswork.

 
L- Shown in flight. R- A photo of the starboard side taken at Foggia in Nov 1943. Good shot of the underwing bomb shackles. RAAF & A. Dawkins

Kittyhawk Mk.IIa, CV-V, FS490, Italy, 1943/44. Pilot: S/Ldr Brian Eaton

Temperate Dark Green / Dark Earth upper surface scheme. The undersurfaces were painted in a colour called 'Sky Grey' (roughly #FS36595).  Codes in White and serials Black with Red Spinner.  Below is a reproduction of the actual 3 Sqn insignia that was painted on a flag which hung in the Pilot's Mess (the original was held by the Secretary of the S.A Branch of the Association last thing I know).  Next to it is the reproduction that is given on the AMTech decal sheet. The decals are more accurate than they look as the badge on the actual aircraft was a bit different (see the photos below).

Photos show L-R: An overall shot of CV-V with the artwork applied. At this stage it also has the replacement wingtip (Neutral Gray below & probably Olive Drab above). The next two are close-ups of the artwork applied to the nose. Notice there are differences to the version on the flag shown above. The crest is basically a bird with bomb (a Kittyhawk maybe) and the number '3' superimposed on the standard Desert Air Force badge.  Finally a photo of Brian Eaton himself. Photos - Arthur Dawkins & Ken Richards

Introduction: KITTYHAWK Page 1