World War II Database

1. Brynjar Pihl says:
23 Nov 2011 11:40:19 PM

Hello
I am a scale modelbuilder from Norway.
I am building a P51D in !:5 scale,and I am looking for pictures of Fools Paradise IV.
Anyone who can help....??

Thanks
Brynjar Pihl

2. Marshall McCall says:
31 Jan 2013 07:36:53 AM

This airplane, Fools Paradise IV, was my Dad's airplane. Fools Paradise and Fools Paradise II were P-39s Stateside. Fools Paradise III was a P-51B.

3. Anonymous says:
26 Jun 2014 03:28:59 AM

I used to enjoy all the times Uncle Mac would visit the family in Arizona. He sure had some good stories.interesting experiences.My dad says the name Fools Paradise is the best name he could've name his plane and yea I agree.Was my Uncle Mac's p51. ..sure miss him and my grandpa

4. Anonymous says:
4 Jul 2014 11:02:26 AM

According to the French, Fools Paradise IV was shot down during the battle of Plouigneau on August 8,1944. Is there any truth to this?

5.  David Stubblebine says:
4 Jul 2014 12:56:53 PM

Anonymous #4: I could not find any mention of this in US records, but my search was far from exhaustive. USAAF Accident Reports list this aircraft being badly damaged in a landing accident at Maupertus on 12 Jul 1944 (pilot: Walter W Graham). It is unclear whether the plane flew after that but it is doubtful. Your question was successful in sending me looking into this aircraft’s history a little more and that search has resulted in an updated caption, but sadly without an answer to your question. Sorry about that but thank you for prodding me to make the search.

6. Gilles Collaveri says:
30 Aug 2014 12:27:51 AM

Good morning from France, David,

I found the remains of Fool's Paradise in Plouigneau two years ago and I obtained the information you are mentionning from TOCH, as follows:

"Louis Morrison was in the 382 FS but went to the 380 FS on 7-1-44 as CO .
In the 380 FS his P-51D was A9-R 413605.
On 8-9-44 he was hit by flak and bailed out near US ground troops.So no MACR.
8-9-44 he was flying 413309 A9-A "Fool's Paradise IV" which was Maj. McCall's plane. If you do google search you can find a photo of A9-A. All this from Kent Miller's book on the 363rd FG book printed by Schiffer".

I would be inclined to trust the above. If you are interested in my findings, feel free to contact me on my amil or read the story on my website "aerocherche.fr";

rgds

Gilles

7. Alain says:
3 Jan 2015 02:01:36 AM

Dear M.Marshall McCall,
I m a French modeler like Phil and i have few questions.You or you father can you confirm the colours of this fighter filled with memories that i wish to revive.
The nose is yellow or red ? the tail is yellow with strip ? The tip of wings are red ? The top of the fuselage (back) is green ? "Fool's Paradise" (by the way wonderful metafore) is black ?
Yours Sincerely
Alain Cristien

8. Anonymous says:
29 Mar 2019 02:37:49 PM

This was indeed my Dads airplane. When I asked him bout the color of the nose spinner, he couldn’t remember.

9.  David Stubblebine says:
31 Mar 2019 02:52:40 PM

I could find no first-generation sources for this squadron’s aircraft markings but most modern recreations for this airplane color the spinner and forward cowling cobalt blue with olive green shading on the upper fuselage sections and no markings on the tail except the tail number. The faint horizontal tail stripes clearly visible in this photo are apparently painted over from some earlier scheme.

10. Adam Sechrest says:
5 Jul 2021 09:14:44 PM

Thank you again for another high quality black and white photo. In my continuing self-education of digital colorization of black and white photos, I've chosen this image to colorize. I welcome critiques of my colorization as well as corrections from those who know of the history, scenario, objects, and colors.

Colorized: https://preview.redd.it/oub66er4wg971.png?width=3791&format=png&auto=webp&s=c0934116df9b233b77432aa55b952b92efdf3dc1

11. Adam Sechrest says:
6 Jul 2021 07:18:52 AM

Thank you for this image. I've done a colorization of it, which I'll link below. I welcome critiques and comments, especially that relate to the historical accuracy of the colors.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Colorization/comments/oehjm9/p51d_mustang_fools_paradise_iv_fighter_of_363rd/