On an impulse, Ralph Hofer joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941. He was shipped out to England and flew Hurricanes, but saw no combat until he transferred to the 4th Fighter Group at Debden, then equipped with the P-47 Thunderbolt. Hofer was undisciplined and reckless in the air, preferring to attack enemy aircraft on his own without regard for the mission. His luck held until 02JUL44, when he was shot down by flak while single-handedly strafing a German airfield in Yugoslavia. Hofer was credited with destroying 30.5 German aircraft, including ground victories.
Serial Number 42-106924 “Salem Representative” P-51B-15-NA Ralph “Kid” Hofer, 334 FS 4 FG, Kits-World KW172002 decals
Construction posts here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2022/04/15/arma-hobby-north-american-p-51-b-c-mustang-batch-build-in-1-72-scale-part-i/
Inch High Guy 
Always interesting to read the background story of a particular model kit.
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Often that is what draws me to the subject!
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Interesting colour scheme. i wonder, was the OD stripped off or was it applied selectively?
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Good question. It was a fairly common scheme however they did it.
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Mike, I’m of the opinion that a/c such as this were originally OD, but it got partially stripped off. It just seems logical to me, and it’s just my opinion, which means it’s worth nada. 🙂
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Lovely Jeff, and thanks as always for the back story. Great color scheme.
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Thanks Warren!
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Very nice- an interesting scheme- I do like the invasion stripes.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Nice work. Ralph actually shot down a Fw-190 on his first mission, pretty much unheard-of – he was supposed to be Jim Clark’s wingman, and when Clark missed the target he pulled ahead and plugged it. He wasn’t flying Salem Representative on the Russia Shuttle, the tail end of which was when he got killed while they were operating from Italy – Blakeslee took the airplane away from him when he wouldn’t get his shots for the Russia trip.
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Thanks Tom! Certainly and interesting character, but he would be a handful for a CO!
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