Curtiss P-40E - "Kibosh"
21 Pursuit Group, Phillipines early 1942

Aptly finished this Memorial Day is my 1/72 scale P-40E Warhawk ”Kibosh” of the US Army 21st Pursuit Group led by Colonel Ed Dyess, in the Philippines, early 1942. This aircraft was actually a taped together collection of pieces of other damaged machines, and was the last US plane left at Bataan. By April 8, 1942, the unit was starving and could no longer resist the enemy; rather than abandon his men, Dyess ordered Lieutenant Donaldson to fly to safety in “Kibosh.”
Dyess and the remaining members of the squadron surrendered to the Japanese. Lt. Donaldson’s flight in “Kibosh” was equally disastrous as he was forced to crash land the plane on the island of Cebu because the landing gear would not operate properly.
Colonel Dyess’ decision to surrender would ultimately force his participation in the infamous Bataan Death March -- something he was lucky to survive. He managed to escape from a prison camp and fought alongside the Filipino forces before eventually returning to the United States.
Colonel Dyess’ last sacrifice came while he was flying a new P-38 later in the war. It caught fire over a heavily populated area; but instead of bailing out and leaving the plane to crash and potentially harming people, he guided the plane away from the area before it crashed, killing himself in the process.
Despite all his sacrifices and accomplishments, it is his time in his P-40 that he is most remembered for. I enjoyed learning more about the P-40E and especially the build itself.