Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 P-51 Mustang returns to Kentucky Air Guard after 63 years By Master Sgt. Philip Speck
                123rd Airlift Wing, Kentucky Air National Guard
 LOUISVILLE – A P-51 Mustang arrived back on the flight line of the Kentucky Air National Guard Base on April 12, more than six decades after departing. The Mustang, serial number of 44-74202, was once assigned to the unit as a military fighter aircraft from 1953 to 1956. Now, it was returning home as a fully restored civilian warbird to fly in the 2019 Thunder Over Louisville air show. The P-51’s new owners, R.T. Dickson Jr. and his father, R.T. Dickson Sr., purchased the Mustang in 2012 after more than 50 years of storage and restoration. The younger Dickson has been flying aircraft since the age of 3, when his father let him take the stick of a Globe Swift. He’s piloted a multitude of aircraft ever since, but the South Carolina resident said he was especially pleased to be flying the Mustang in Thunder. “I’m very excited about it,” Dickson said on the tarmac of the Kentucky Air Guard Base, recalling how his appearance in the show came to be. He met the Kentucky Air Guard’s Maj. Josh Ketterer, a C-130 Hercules pilot, in December 2018 during an air show planning conference that Ketterer was attending as a Thunder coordinator. Dickson noticed the Kentucky patch on Ketterer’s flight suit, and the two struck up a conversation. Dickson told Ketterer how his restored Mustang, now known as “Swamp Fox,” had once belonged to the Kentucky Air Guard. “We started talking about the airframe, and Josh said, ‘You should come up for Thunder,’” Dickson recalled. They both loved the idea of giving the aircraft a “homecoming,” and Ketterer talked to wing leadership about bringing this piece of aviation history back to Kentucky. Tail no. 44-74202 was manufactured by North American Aviation and delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force on May 7, 1945. It was first assigned to 445th Fighter Squadron at Bakersfield Army Air Field, California, before being transferred to more than a half-dozen units in California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas. It arrived at the Kentucky Air Guard in July 1953 and remained here until October 1956, when it was moved to McClellan Air Force Base, California. The following year, it was declared surplus property. The aircraft was purchased at auction by a private individual in 1957 but was damaged a few years later in a landing accident, according to an article in Warbird Digest. For the next 50 years, the plane changed hands several times, although it remained unflyable until a major restoration project returned it to the air in 2012 as the Dicksons’ Swamp Fox, painted in honor of World War II pilot Will Foard, who was a member of the 357th Fighter Group. The 357th scored more combat air-to-air victories than any other P-51 Group in the Eighth Air Force during World War II. Dickson has now traveled around the nation with Swamp Fox, which has given him an opportunity to learn more about the history of the P-51. While in Louisville, he stopped by the Kentucky Air Guard’s “Heritage Hall” and saw photos of his aircraft when it was assigned here. “The most awe-inspiring thing that has come out of (owning this aircraft) is meeting the men and women that flew them,” he said. “It’s a very visceral experience to fly. It’s loud, it vibrates, and it has smells — the fuel, the oil and the hydraulics. It’s a neat experience to convey to people that haven’t been inside something like this.” He said the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing has adopted him, partly because they share the name Swamp Fox. Recently, the unit hosted a family day that gave hundreds of people the chance to see the aircraft up close. “We had kids crawling all over this thing, and I had the opportunity to take some kids up into the cockpit,” he said. “It’s really interesting to inspire the next generation.” Ketterer finds inspiration in the Swamp Fox, too. “As a Guard unit, we have a lot of family legacies around,” he said. “Having a legacy aircraft here that our families worked on is pretty special. We’re delighted about R.T.’s generosity of sharing his plane with us and bringing it back to its roots.”
 SHARE
 PRINT
 
 Young Cancer Patient Made Honorary 1st Sergeant in Illinois Guard
 By Lt. Col. Bradford Leighton,
  Western Air Defense Sector Wraps Up Enduring Partners Exercise
 By Kimberly Burke,
  Former Colorado TAG Retires as Air National Guard Director
 By Tech. Sgt. Stephanie Zimmerman,
  More
 Former Colorado TAG Retires as Air National Guard Director Guard News • 4 hours ago
 Idaho National Guard Opens Child Care Center Guard News • 22 hours ago
 After 80th D-Day Commemoration, Hokanson Looks to Future Guard News • 2 days ago
 106th Rescue Wing Conducts Comprehensive Rescue Training Guard News • 4 days ago
 Oregon Air Guard Security Forces Squadron Trains in Hawai'i Guard News • 4 days ago
 2024 (181)  2023 (427)  2022 (526)  2021 (697)  2020 (936)  2019 (387)  2018 (323)  2017 (346)  2016 (245)  2015 (356)  2014 (399)  2013 (469)  2012 (556)  2011 (533)  2010 (1071)  2009 (357)  2008 (638)  2007 (295)  2006 (188)
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil