Punta Gorda Army Airfield, Florida

Punta Gorda Army Airfield was a sub-base of Sarasota Army Airfield. The 344th AAF Base Unit (CCTS F)
operated from the field and included the 490th Fighter Squadron and 502nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron,
beginning in December of 1943. On May 1st, 1944 the 490th and 502nd were re-designated as Squadron 'T'
and Squadron 'O', respectively, and became part of the Punta Gorda Replacement Training Unit (F)

Floridian Hawks

At least 21 P-40s are shown lined up on the ramp at Punta Gorda, 1944-45.
The second ship from the camera in the nearest row of Hawks looks to be
coded 'M-11'. If so, this may be the lead ship shown in the photo below.


Original image posted by Paul Speakman on Flickr - Larger Image
Even Larger Image

'M' for Punta Gorda

Six P-40Ns flying out of Punta Gorda AAF, 1944-45. The tail markings on the ship
coded 'M-11' look to maybe be a late-war revival of pre-war USAAC flight leader stripes.


Project 914 Archives - Larger Image

Squadron 'T'

Fourteen pilots from Flight 'B' of Squadron 'T' (formerly the 490th FS) of the
Punta Gorda Replacement Training Unit (F), July 1944. The ship, a P-40N, looks
to be coded 'M-1' and is probably assigned to the squadron commander, or maybe
the C.O. of the RTU, judging by the code itself and the stripes on the wing. Pretty
interesting, those. I've seldom seen such markings on late-war aircraft.


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And here we have twelve Hawk drivers from Flight 'A', on February 7th, 1945.


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Fighter-Bomber Boys

'B' Flight of the 502nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Punta Gord in 1944. The 502nd
was part of the 85th Fighter-Bomber Group and operated from Punta Gorda from
December 3rd, 1943 to May 1st, 1944, when the outfit was disbanded.

2Lt. James Hannon is kneeling, second from right. He went on to fly with the
86th Fighter Squadron, 79th Fighter Group, and was KIA on January 25th, 1945.


Shared by Ryan Hannon in the 79th FG Facebook Group - Larger Image

Family Model Hawk

TP-40N 44-7151 was snapped at Punta Gorda, probably in June 1945 or later.
This ship was involved in a landing accident on January 16th, 1945. I've no further details.


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