Dusk Patrol commemorates the pilots of the 352nd Fighter Squadron, 353rd Fighter Group, flying P-51D Mustangs from RAF Raydon during the final year of the Second World War. The scene features two aircraft tied to the unit's history: Alabama Rammer Jammer, associated with Arthur C. Cundy Jr., and Double Trouble Two, flown by Lt. Col. William B. Bailey.
The P-51D Relic: 44-73990
The relic associated with the artwork came from a fuselage panel of P-51D-25-NA 44-73990 (construction number 122-40530). Built during the final year of the war, the Mustang later served with the Royal Canadian Air Force after being transferred to Canada in 1951.
After passing through several owners, the aircraft entered the air-racing world as Pigeon Chaser. Bob Hoover flew it as the pace aircraft for the 1971 Cape May National Air Races.
P-51D Mustang 44-73990 during its years as the air racer Pigeon Chaser.
Between 2000 and 2015, the Mustang underwent an extensive restoration and was subsequently finished as Alabama Rammer Jammer, representing the 353rd Fighter Group—the same group depicted in Dusk Patrol.
P-51D Mustang 44-73990 restored in the markings of Alabama Rammer Jammer.
The 353rd Fighter Group
The 353rd Fighter Group served with the Eighth Air Force from England, initially flying the P-47 Thunderbolt before converting to the P-51 Mustang. From RAF Raydon, its pilots escorted heavy bombers, flew fighter sweeps, and attacked targets across occupied Europe. The group's black-and-yellow checkerboard markings became one of its most recognizable identifiers.
Arthur Cundy and Alabama Rammer Jammer
One of the Mustangs represented in the artwork is Alabama Rammer Jammer, associated with Capt. Arthur C. Cundy Jr. of the 352nd Fighter Squadron. Cundy was credited with 7.5 aerial victories during his combat service. On 11 March 1945, while flying P-51D 44-15092, he disappeared over the North Sea after reporting trouble with his aircraft. He did not return from the mission.
William Bailey and Double Trouble Two
The second aircraft is Double Trouble Two, flown by Lt. Col. William B. “Wild Bill” Bailey, deputy commander of the 353rd Fighter Group. Bailey flew two combat tours and 186 combat missions. His Mustang carried the group's distinctive checkerboard markings along with victory symbols representing his combat record.
The name Double Trouble Two followed an earlier aircraft Bailey had called Double Trouble. Together, Bailey and Cundy represent different levels of leadership within the same fighter group—from squadron combat pilot to deputy group commander—while the restored 44-73990 provides the physical relic incorporated with the artwork.
The Mustang in the Escort War
By the time the 353rd Fighter Group converted to the P-51, the Mustang had become central to the Eighth Air Force's long-range escort campaign. Powered by the Packard-built Merlin engine, later Mustang variants combined high-altitude performance with the range needed to accompany bomber formations deep into Germany. Fighter groups such as the 353rd increasingly ranged ahead of the bombers, challenged Luftwaffe fighters, and attacked enemy aircraft both in the air and on the ground.
Dusk Patrol connects that broader history to the individual aircraft and pilots of the 353rd Fighter Group, while the surviving metal from 44-73990 provides a direct physical connection to the P-51D itself.
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