Commander of USAAF 78th Fighter Squadron Major James B. Tapp checking the fuses on his HVAR air-to-surface rockets mounted to his P-51D VLR Mustang ‘Margaret-V’ 44-73407 at South Field, Iwo Jima, spring 1945. [Colorized by WW2DB]

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Caption     Commander of USAAF 78th Fighter Squadron Major James B. Tapp checking the fuses on his HVAR air-to-surface rockets mounted to his P-51D VLR Mustang ‘Margaret-V’ 44-73407 at South Field, Iwo Jima, spring 1945. [Colorized by WW2DB] ww2dbase
Colorization Note   This photograph was originally a black and white photograph; the colorized version presented here was a derivative work by WW2DB. The colors used in this version were speculative, and could be significantly different from the real colors.

Processed using Adobe Photoshop Image Processor, with default neural filter, selecting "None" as the profile.

View the original black and white photograph at its own permanent page.
Photographer    Unknown
Source    ww2dbaseUnited States National Archives
More on...   
P-51 Mustang   Main article  Photos  Maps  
HVAR   Main article  Photos  
Photo Size 1,800 x 1,214 pixels
Photos at Same Place Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan
Added By David Stubblebine
Colorized Date 24 Feb 2023
Licensing  Public Domain. According to the US National Archives, as of 21 Jul 2010:
The vast majority of the digital images in the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) are in the public domain. Therefore, no written permission is required to use them. We would appreciate your crediting the National Archives and Records Administration as the original source. For the few images that remain copyrighted, please read the instructions noted in the "Access Restrictions" field of each ARC record.... In general, all government records are in the public domain and may be freely used.... Additionally, according to the United States copyright law (United States Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105), in part, "[c]opyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government".

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Commenter identity confirmed David Stubblebine says:
12 Apr 2021 04:09:31 PM

Note the oversized external fuel tanks that make this a VLR Mustang (Very Long Range). Note also the squadron emblem below the cockpit; the 78th Fighter Squadron was known as the ‘Bushmasters.’ Major (later Colonel) Tapp named his airplane after his girl back home in Minnesota whom he would later marry and remain with until her death in 2006.

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Modern Day Location
WW2-Era Place Name Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan
Lat/Long 24.7628, 141.3036
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