Date:	Tuesday 9 May 1944
Time:
Type:	North American P-51B-10 Mustang
Owner/operator:	2th FSqn /52nd FGp USAAF
Registration:	42-106572
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Aghione, Corsica -   France
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Aghione, Corsica
Destination airport:

Narrative:
April 1944 was a month of big changes for the 52nd FG USAAF, based in Corsica. The group, who had flown Spitfires since its arrival on Northern Ireland during the summer 1942, received its first P-51s and started conversion training on the type before joining the 15th Air Force. Then, starting from the 24th, the group left its base of Borgo and moved to Aghione, 40 miles south. All operations were then stopped.

The training continued in the first days of May. A practice mission briefing proved that the group could not obtain all needed data by radio from the 306th Fighter Wing, in Italy, in time to prepare correctly the briefing and so the group was ordered to move to Italy, this being scheduled for the 15th of the month. In the meantime training continued.

On 9 May, a sweep over occupied France was planified but then cancelled due to bad weather over the target area. The weather over Corsica was good enough to practice flying Mustangs. As 2nd Lt James E Hoffman, Jr. of 2nd FS was taking off, two cows ran across the runway in the path of his P-51. The collision killed both cows and wrecked the aircraft, the P-51B-10 42-106572, but Hoffmann survived and scored his first victories two weeks later, on the 24th, so was not seriously hurt. It was the third P-51 written off by the group during the Mustang training period, that ended the next day as it was declared operational on its new mount.

"Spitfires and yellow tail Mustangs. The 52nd Fighter Group in World War Two", by Tom Ivie and Paul Ludwig. ISBN 1-902109-43-0
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/May1944O.]htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aghione_Airfield

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
26-Sep-2011 16:18	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
19-Jan-2012 06:44	Nepa	Updated [Operator]
23-Apr-2015 14:07	October1944	Updated [Total fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
13-Feb-2020 17:25	Iwosh	Updated [Operator, Operator]
10-Feb-2021 10:21	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Operator]