Readers' Responses:
John Dienst:
In a nutshell, 4821N was one of 475
combat aircraft flown to Searcy Field, Stillwater, Oklahoma for disposal
after World War Two. After February of 1946, it was dissasembled into
components by H & H Enterprises in Oklahoma and trucked to Texas for
reassembly. For your information, this particular Mustang was one of
several that helped form the nucleus of the fledgling Dominican Air Force
(AMD). Unfortunately, it was written off while in service with that
country's air arm.
Dick Phillips:
This P-51C N4821N serial 42-103663 flew less than a year with the 3rd Air
Force before it was delivered to the RFC storage facility located at Searcy
Field, Stillwater, OK. On 19 Feb 46, Paul Mantz purchased '663 along with
474 other surplus aircraft from the US Government. He also formed a
partnership with J.W. Heath and L. B. Hapgood. On 8 Jun 47, the partnership
sold the following to Frank Abel of Wichita Falls, TX, for $1500. : one each
P-51C fuselage, one each P-51C wing, one Rolls-Royce V-1650-3 engine and one
Hamilton Standard propeller. The parts were trucked to Wichita Falls. On 23
Oct 47, the aircraft was assigned registration number N4821N. Abel sold
4821N to Darrel C. Dikeman, Syracuse, Kansas one month later. In the spring
of 1948, Dikeman sold his mustang to the government of the Dominican
Republic. The aircraft was to be ferried to the island of Hispaniola by the
Riddle Company of Miami. On 6 Jun 48, N4821N was written off while on its
delivery flight. It crashed due to fuel starvation at Villa Julia Molina,
near San Francisco de Mocoris, Dominican Republic. It was to have been
serialed FAD 1700 on its arrival with the FAD.
Case Closed!
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