Us Official Photographs

P-51 Missions In China

Deep in the heart of China, a large percentage of P-51 missions were aborting due to the conditions of the fuel on arrival at the advanced fighter base. The barrels were old, and rusty on the inside and there were no containers to which the gas could be transferred. The solution came when a B-29 made a crash landing on the field and its bomb-bay tank was salvaged and set up as a fueling station. Shown, a mechanic gasses up a Mustang from the tank while men in background transfer fuel to the large receptacle from the original drums, filtering the gasoline through several thicknesses of chamois cloth. Idea for the tank arrangement originated with Lt. William Flemming, engineering officer.