"Hurry Home Honey"

**Bomber_12th** · November 21st, 2011, 16:35

That was the last line of every letter that Maj. Bud Peterson's wife sent to her husband during WWII, and it was this endearing line that Maj. Peterson used to name his aircraft.

Bud Peterson attended the University of Minnesota, before joining the Army Reserve after the outbreak of WWII. He went through the cadet program and became a Second Lieutenant, and was sent to Europe to join the 357th Fighter Group. His first victory came in March 1944, when he shot down an Fw 190 while flying his first P-51 Mustang, a B-model. He eventually became the top scorer in 364th Fighter Squadron, with a final tally of 15.5 victories, and was the 10th Ace of the 357th Fighter Group. All of his victories were scored in the P-51 Mustang, and he also scored 3.5 ground victories. By the end of the war, Peterson had flown 150 combat missions over Europe, and had become a Major at the age of 21, which at the time made him the youngest person to achieve that rank in the Army Air Force. He would later be awarded the Air Medal, the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Major Bud Peterson also received the Croix de Guerre, one of France's highest honors for bravery. After the war he was selected as a staff officer to interview Adolf Galland, commander of the German Air Force fighter forces, on aerial combat tactics and strategy.

Like a number of famed American WWII fighter pilots, Bud was born and raised in Minnesota, and after WWII came back to live out his life in the state he called home. He pursued his architecture career after the war, and worked for such companies as Cerny Associates Inc. before co-founding Peterson, Clark & Griffith, Architects, in 1960. He was involved in the construction of many Twin Cities buildings and the Minnesota Zoo.

When originally working to produce Warbirdsim's "Little Friends II" product, it was hard to chose between either recreating the 357th FG P-51D, "Frenesi", as piloted by Maj. Tommy Hayes, or "Hurry Home Honey", the personal mount of Maj. Bud Peterson (both of them amongst my favorites). In the end, "Frenesi" won out, as I wanted to include an over-all camougflaged variant within the product, but I told myself that I still had to do "Hurry Home Honey", as a follow-up repaint after the product was completed and released. So I am very happy to now be able to present "Hurry Home Honey", for Warbirdsim's "Little Friends II: The P-51D-5-NA" product. The repaint should be available for download soon.

**TuFun** · November 21st, 2011, 16:41

Beautiful work John... beautiful!!!

**Bomber_12th** · November 21st, 2011, 17:52

Thank you Ted! Just a quick update to say that the repaint has been uploaded to the SOH library, and the Flightsim.com library. For all of those that can use it, I hope you enjoy it!

**Bomber_12th** · November 21st, 2011, 18:45

I know it is going out on a limb for sure, but if anyone would be interested in two potential wallpapers for your desktop, here are a couple of full-sized copies of screenshots of "Hurry Home Honey" for you to download, made on a standard 1080P display (so they might fit the aspect ratio of your computer monitor, or they might not). If you like them, great, if you hate them, no problem, I just figured if interested, here they would be.

**Greenhouse357** · November 21st, 2011, 19:08

You know I have to get that one John! Awesome! I talked to Pete on the phone several times and met him at the Mustang and Legends at Kissimmee years ago. He knew my cousin and told me a couple of war stories involving him. He was one of my favorite 357th pilots. Thanks again, John!

**ZsoltB** · November 21st, 2011, 21:01

Hmmm.....Nice!

Thank you John!

:ernae:

***Mr.Mugel*** · November 22nd, 2011, 02:05

That is not just an FS model, this one is art! It´s allways amazing to see the amount of work you put into those Mustangs, even though I´m financially not into payware. Still great to look at on screenshots!

***hey_moe*** · November 22nd, 2011, 03:55

Outstanding work John.

**PilatusTurbo** · November 22nd, 2011, 04:12

I'm always shocked and awed by the amount of research, effort, and care put into these Mustangs. His description of the livery is excellent and shows his dedication to understanding history. :ernae:

Can't tell you how many times I ask people my age, or slightly younger and older, and they can't even tell me when the war was. Glad to see there are some young people still devoting time to remembering an important era of human history, and its veterans that gave so much to fight for our freedom. :ernae:

And yes, beautifully accurate work with this paint. I didn't know about this pilot specifically, so as an amateur WWII historian, I loved reading it.

**Bomber_12th** · November 22nd, 2011, 07:22

Originally Posted by Greenhouse357

You know I have to get that one John! Awesome! I talked to Pete on the phone several times and met him at the Mustang and Legends at Kissimmee years ago. He knew my cousin and told me a couple of war stories involving him. He was one of my favorite 357th pilots. Thanks again, John!

Bob, thank you very much for your reply! What an honor to have had, to talk with him and to hear stories about your cousin (for those that don't know, Bob's cousin was 2nd Lt. Byron K. Braley, who flew "BK's Battle Buggy" in the 364th FS (same as Hurry Home Honey and Frenesi). In fact, it was through Bob's research that led us all to now know that "BK's Battle Buggy" was the former "Frenesi", which became assigned to Lt. Braley and re-named after Maj. Hayes rotated back to the states (if I recall correctly). You can read a mission report involving Lt. Braley on this page, and understand some of the basis behind Bob's great username: http://www.cebudanderson.com/braleydoc.htm).

**Bomber_12th** · November 22nd, 2011, 07:31

Originally Posted by Mr.Mugel

That is not just an FS model, this one is art! It´s allways amazing to see the amount of work you put into those Mustangs, even though I´m financially not into payware. Still great to look at on screenshots!

I greatly appreciate this, Mr. Mugel, and thank you! I really appreciate the feedback, regardless, and I think it means even more to me that you decided to take the time to leave such compliments, so thank you very much again!

**Bomber_12th** · November 22nd, 2011, 08:09

Originally Posted by PilatusTurbo

I'm always shocked and awed by the amount of research, effort, and care put into these Mustangs. His description of the livery is excellent and shows his dedication to understanding history. :ernae:

Can't tell you how many times I ask people my age, or slightly younger and older, and they can't even tell me when the war was. Glad to see there are some young people still devoting time to remembering an important era of human history, and its veterans that gave so much to fight for our freedom. :ernae:

And yes, beautifully accurate work with this paint. I didn't know about this pilot specifically, so as an amateur WWII historian, I loved reading it.

PT, thank you for your reply! It is great to partake in a place such as SOH, with individuals such as yourself, of my similar age group, that share in a passion for wanting to continue to know more about history - it's not always easy to find outside of the internet. When I was younger (I know, depending on who you ask, I might still be just a kid) it was more about the planes than the men that flew them, but as I've gotten older I believe that has definitely changed, as I have come to enjoy learning about the individual pilot's stories and exploits - it is sometimes easy to forget all that these guys experienced, at ages not usually older than mine, most of them younger - exploits and experiences that could only be registered in many of our minds today as being from a Hollywood movie, if they weren't in fact true as they were, or things that certainly can't begin to be fully registered unless if you have seen and experienced combat first hand yourself. This also has led me to gain a greater appreciation, at least I feel, for all of those that have served and are in the services right now - I try to put myself in their shoes, and I just can't see myself as being at their level, having the capability and mentality for doing and experiencing the things they do.

- Going back to the men that fought and served during WWII, for those that were fortunate enough to have survived combat and were able to return home, I also greatly enjoy learning about what they did after the war. It is amazing how many times you come across the stories of these guys, many of whom were just natural born leaders in their own right, who after the war went onto become great leaders in their individual areas of industry, greatly influencing the advancements in all different types of industries, from construction, to business, to technology, to medicine, to aerospace, to media, etc., the list goes on and on.

**Bomber_12th** · November 22nd, 2011, 08:12

Originally Posted by zsoltquack

Hmmm.....Nice!

Thank you John!

:ernae:

Originally Posted by hey_moe;

Outstanding work John.

Thank you very, very much, Zsolt and Moe! I appreciate the compliments! ; )

***jankees*** · November 22nd, 2011, 08:34

looks good John!
A bit clean though..

**Bomber_12th** · November 22nd, 2011, 09:09

Originally Posted by jankees

looks good John!
A bit clean though..

I figured I would go for an 'in-between' look, 'best of both worlds' so-to-speak - leaks and stains, but not a bunch of paint chipping and fading, just some weathering variations in the paint - so as to not look like it is freshly-made, nor that it has been left out to pasture. I feel that this way, the aircraft still looks proud and cared for, but at the same time is not a hangar queen or 'trophy prize'. It should fit into your hangar no matter if you want to imagine you're flying it during the WWII era, or in today's skies.

BTW, if anyone else reading this has the great (and large) John Dibbs book of P-51 photographs, as issued by Zenith Press, thumb to the section of photos of the restored "Hurry Home Honey", and you can find the inspiration I used for taking that first screenshot at the top of this page (I think it came out pretty close). : )

***huub vink*** · November 22nd, 2011, 13:30

In one word "GREAT"! Thanks John.

Huub

***huub vink*** · November 27th, 2011, 10:28

Definitely one of my favourites!

Huub

**Bomber_12th** · November 27th, 2011, 11:40

I'm really glad you're enjoying it Huub, I knew the original is one of your favorites. ; )

**Judd** · February 28th, 2012, 16:38

Originally Posted by Bomber_12th

Thank you Ted! Just a quick update to say that the repaint has been uploaded to the SOH library, and the Flightsim.com library. For all of those that can use it, I hope you enjoy it!

John, I must say you've hit the nail on the head, not only with the terrific image of Hurry Home Honey, but also about Bud and his history. I don't often find his history accurately depicted as you've done. Take it from me, I'm his son, Judd.

He absolutely would have grinned ear to ear, and had a ball moving around your Hurry Home Honey. He would have enjoyed visiting with you very much. Did you ever get a chance to meet him? I'd like to keep in touch. I have a lot of history of Bud's, and I'm in the process of organizing it and getting it down so that others can enjoy it too.

In kicking around your cockpit, I found several of the instruments and switches that Bud had described to me in his stories. I'd love to recreate a few of his memorable flying events, particularly the ones that developed from some unusual flying techniques and P51 mechanical traits.

I'd like to put your sense of the true historical facts to work solving a mystery for me. There are a few that I'm on the verge of solving, but I don't have a lot of free time because I'm still running what was once Bud's architecture business. Perhaps you could hunt down these facts for me: Bud found himself up against two FW190's from the "Abbeville Boys", the elite squadron of German aces with their noses painted a distinct yellow. They came at him from about 11:00 o'clock level moving to the right toward 2:00 o'clock, very fast. They didn't seem to see him, but he had extraordinary eyesight and maybe he just saw them first. There were just two of them, in a leader/wing man formation. Bud peeled off to the right to head them off, and intersect them. He drove right into and after the leader, right on the tails and a bit to the right side of both of them. The leader rose up into a cloud, and just before he hit the cloud, Bud hit him. Bud said he disappeared into the cloud, and then immediately came roaring out the bottom in a nose dive straight to the ground where he exploded. He took on the wingman in a dogfight. He said the guy was an excellent, topnotch pilot, and they continued split-essing at each other trying to get a bead without success. He said the dogfight seemed to go on forever with each of them trying every acrobatic they knew. He said they finally got into a Lufberry chase at tree top level, full throttle, on the edge of a stall. He could see the FW190 on the opposite side of the circle, doing the same thing, both flying counterclockwise. I don't have time to finish the story...another time, but Bud developed a way to win that situation. He downed the other FW190. Two of their top aces in one day. I'll tell you how he did it later. He taught the technique to others when he returned to the Leiston base in something he developed called "Clobber College". It was a way for him to share all the best flying and dogfighting techniques to try to preserve the US fighters and especially the newer rookies who seemed to get wasted before they understood the situation.

What I'm hoping you could help me find out...who were those two German pilots? They were in the JAG 26, I think they called it, out of Abbeville. I'm thinking you could check Bud's record for the day that he got two FW190's. He only did that once. Then find the same day that two German pilots from that outfit died flying FW190's. Verify the German squadron. I think I have a book of German aces that lists that info, but I haven't had time to run down the facts.

Anyway, I'm pleased to have made your acquaintance. Keep in touch. Judd

**Bomber_12th** · February 28th, 2012, 17:16

Judd, thank you very, very much for your message, it really means a whole heck of a lot to me! I unfortunately never met your father, but I definitely would have been very honored to. I've always had an interest in the aircraft themselves, getting caught up in the details I suppose, but in more recent times, perhaps if I can blame it on age/added maturity, I've found just as much fascination in the stories of the men that flew them in combat, and the numerous personal stories from the action/experiences they were part of - most of it so amazing, that one might believe that such experiences would be only found in a Hollywood movie, if it wasn't for the fact that the stories are actually true!

I would absolutely love to hear more about the stories and history you have on Bud and his experiences during the war! He just sounds like he was a stand-out guy in all ways - he was good at doing what he set his mind/ambitions to, in war and out of war - and of course I have to say that my ears perked up even more, when I initially had learned he was a Minnesota native. ; )

Regarding the two Fw 190 pilots, I'm not near to being the best person for the task, but I'll certainly see what I can try and find. I'll be sure to shoot my e-mail address to you as well, if you would like to correspond at any degree through that measure. And the pleasure is all mine, being acquainted with you, Judd! These are the types of interactions/connections that really makes it all worth it to me - you've certainly brightened my evening!