As far as distinctively presented Mustangs of the Second World War are concerned, few were as colourful as the machines flown by the 356th Fighter Group of the US Army Air Force. Flying out of RAF Martlesham Heath in Suffolk, just a short flight from Britain’s North Sea coast, the group were colloquially referred to as the ‘Martlesham Playboys’ or, perhaps more understandably, the ‘Blue Diamonds’. 

After completing his flight training in the US, Donald J Strait arrived in England to fly the P-47 Thunderbolt in autumn 1943. A native of Verona, New Jersey, he proudly took the name of his home state into combat with the Luftwaffe in the skies above Europe, naming his aircraft ‘Jersey Jerk’. 

Achieving three aerial victories whilst flying the Thunderbolt, Strait enjoyed his most prolific period of combat success once his unit converted to the North American P-51D Mustang at the end of 1944. 

Wearing the distinctive markings of the 356th Fighter Group, Captain Strait and his ‘Jersey Jerk’ scored a further 10.5 confirmed aerial victories in the final months of the Second World War, including a productive day on 20th February 1945 when he dispatched three Fieseler Storch Luftwaffe observation aircraft in the same mission. 

With a total of 13.5 aerial victories, Donald Strait ended the war as the most successful ace pilot in the 356th Fighter Group