Mustang ‘Marinell’ returns to Duxford

It was what you call a ‘déjà vu’ when North American P-51 ‘Marinell’ landed at Duxford (UK) on 17 July 2023. The Mustang 44-13521 (c/n 109-27154) was restored by Maurice Hammond in Hardwick, UK, making its first post restoration flight as G-MRLL on 26 July 2008.

The fighter is a veteran of 504 Fighter Squadron USAAF, flying from Fowlmere, Cambs. It crashed near Feuquieres, France on 13 August 1944 and the wreck was stored nearby until it was acquired by Hammond in 2004. He initiated the restoration of the plane in its former glory as 44-13521, code 5Q-B, named ‘Marinell’.

In May 2017, Hammond decide to sell his Mustang and it was registered in the USA as N383FJ, as owned by Sky West Aviation Inc. (NM). But ‘Marinell’ never left Europe, but it was flown by Carlo Coltri / Collezione Marchi-Luciano Sorlini, Italy. On 9 February 2023, the registration N383FJ was cancelled from the US registry, the plane being exported to Italy.

Strangely enough ‘Marinell’ still carried N383FJ on its fuselage when arriving at Duxford, while some say that the pilot used callsign ‘I-COLT’ when contacting the airfield. According to the CAA website a case is opened to return the Mustang to the British register as G-MRLL.

Photo: David Whitworth