North American P-51D Mustang 44-72216 G-BIXL “Miss Helen” Anpartsselskabet AF

North American P-51D Mustang 44-72216 G-BIXL ‘Miss Helen” | Anpartsselskabet AF

Duxford Battle of Britain 2019 practise

STATUS: Airworthy
LOCATION: Dunkeswell, Devon, UK
OWNER: Anpartsselskabet AF
ROLE: Fighter
BUILT: 1944
LENGTH: 9.83 m32 ft 3 in
WINGSPAN: 11.28 m37 ft 0 in
ENGINE: Rolls Royce Packard Merlin V1650
MAXIMUM SPEED: 440 mph708 km/h
RANGE: 1,650 mi 2,656 km

North American P-51D-20NA 44-72216 was built at North American’s Inglewood, California plant in 1944 and delivered to the USAAF on 9 January 1945. It was assigned to the 487th Fighter Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force, based at RAF Bodney in Norfolk. The 352nd became famous as the “Blue-Nosed Bastards of Bodney.”

The Mustang became associated with Captain Raymond H. Littge, who referred to the aircraft as “Miss Helen”, after his fiancée Helen Fischer. Lieutenant Russell Ross also flew the aircraft and referred to it as “Miss Nita.” Specialist research indicates that the precise sequence of the wartime nose markings is uncertain, despite the aircraft’s longstanding association with the Miss Helen name.

By the spring of 1945 Littge had 10½ aerial victories. On 17 April 1945, during a mission associated with the escort of B-17 bombers towards Dresden, elements of the 352nd attacked the German airfield at Plattling, Bavaria.

Littge’s flight destroyed 14 aircraft, with Littge personally credited with six. His Mustang was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire, including damage to the oil line which caused a serious leak. Despite the damage, Littge made seven further strafing attacks. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. Secondary accounts identify his six victories as four Bf 109s and two Me 262s, although the official citation simply records six aircraft.

Post-war Service

After the war, 44-72216 served with the Royal Swedish Air Force, becoming Fv 26116, before being sold to the Israeli Air Force in 1953, where it was allocated the identity 2343. It was subsequently recovered from Israel in 1976 and brought to Britain for restoration.

Registered in Britain as G-BIXL, the Mustang returned to flight at North Weald on 5 May 1987. It later appeared in the film Memphis Belle, wearing the temporary identity “Miss L”, before returning to its 352nd Fighter Group presentation.

In September 2015, the aircraft was acquired by British warbird owner Robert Tyrrell and subsequently became a familiar sight at UK airshows, operating for a period from Goodwood before moving to Dunkeswell.

Recent History

The ownership changed in November 2024, when the aircraft’s registration record was transferred to the Danish entity ANPARTSSELSKABET AF. G-BIXL has retained its British civil registration. Reports have identified Danish businessman Anders Holch Povlsen as the purchaser, although the publicly available aircraft records establish ANPARTSSELSKABET AF as the registered owner.

During 2025 the Mustang underwent an extensive restoration at Dunkeswell. It returned to flight in November 2025 following approximately 11 months of work, and subsequently resumed flying. The restoration included a return to a carefully researched “Miss Helen” 352nd Fighter Group appearance.

Today, 44-72216 is one of the most historically significant surviving P-51 Mustangs: a genuine Second World War veteran of the 352nd Fighter Group, flown in combat by Raymond Littge, subsequently operated by the Swedish and Israeli air forces, and now preserved as an airworthy warbird in the UK. It is regarded by specialist P-51 historians as the last surviving original 352nd Fighter Group P-51 known to exist.