By Randy Malmstrom
North American TF-51D Mustang “Toulouse Nuts.” This Collings Foundation’s TF-51D is one of three original TF-51Ds remaining in the world. This fighter is painted in its original markings as a West Virginia Air National Guard, 167th Fighter Squadron P-51 called “Toulouse Nuts.” My photos.
Editor’s notes: This TF-51D Mustang was built at the North American Aviation plant in Dallas, Texas, as P-51D-25-NT construction number 124-44511 and was accepted into the United States Army Air Force as 44-84655. With the creation of the independent United States Air Force (USAF) in 1947, aircraft previously listed as “Pursuit” aircraft, such as the P-51, became fighters, which saw the P-51 Mustang be reclassified as the F-51 Mustang. Simultaneously, the adoption of jet fighters such as the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star and the North American F-86 Sabre would see the F-51 Mustangs be relegated to Air National Guard units across the U.S. F-51D 44-84655 was assigned to the 167th Fighter Squadron of the West Virginia Air National Guard (WV ANG) at Kanawha Airport (now West Virginia International Yeager Airport) at Charleston, West Virginia, and was given the name “Toulouse Nuts“. From January to August 1951, the aircraft was converted to a TF-51D trainer by the Texas Engineering & Manufacturing Company (TEMCO) in Dallas as part of a government contract to convert F-51Ds into two-seat, dual-control trainers, leading not only to the installation of a tandem cockpit, but also the fitting of a lengthened plexiglass “bubble-top” canopy. Shortly afterwards, TF-51D 44-84655 was reassigned to the 120th Fighter Squadron, 140th Fighter Group of the Colorado Air National Guard based at Naval Air Station Denver (formerly Buckley Field, now Buckley Space Force Base).
During the aircraft’s service, 44-84655 had a documented incident on June 22, 1953, when the aircraft suffered a prop strike at Natrona County Airport in Casper, Wyoming. After the aircraft was repaired, F-51D 44-84655 returned to the West Virginia Air National Guard. By 1957, as the last F-51 Mustangs were being retired from the Air National Guard units, TF-51D 44-84655 was flown to Norton Air Force Base at San Bernardino, California, then flown to the Sacramento Air Materiel Area at McClellan AFB in Sacramento, California to be sold at auction. On February 20, 1958, the aircraft was sold to the Nicaraguan National Guard Air Force (Fuerza Aérea de la Guardia Nacional) and flown as serial number GN 98.
In 1963, the aircraft was purchased by Will W. Martin/MACO Sales Financial Corp. of Chicago, Illinois, flown back to the United States, and registered as N74045 on September 23, 1963. Later, the aircraft was sold to Aero Enterprises of La Porte, Indiana and re-registered as N6326T. On August 24, 1964, the aircraft made a gear-up landing at La Porte Airport, Indiana. The aircraft was then transported to Cal Aero Sport of Chino, California for repairs. Shortly after these repairs were completed, TF-51D N6326T was sold to the Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Boliviana; FAB) on Jun 10, 1966, was issued the serial number FAB 510, and was assigned to Grupo Aéreo de Combate 31 (Combat Group 31. During its service in the FAB, the aircraft suffered another belly landing in 1967. The aircraft was then written off and shipped back to America to the Cavalier Aircraft Corporation of Sarasota, Florida, in September of that year. Cavalier would use the airframe as a pattern to modify other surplus Mustangs into Cavalier Mustangs, which were used as both high-speed business aircraft and for counter-insurgency operations by Bolivia, El Salvador, and Indonesia.
The remains of TF-51D 44-84655 were sold and resold to several private owners, but in 2013, the project arrived at American Aero Services in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, which would complete the restoration on behalf of the Collings Foundation of Stow, Massachusetts. During the restoration, the name “Toulouse Nuts” was discovered on a sheet-aluminum panel for the engine cowling, and the aircraft was restored to the markings it wore with the West Virginia Air National Guard’s 167th Fighter Squadron with the new FA N-number N551CF. On June 15, 2016, TF-51D “Toulouse Nuts” made its first post-restoration flight, with pilot Paul “Scott” Slocum at the controls. One month later, the aircraft won the Golden Wrench Award for Postwar Grand Champion Warbird at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The aircraft would then fly with the Collings Foundation’s Wings of Freedom Tour, giving rides to paying passengers along the tour stops.
With the end of the Wings of Freedom Tour in 2023, TF-51D 44-84655/N551CF is now registered to Toulouse Nuts LLC, a holding company registered in Raleigh, North Carolina, but as of writing, it has been out of the limelight for a couple of years now. Perhaps, though, the aircraft will come to prominence yet again in the near future.
About the author
Randy Malmstrom grew up in a family steeped in aviation culture. His father, Bob, was still a cadet in training with the USAAF at the end of WWII but did serve in Germany during the U.S. occupation in the immediate post-war period, where he had the opportunity to fly in a wide variety of types that flew in WWII. After returning to the States, Bob became a multi-engine aircraft sales manager and, as such, flew a wide variety of aircraft; Randy frequently accompanied him on these flights. Furthermore, Randy’s cousin, Einar Axel Malmstrom, flew P-47 Thunderbolts with the 356th FG from RAF Martlesham Heath. He was commanding this unit at the time he was shot down over France on April 24th, 1944, and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. Following his repatriation at war’s end, Einar continued his military service, attaining the rank of Colonel. He was serving as Deputy Wing Commander of the 407th Strategic Fighter Wing at Great Falls AFB, MT, at the time of his death in a T-33 training accident on August 21, 1954. The base was renamed in his honor in October 1955 and continues to serve in the present USAF as home to the 341st Missile Wing. Randy’s innate interest in history in general, and aviation history in particular, plus his educational background and passion for WWII warbirds, led him down his current path of capturing detailed aircraft walk-around photos and in-depth airframe histories, recording a precise description of a particular aircraft in all aspects.
