P-51 “Topper III” Low Top Canvas Shoes
This design is based on the P-51 Mustang “Topper III” as flown by Captain Edward Lucien Toppins of the famous 332nd Fighter Group, also known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Toppins was considered one of the best pilots to have completed the Tuskegee program and was known amongst his peers as a “pilot’s pilot” and “almost a daredevil”. Toppins flew with the 99th Fighter Squadron and completed 141 missions, shooting down four enemy aircraft with one probable victory and was one of only nine 332nd Fighter Group pilots with at least three confirmed kills during World War II. After the war on December 10th, 1946, at age 31, Toppins was killed whilst piloting a B-25 on a training exercise near Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio. For his service he had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal (x5).
