Ground Crew of 301st Fighter Squadron Affix Fuel Tank to P-51C Mustang

Image size: 1600 x 1174 pixel. 459 KB
Date: Friday, 1 September 1944
Place: Ramitelli, Campobosso, Italy
Photographer: Toni Frisell

Technical Sergeant Charles Kemper Haynes of Saint Louis, Missouri (June 14, 1910-April 3, 1995), Staff Sergeant James A. Sheppard of New York, New York (September 20, 1924- ) and Master Sergeant Frank Bradley of Los Angeles, California (1915-????) affix a 75-gallon drop tank "babies" (auxiliary fuel supply) to the bomb shackle on the wing of a North American P-51C Mustang "Yvonne" of the 301st Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, 306th Fighter Wing, 15th Air Force. Contrary to some other captions for this photo, the tanks were mounted empty and then filled. A pint of fuel would be removed before flight, which usually collected the water and contaminants from the tank. Note wear on leading edge of the wing! Sheppard graduated from Haaren High School in New York City as a qualified aviation mechanic in June 1942 and can remember Navy recruiters refusing to meet with the black students after Pearl Harbor. He was immediately sent to Tuskegee when he entered service on October 14, promised pilot training. However, upon arrival he was assigned as a mechanic because he was already certified. Haynes and Bradley completed ground school at either Lincoln, Nebraska or Chicago, Illinois. Soon Sheppard joined the 100th squadron and was sent to Italy, where he remained for the duration of the war. He received a three-week course in the Packard-built Merlin V-16-50 engine, which was used in the P-51. Sheppard remembers that the day of the photo, a United States Army Signal Corps photo unit was shooting film and the other two men came over to help with the fuel tank on camera, which normally was affixed by only one man! If there was no damage to the aircraft, a plane could be readied for its next mission in six hours; oil or ethylene glycol leaks took eight to twelve hours to fix, while a coolant leak took two days, as the entire engine had to be stripped and checked. Often the ground crews would work by floodlight to ready the aircraft for the next day's mission. Contrary to popular myth, beer was not stowed in the fuel tanks for chiling at high altitude; the chance of blocking the fuel line was too great. Sheppard and other crew chiefs complained about the red tail order from General Nathan F. Twining, who wanted his fighters to be easily identifiable in the air, so all groups were assigned tail colors in early 1944. This P-51's red tail can be seen in the upper left of the photo. The ground crews protested this added work, which required constant touch-ups. When Twining sent the order, some of the 332nd fighter group's men wondered if the red color was picked to make the African-American pilots easier targets for the Axis! After the war, Sheppard became a pilot and safety inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as remaining in the Air Force Reserves as a flight engineer, retiring as a Master Sergeant in 1961. 

Source:

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 208-AA-49E-1-3 

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0020

PFC John T. Fields Checks Ammunition on P-51B Mustang of 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group

Image size: 1600 x 1086 pixel. 465 KB
Date: Friday, 1 September 1944
Place: Ramitelli, Campobosso, Italy
Photographer: Toni Frisell

Original caption: "An armorer of the 15th U.S. Air Force checks ammunition belts of the .50 caliber machine guns in the wings of a P-51 Mustang fighter plane before it leaves an Italian base for a mission against German military targets. The 15th Air Force was organized for long range assault missions and its fighters and bombers range over enemy targets in occupied and satellite nations, as well as Germany itself." This picture shows Private First Class John T. Fields, aircraft armorer of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force, checks the magazine feeds of the Browning .50 caliber machine guns on a North American P-51B Mustang. Note the angled guns for optimum armament entry! During the period this photo was taken, the 332nd was engaged in frequent ground strafing of Axis airfields in Hungary, Austria and Italy. Behind Fields is the P-51B Mustang "Stinky II." Before each flight, the plane's armorer would seal the machine guns with tape to prevent moisture from forming ice in the guns at high altitude, which would cause them to jam. Since most of the 332nd's fighters were hand-me-downs from other groups, they were often war-weary aircraft and had frequent malfunctions. The P-51B had four machine guns; the later D-model had six. The 332nd Fighter Group was composed of Afro-American pilots and ground support personnel trained at Tuskegee, Alabama (USA), and the members of the group became collectively known as the "Tuskegee Airmen".

Source:

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 208-MO-18H-32984 

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0019

Captain Andrew D. Turner, 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group

Image size: 1600 x 1201 pixel. 457 KB
Date: Friday, 1 September 1944
Place: Ramitelli, Campobosso, Italy
Photographer: Toni Frisell

Captain (later Major) Andrew D. "Jug" Turner (January 6, 1920-September 14, 1947) commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force, waves from the cockpit of his North American P-51C-10-NT Mustang (#42-103960) "Skipper's Darlin' III." This was probably a staged photo, although some captions indicate he was taking off on a bomber escort mission. Turner graduated from Tuskegee class 42-I-SE and was inducted on October 9, 1942. When the 100th's commanding officer, Lieutenant Robert B. Tresville, failed to return from a mission in June 1944, Turner took command. On July 18, 1944, Turner was credited with a probable Me-109, which he was seen to damage heavily but a crash was not witnessed. A resident of Deanwood, Washington D.C., he flew 69 missions with the 100th. Electing to stay in the Air Force, he was killed at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio, when his Republic P-47N Thunderbolt collided with another pilot. Both Turner and the other pilot were killed. Corporal Hugh Beguesse (1917- ) his plane's armament crew, was a Caribbean native who moved to Chicago, Illinois; he was not yet a citizen when he was drafted. "Skipper's Darlin' III" was sold for scrap on September 30, 1945. 

Source:
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 208-MO-18K-32981
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0018

Briefing African-American Pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group

Image size: 1600 x 1119 pixel. 495 KB
Date: Friday, 1 September 1944
Place: Ramitelli, Campobosso, Italy
Photographer: Toni Frisell

Original caption: "American pilots of a P-51 Mustang fighter group, whose planes are named after wild horses that once roamed the U.S., listen intently as they are briefed for a mission at a base in Italy. Like cavalrymen of old, they ride down the enemy in their flying steeds and have destroyed German installations and personnel throughout Europe. They are members of the 15th U.S. Army Air Force, whose fighters and bombers are part of the Mediterranean Allied Air Force, which also includes British, French, and Polish fliers". Pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group are briefed for a mission, probably photo-reconnaissance, given the size of the assembly. The 332nd was formed in October 1942 in Tuskegee, Alabama, of African-Americans from the Tuskegee Institute. All the pilot cadets had college degrees and faced much tougher qualifications than whites. At first the unit consisted of the 100th, 301st and 302nd fighter squadrons; later the independent 99th fighter squadron was added. The 332nd joined combat in February 1944. Like the 99th, the 33nd was commanded by Colonel (later four-star General) Benjamin Oliver Davis. Almost as strong as the Axis opponents were officers of the United States Army Air Forces who bitterly opposed the concept of African-Americans in combat. At first the 332nd trained and fought with obsolete Bell P-39 Airacobra and Curtiss P-40 Warhawks; later they fought briefly with the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (April-May 1944) and then with the North American P-51 Mustang, which they painted distinctive red on the tail surfaces, resulting in the name "red tails." The 332nd was credited with 109 aircraft destroyed in the air; German destroyer TA-27 sunk; and 15,000 sorties in 1,500 missions. 992 Tuskegee Airmen graduated; 445 were deployed overseas; 150 were killed in action or training accidents. 

Source:

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) NWDNS-208-N-32987 

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0017

Pilots of Tuskegee Airmen Discusses Air Action Over Anzio

Image size: 1600 x 1102 pixel. 476 KB
Date: Friday, 28 January 1944
Place: Naples, Campania, Italy
Photographer: Unknown

In front of a Curtiss P-40L Warhawk, pilots of the segregated 99th Fighter Squadron, at the time of this photo attached to the 79th Fighter Group, discuss the action of January 27-28, 1944, over the Nettuno/Anzio beachhead. In sustained air attacks, German fighter-bombers attempted to destroy the transports unloading on the beach. Despite the fact that their P-40Ls were nearing obsolescence and some 80 miles slower than the Focke-Wulf FW-190s they were engaging, the 99th shot down some eleven Germans over the two-day period! Shown discussing the engagements are, left to right: Lieutenant (later Major) Herbert V. Clark (March 16, 1919-January 25, 2003) of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Tuskegee class 42-F-SE. He was shot down over Ober Raderach Chemical Works, Germany, on August 16, 1944. Clark evaded capture and led a band of Italian partisans until he rejoined the 99th on May 7, 1945. Lieutenant (later Major) Leon C. Roberts (1921-July 11, 1944) of Prichard, Alabama, class 42-G-SE. On January 27, 1944, Roberts shot down one FW-190 over Anzio; the plane could have gotten away but turned to fight Roberts, who compensated for his Curtiss P-40L's lower speed with superior gunnery skills. One of three Tuskegee Airmen on the first air-to-air combat action on June 9, 1943, which resulted in no losses to either side. Killed in Action when his P-51C (#42-103913) lost oxygen and spun in. At the time, Roberts was the 99th's Operations Officer and the last original member, with 116 missions. His twin brother was an instrument instructor at Tuskegee. Lieutenant Willie H. Fuller (August 2, 1919-January 15, 1995) of Tarboro, North Carolina, class 42-G-SE, completed 70 missions with the 99th. Lieutenant (later Colonel) William Ayers Campbell (1917- ) of Tuskegee, Alabama, class 42-F-SE. On June 2, 1943, Campbell dropped the first bomb by a Tuskegee Airman on Axis forces. Shot down a Messerschmitt Me-109 while mounted in a P-51 on March 31, 1945. Stayed in the United States Air Force after the war. Lieutenant (later Lieutenant Colonel) Herbert E. Carter (September 27, 1919- ) of Amory, Mississippi, class 42-F-SE. Even with the responsibilities of Aircraft Maintenance Officer for the 99th, Carter flew 77 combat missions. He also stayed in the United States Air Force after the war. Lieutenant Erwin B. Lawrence (1919-October 4, 1944) of Cleveland, Ohio, class 42-F-SE. Killed in action over Tatoi, Greece when his P-51 struck a barrage cable on what was supposed to be his last mission. At the time of his death he was the commander of the 99th. The last man is unidentified. The 99th was joined into the 332nd Fighter Group, a segregated unit, in May 1944. The original caption said: "Negro members of this squadron, veterans of the North African and Sicilian campaigns, were formerly classmates at a university in the southern U.S."

Source:

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) NWDNS-208-MO-18H-22051 

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0016