Lieutenant Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare in His Cockpit

Image size: 1600 x 1600 pixel. 317 KB
Date: Friday, 10 April 1942
Place: Kaneohe, Hawaii, United States of America
Photographer: Unknown

Lieutenant Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare seated in the cockpit of his Grumman F4F "Wildcat" fighter, 3 April 1942. The plane is marked with five Japanese flags, representing the five enemy bombers he was credited with shooting down. On 20 February 1942, "Butch" O'Hare became the US Navy's first flying ace when he single-handedly attacked a formation of 9 Japanese heavy bombers approaching his aircraft carrier in Rabaul, and brought down 5. At that time, O'Hare and his wingman were the only U.S. Navy fighters available in the air when a second wave of Japanese bombers were attacking his aircraft carrier Lexington. O'Hare was on board the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, which had been assigned the task of penetrating enemy-held waters north of New Ireland. While still 450 miles from the harbor at Rabaul, at 10:15, the Lexington picked up an unknown aircraft on radar 35 miles from the ship. A six-plane combat patrol was launched, two fighters being directed to investigate the contact. These two planes, under command of Lieutenant Commander John Thach shot down a four-engined Kawanishi H6K4 Type 97 ("Mavis") flying boat about 43 miles out at 11:12. Later two other planes of the combat patrol were sent to another radar contact 35 miles ahead, shooting down a second Mavis at 12:02. A third contact was made 80 miles out, but reversed course and disappeared. At 15:42 a jagged vee signal drew the attention of the Lexington's radar operator. The contact then was lost, but reappeared at 16:25 forty-seven miles west and closing fast. Butch O'Hare, flying F4F Wildcat BuNo 4031 "White F-15", was one of several pilots launched to intercept the incoming 9 Japanese Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers from 2nd Chutai of 4th Kōkūtai; at this time five had already been shot down. At 16:49, the Lexington's radar picked up a second formation of Bettys from 1st Chutai of 4th Kōkūtai only 12 miles out, on the disengaged side of the task force, completely unopposed. The carrier had only two Wildcats left to confront the intruders: Butch and his wingman "Duff" Dufilho. As the Lexington’s only protection, they raced eastward and arrived 1,500 feet above eight attacking Bettys nine miles out at 17:00. Dufilho’s guns were jammed and wouldn’t fire, leaving only O'Hare to protect the carrier. The enemy formation was a V of Vs flying very close together and using their rear-facing guns for mutual protection. O'Hare's Wildcat, armed with four 50-caliber guns, with 450 rounds per gun, had enough ammunition for about 34 seconds of firing. O'Hare's initial maneuver was a high-side diving attack employing accurate deflection shooting. He accurately placed bursts of gunfire into a Betty's right engine and wing fuel tanks; when the stricken craft of Nitō Hikō Heisō Tokiharu Baba (3rd Shotai) on the right side of the formation abruptly lurched to starboard, he ducked to the other side of the V formation and aimed at the enemy bomber of Ittō Hikō Heisō Bin Mori (3rd Shotai) on the extreme left. When he made his third and fourth firing passes, the Japanese planes were close enough to the American ships for them to fire their anti-aircraft guns. The five survivors managed to drop their ordnance, but all ten 250kg bombs missed. O'Hare's hits were so concentrated, the nacelle of a Betty jumped out of its mountings, after O'Hare blew up the leading Shōsa Takuzo Ito's Betty's port engine. O'Hare believed he had shot down five bombers, and damaged a sixth. Lieutenant Commander Thach arrived at the scene with other pilots of the flight, later reporting that at one point he saw three of the enemy bombers falling in flames at the same time. In fact, O'Hare destroyed only three Bettys: Nitō Hikō Heisō Tokiharu Baba's from 3rd Shotai, Ittō Hikō Heisō Susumu Uchiyama's (flying at left wing of the leading V, 1st Shotai) and the leader of the formation, Shōsa Takuzo Ito's. This last (flying on the head of leading V) Betty's left engine was hit at the time it dropped its ordnance. Its pilot Hikō Heisōchō Chuzo Watanabe tried to hit Lexington with his damaged plane. He missed and flew into the water near Lexington at 1712. Another two Bettys were damaged by O'Hare's attacks. Ittō Hikō Heisō Kodji Maeda (2nd Shotai, left wing of V) safely landed at Vunakanau airdrome and Ittō Hikō Heisō Bin Mori was later shot down by LT Noel Gayler ("White F-1", VF-3) when trying to escape 40 miles from Lexington. With his ammunition expended, O'Hare returned to his carrier, and was fired on accidentally but with no effect by a .50-caliber machine gun from the Lexington. O'Hare's fighter had, in fact, been hit by only one bullet during his flight, the single bullet hole in F-15's port wing disabling the airspeed indicator. According to Thach, Butch then approached the gun platform to calmly say to the embarrassed anti-aircraft gunner who had fired at him, "Son, if you don't stop shooting at me when I've got my wheels down, I'm going to have to report you to the gunnery officer." It is calculated that O'Hare had used only sixty rounds of ammunition for each bomber he destroyed; an impressive feat of marksmanship. In the opinion of Admiral Brown and of Captain Frederick C. Sherman, commanding the Lexington, Lieutenant O'Hare's actions may have saved the carrier from serious damage or even loss. By 19:00 all Lexington planes had been recovered except for two F4F-3 Wildcats shot down while attacking enemy bombers; both were lost while making steady, no-deflection runs from astern of their targets. The pilot of one fighter was rescued, the other went down with his aircraft. The Lexington returned after the New Guinea raid to Pearl Harbor for repairs and to have her obsolete 8-inch guns removed, transferring some of her F4F-3 fighter planes to the USS Yorktown (CV-5) including BuNox 4031 "White F-15" that O'Hare had flown during his famous mission. The pilot assigned to fly this aircraft to Yorktown was admonished by O'Hare just before take off to take good care of his plane. Moments later, the fighter unsuccessfully took off, rolling down the deck and into the water; the pilot was recovered, but "White F-15" was lost.

Sources :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_O%27Hare
http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/429652-a-century-of-war-in-photos-rare-interesting-photo-compendium/page__st__20
https://navypilotoverseas.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/lt-edward-butch-ohare-of-vf-3-april-1942/

US Army Air Force Colonel Paul Tibbets in front of the Enola Gay

Image size: 1248 x 1600 pixel. 1.57 MB
Date: Thursday, 8 November 1945
Place: Roswell, New Mexico, United States of America
Photographer: Unknown

US Army Air Force Colonel Paul Tibbets stands in front of "Enola Gay" B-29-45-MO serial number 44-86292 after flying the aircraft from Tinian on November 4, 1945 to Roswell Army Air Field in New Mexico, arriving on November 8, 1945. The flight, which is 6,727 miles (10,827 kilometers) on a direct line, was part of the operations that returned the 509th Composite Group to the United States. The aircraft's markings, its Victor 82 number and name, have been repainted since the attack on Hiroshima. "Enola Gay" was called up as part of the Operation Crossroads testing of the atomic bomb on Bikini Atoll in July 1946. It was then placed in several storage facilities around the United States until it was donated to the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum in 1960. The fuselage was placed on display in 1995 and after restoration the entire aircraft was placed on display in 1998. Tibbets retired as a Brigadier General from the Air Force in 1966. 

Source:

USAF (United States Air Force)

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1143

Crew of B-24J 44-40783 Photographed in Front of "Tough Titti"

Image size: 1600 x 1139 pixel. 355 KB
Date: 1944
Place: Liuchow, Guangxi, China
Photographer: Unknown

Crew of B-24J 44-40783 photographed in front of "Tough Titti," a B-24J-155-CO serial number 44-40296. On the evening of August 31, 1944, ten crew members of the 14th Air Force, 308th Bomb Group, 375th Bomb Squadron, lifted off in a Consolidated B-24J-180-CO Liberator serial number 44-40783 from a base in Liuchow, China, on a mission to bomb Japanese ships anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa. Intercepted by an A6M3 Model 32 Zero-Sen fighter piloted by Chief Petty Officer Takeo Tanimizu of the Tainan Air Group, who shot down B-24J 44-40831 and damaged 40783. On its return flight, it was diverted to an alternate field because Liuchow was under air attack. On its way to the alternate strip, it crashed into Mount Arisan (known as Mount Maoer or Kitten, 6000 feet, 1829 meters) and tumbled into a deep ravine. All aboard were killed. The crew: Pilot, Second Lieutenant George H. Pierpont (Salem, Virginia); Co-Pilot, Second Lieutenant Franklin A. Tomenendale (Shabbona, Illinois); Navigator, Second Lieutenant Robert Deming (Seattle, Washington); Bombardier, Second Lieutenant George A. Ward (Jersey City, New Jersey); Engineer, Staff Sargeant Anthony DeLucia, age 24 (Bradford, Pennsylvania); Radio, Sargeant Ellsworth V. Kelley (Newark, Ohio); Radarman, Private Fred P. Buckley (Garden City, Kansas); Gunner, Staff Sargeant William A. Drager (Washington, New Jersey); Gunner, Sargeant Robert L. Kearsey (McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania); Gunner, Private Vincent J. Netherwood (Kingston, New York), age 20, engaged to be married. On October 2, 1996 two Chinese farmers discovered the crash site 62 miles (100 kilometers) south of Gualin, Guangxi Province. Jiang Zemin, president of the People's Republic of China, presented President Clinton with five identification tags and a video of the crash site during a state visit the next month. The names on the military dog tags included: Buckley, Kelley, Netherwood, Tomenendale and Ward. Four times between 1997 and 1999, a joint U.S.-Chinese team excavated the crash site, recovering numerous pieces of wreckage, personal effects and remains. Using DNA, they identified the crew. Six were buried in Arlington and three in their hometowns.  

Source:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sunday/2013-07/28/content_16842543.htm

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1076

Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. Waves from the Enola Gay Before Takeoff

Image size: 1288 x 1600 pixel. 486 KB
Date: Monday, 6 August 1945
Place: North Field, Tinian, Marianas
Photographer: Private First Class Armen Shamlian

Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., commander of the 509th Composite Group, waves from the Enola Gay (B-29-45-MO Superfortress, serial number 44-86292, victor number 82) at 0245 Hours on August 6, 1945 prior to takeoff. Enola Gay was assigned to the USAAF's 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Composite Group. The plane was one of 15 B-29s with the "Silverplate" modifications necessary to deliver nuclear bombs. A Boeing design, Enola Gay was built by the Glenn L. Martin Company at its Omaha, Nebraska, plant and personally selected by Tibbets on May 9, 1945 while still on the assembly line as the B-29 he would use to fly the atomic bomb mission. The airplane was accepted by the USAAF on May 18, 1945, and assigned to Crew B-9 (Captain Robert Lewis, aircraft commander), who flew the plane from Omaha to the 509th's base at Wendover Army Air Field, Utah, on June 14, 1945. Thirteen days later it left Wendover for Guam, where it received a bomb bay modification, and flew to Tinian on July 6. It was originally given the victor number 12 but on August 1 was given the circle R tail markings of the 6th Bomb Group as a security measure and had its victor changed to 82 to avoid misidentification with actual 6th BG aircraft. After flying eight training missions and two combat missions during July to drop pumpkin bombs on industrial targets at Kobe and Nagoya, Enola Gay was used on July 31 on a rehearsal for the actual mission, with a dummy Little Boy assembly dropped off Tinian. On August 5, during preparation for the first atomic mission, Tibbets had the plane named after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. Captain Lewis was unhappy to be displaced by Tibbets for the important mission, and furious when he arrived at the aircraft on the morning of 6 August to see it painted with the now-famous nose art. Tibbets himself, interviewed on Tinian later that day by war correspondents, confessed that he was a bit embarrassed at having attached his mother's name to such a fateful mission.

Source:
NARA (National Archives) Record Group 208: Records of the Office of War Information, 1926 - 1951 (ARC identifier: 535). Series: Photographs Depicting "Life in the United States", compiled 1942 - 1946, documenting the period 1881 - 1946 (ARC identifier: 535735). NAIL Control Number: NWDNS-208-LU-13H-5. Select List Identifier: WWII #162. 208-LU-13H-5
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Col._Paul_W._Tibbets,_Jr.,_pilot_of_the_ENOLA_GAY,_the_plane_that_dropped_the_atomic_bomb_on_Hiroshima,_waves_from_his_-_NARA_-_535736.jpg
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1064

The crew of B-29 Superfortress 42-24598 "Waddy's Wagon"

Image size: 1600 x 1289 pixel. 684 KB
Date: Friday, 24 November 1944
Place: Isley Field, Saipan, Marianas
Photographer: Unknown

The crew of B-29 Superfortress 42-24598 "Waddy's Wagon", 20th Air Force, 73rd Bomb Wing, 497th Bomb Group, 869th Bomb Squadron, the fifth B-29 to take off on the first Tokyo mission from Saipan on November 24, 1944, and first to land back at Isley Field after bombing the target. Crew members, posing here to duplicate their caricatures on the plane, are : Plane Commander, Captain Walter R. "Waddy" Young, Ponca City, Oklahoma, former All-American end; Lieutenant Jack H. Vetters, Corpus Christi, Texas, pilot; Lieutenant John F. Ellis, Moberly, Missouri, bombardier; Lieutenant Paul R. Garrison, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, navigator; Sergeant George E. Avon, Syracuse, New York, radio operator; Lieutenant Bernard S. Black, Woodhaven, New York, Flight Engineer; Sergeant Kenneth M. Mansie of Randolph, Maine, Flight Technician; and gunners - Sargeants Lawrence L. Lee of Max, North Dakota; Wilbur J. Chapman of Panhandle, Texas; Corbett L. Carnegie, Grindstone Island, New York; and Joseph J. Gatto, Falconer, New York. All were killed when "Waddy's Wagon" was shot down attempting to guide a crippled B-29 back to safety during a mission against the Nakajima aircraft factory in Musashino, Japan on January 9, 1945. 

Source:

National Archives (NARA) Identifier 292576

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Force_personnel_%5Eamp,_equipment._The_Pacific,_England,_Wash._DC._1942-44_%28mostly_1943%29_-_NARA_-_292576.jpg

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1017

Captain Robert L. Faurot, 39th Fighter Squadron, US Army Air Corps

Image size: 1600 x 1296 pixel. 647 KB
Date: Wednesday, 20 January 1943
Place: Schwimmer Base, Laloki, Port Moresby, New Guinea
Photographer: Unknown

Captain Robert L. Faurot (1917-1943) of Columbia, Missouri, flew Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter-bombers with the 39th Fighter Squadron, 35th Fighter Group, Fifth Air Force. On September 21, 1942, Faurot was attempting to engage an A6M2 Zero-Sen over Lae, New Guinea, and discharged his two 500-pound bombs. The bombs exploded over the Zeke, crashing it to the ground. USAAC General George Kenney awarded him an air medal for the first Pacific kill by a P-38. Faurot was killed on March 3, 1943 during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Here he is photographed after his second kill in front of his P-38F tail number 42-12633 #16 at Schwimmer Air Base ("14 mile") Laloki, New Guinea. 

Source:

National Archives (NARA) Identifier 292571

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Force_personnel_%5Eamp,_equipment._The_Pacific,_England,_Wash._DC._1942-44_%28mostly_1943%29_-_NARA_-_292571.jpg

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1015

Major Jimmy Stewart Receives Air Medal

Image size: 1192 x 1600 pixel. 206 KB
Date: Monday, 15 May 1944
Place: RAF Old Buckenham, Norfolk, England
Photographer: Unknown

United States Army Air Force Major (later Brigadier General) James Stewart, Group Operations Officer, receives the Distinguished Flying Cross from 453rd Bombardment Group Commander Lieutenant Colonel Ramsey D. Potts for his actions on a mission over Brunswick, Germany, on February 20, 1944. The censor has deleted the background for security. "Jimmy" Stewart won the Academy Award for The Philadelphia Story on February 27, 1941. After failing two physicals for being underweight, Stewart convinced the Army to administer a third test on the spot and was inducted as a Private on March 22. Stewart was a private pilot with 400 hours flying time, and founded a flying school. By December 1941 he had passed Officer's Candidate School and was a Second Lieutenant. Nevertheless, Stewart recruited on the radio, appeared with celebrities to promote war bonds, and trained in Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. His applications for transfer to a combat unit were turned down, and he became a flight instructor, training many pilots and aircrew. In August 1943, he was finally appointed to the 445th Bombardment Group, which flew Consolidated B-24 Liberators. He flew an official total of twenty combat missions with that unit and rose to Squadron Commander. On January 27, 1944, Stewart was promoted to Major and assign to the 453rd Bombardment Group, where he flew more missions, but did not record them officially. He twice won the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters and received the Croix de Guerre from the French Air Force's Lieutenant General Henri Valin for his part in the liberation of France. While remaining operationally with the 453rd, in July 1944 Stewart became Operations Officer and then Chief of Staff of the 2nd Bombardment Wing. On April 6, 1945, he was promoted to Colonel and on May 10, became Commander of 2nd Wing. He returned home on the Queen Mary. Remaining in the Air Force Reserve, Stewart continued to fly and act in movies. 

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0045

Crew of B-17G "Flatbush Floogie" is Captured Near Schillig, Germany

Image size: 1600 x 1067 pixel. 331 KB
Date: Tuesday, 11 April 1944
Place: Schillig, Niedersachsen, Germany
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Vorlander from PK-Atlantik

The crew of Boeing B-17G-40-BO Flying Fortress 42-97083 "Flatbush Floogie" of the 8th Air Force, 45th Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy), 3rd Bombardment Division, 452nd Bomb Group, 728th Bomb Squadron, are arrested by Luftwaffe personnel from the Jever airdrome near Schillig, Germany on April 11, 1944. On a mission to Rostock, "Flatbush Floogie" lost her left elevator to flak en route to the target. After the bomb run, she was hit again, causing a fire in her Number 1 engine and Number 2 to smoke. The Engineer, Technical Sergeant Lee A. Varner (March 24, 1914 - March 8, 1992), was on the flight deck attempting to help the command crew feather the props when a flak burst caught his face and shrapnel entered his eye. The pilot, First Lieutenant Thomas Leonard Gardner (January 16, 1917 - July 15, 2002) made it over the North Sea before realizing that they couldn't make it home. He turned back. "Flatbush Floogie" impacted on the mud flats near Schillig, 27 kilometers north-northwest of Bermerhaven. While the wreck was in no danger of sinking, tidal forces quickly saturated the aircraft with sand, and the Germans broke up the wreck in situ. All ten crew members survived, as you can see them in this view. Initially they were held at Jever Air Base before being interrogated. Gardner can be seen talking to the Germans on the far left; from Stockton, California, he enlisted on January 5, 1942 at Stockton Field, California. Gardner was interned in Stag Luft I outside of Barth, Germany. His Co-Pliot, Second Lieutenant Carl Lewis West, Jr. (February 27, 1919 - May 19, 2007) was from Bridgeton, New Jersey. West Enlisted On June 20, 1942 In Fort Dix, New Jersey and was also interned in Stalag Luft I. Bombardier Second Lieutenant Jack Ralston Bonham (March 4, 1921 - August 20, 1973) was from Bluefield, West Virginia and enlisted On April 1, 1943, in Charleston, Virginia. Bonham trained In Midland, Texas in class 43-05 and was also interned in Stalag Luft I. Bonham was possibly the tall man in the center of this view as Army induction records his height at six foot four inches (1.93 meters). "Flatbush Floogie's" Navigator, Second Lieutenant Jacob R. Brown (August 5, 1920 - October 9, 2005) was from Houston, Texas. Brown enlisted On August 14, 1942 at Harlingen Army Air Force Base in Harlingen, Texas. All the officers were interned together in the North 1 Compound at Stalag Luft I. Engineer Varner was taken away from Jever for medical care but another bombing mission the next day prevented the Germans from bringing him to a doctor. He lost his sight permanently in one eye. Varner was from Hamilton, Montana and enlisted on January 20, 1942 In Missoula, Montana. Varner and the rest of the crew were interned separately from the officers in Stalag XVIIB. "Flatbush Floogie's" Radioman/Dorsal Gunner, Technical Sergeant Lucious C. Birbeck (May 2, 1918 - July 22, 2001) was from Grand Island, Nebraska. Birbeck enlisted on November 20, 1942 In Portland, Oregon. Sergeant Henderson H. Head, Jr., (March 20, 1922 - August 8, 1996) the Left Waist Gunner, was from Appalachia, Virginia; he enlisted On November 13, 1942 at Baer Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Right Waist Gunner Sergeant Alex E. Shewchuck, Jr. (January 3, 1924 - May 13, 2001) was from Bridgeport, Pennsylvania; he enlisted On March 15, 1943 In Allentown, Pennsylvania. Tail Gunner Sergeant Raymond C. Cutchall (October 31, 1917 - April 26, 2003) was from Los Angeles, California. Cutchall enlisted On January 9, 1942 at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. Ball Turret Gunner Sergeant Raymond Chester "Tuck" Stewart (February 26, 1913 - December 27, 1998) from Hastings, Nebraska; he enlisted On October 17, 1942 in Denver, Colorado. This view was taken by Propagandakompanie Vorländer, a Kriegsberichter (war correspondent) who had photographed the Low Countries for the Wehrmacht since the invasion of France in 1940. Vorländer's photo was printed in the Netherlands newspapers Utrechts Nieuwsblad on June 1, 1944 and Dagblad Van Het Zuiden on June 2. The Germans ran these papers as propaganda organs. The approved caption read, "A four-engine landing in a mudflat. Immediately after landing the 10-man crew jumped from the supposedly sinking craft. Appalled and indifferent Americans are now on German soil for the first time - to captivity they go." The Officers in Stalag Luft I were repatriated by May 15, 1945. The Enlisted Crewmen had longer to wait - they weren't allowed to leave until after May 29, 1945. The Soviets had forcibly stripped the noncommissioned officers of most of their possessions. Gardner moved to Nevada and is buried in the military cemetery there. Lieutenant West returned to active duty, eventually earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He retired after a long career after transitioning to fighters in 1958. Brown became a businessman after the war. Bonham was recalled to Air Force duty at the end of the Korean War and served until 1964. Varner passed on a deep interest in the story of "Flatbush Floogie" to his son James, whose research helped this posting. Birbeck received a Presidential Unit Citation for his first tour with the 301st Bombardment Group on April 6, 1943. Stewart moved to Oregon after World War II. Head was discharged November 16, 1945, and remained in his native Virginia. Shewchuk was separated on October 30, 1945. Cutchall was buried in Indiana. His son also in interested in the story of "Flatbush Floogie".

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0042

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

B-24L Liberator "Hell Hen" Returns to Bradley Field

Image size: 1600 x 1261 pixel. 245 KB
Date: Tuesday, 22 May 1945
Place: Bradley Field, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, USA
Photographer: Unknown

The crew of a Consolidated B-24L Liberator of the 8th Air Force, 2nd Wing, 389th Bombardment Group, 565th Bombardment Squadron elated at their return to the United States, just after landing at Bradley Field, Windsor Locks, Connecticut on May 22, 1945. Top Row: Tail Gunner Staff Sergeant Joseph C. Carl (January 15, 1926 - October 3, 1998), Altoona, Pennsylvania; Flight Engineer Technical Sergeant Charles Eads Leach (October 20, 1924 - April 17, 2006), Maroa, Illinois; Pilot Captain Elmer V. Schindler (November 21, 1923 - September 22, 2009), Cleveland, Ohio; Navigator Lieutenant Edward G. Fronko (February 2, 1924 - February 15, 1986), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Middle Row: Bombardier Lieutenant Orville F. Burda (April 1, 1918 - July 13, 2004), Dickinson, North Dakota; Co-Pilot Lieutenant John H. Cooley (1916 - ????), Chicago, Illinois. Bottom Row: Waist Gunner Staff Sergeant Louis Singer, Brooklyn, New York; Nose Gunner Staff Sergeant Henry F. Spears (May 12, 1924 - April 26, 2000), Harmony, Oklahoma; Radio Operator Technical Sergeant Charles F. Smith, St. Louisville, Ohio; Gunner Staff Sergeant Paul J. Bordewich (December 9, 1917 - June 10, 2008), Long Beach, California. Captain Schindler and his crew flew twenty-eight missions in Europe before returning home. the pane was christened "Hell Hen" by the Associate Press; none of the crew knew of that name until this image appeared in newspapers around the country. A total of sixty-five bombers, B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators carrying 275 officers and 800 enlisted men (including former prisoners of war), landed between 1142 and 2033 Hours on May 22. They flew from bases in England and France to Iceland and Labrador before landing at Bradley. Starting that day, some 3,500 aircraft and over 40,000 men returned to the United States by air by August 30, 1945, to Bradley, the designated field for returning aircraft from the 8th and 15th Air Forces. After a thirty-day furlough, they were scheduled to be trained in Boeing B-29 Superfortress operations, but for many the end of the Pacific War cancelled their transition to that bomber and they were discharged. Most of the planes returned to Bradley were flown to scrapping yards around the country and recycled.

Source:

National Archives and Recoreds Administration (NARA) NWDNS-208-AA-1H(12)

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0013