Occasionally, l google a topic of interest and browse obscure results for unusual context or trivia.
lt can pass a quiet evening.
l ran into a little mystery.
A tale of a hero and his loss.
l've come back to it a couple of times, determined to learn more and failed to progress.
My entire interest in this topic is web generated.
l would not know what l know about this Air Force pilot but for the web.
The guys story is incredible.
There is an odd aspect to the tale.
Is any one interested in trying to find the 'next step'.
l could maybe just throw in the prime links that revealed what l have learned and hope maybe another 'connects' to aspects of it.
j.m@talk
02-15-2005, 06:32 PM
Nahh
Just go see a doctor ;)
:t
herosrest
02-15-2005, 06:40 PM
Nah, could be a larf.
Just want to prep a few active minds for those lazy idle moments that crop up.
Could be fun and actually is interesting in a minor way.
zybch
02-15-2005, 06:47 PM
Lazy minds? I hope you're not referring to sysopt members. Now go away, I can't be bothered with your hero stuff, too much like hard work!
herosrest
02-15-2005, 07:34 PM
Lazy moments for idle minds.
Anyway, It's about this Airforce Pilot.
During the initial response to Japanese aggression in the pacific during 1942, this guy and his Fighter squadron were shipped across the Pacific to Australia and on then to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. They fought the Japanes crack fighter groups based at Rabaul, Lae and Salamaua.
This was a desperate time with Australia terrified of invasion and her Army, Navy and Airforce commited to the european war.
America stepped in and took the strain.
herosrest
02-15-2005, 08:05 PM
So basically fresh out of peacetime America this squadron ships halfway across the globe without adequate supply or planning or resources and go up against the cream of the enemys Naval Air Force who are blowing away everything before them.
These guys do well, losses are heavy, conditions are terrible but they fight and keep on fighting until virtually no aircraft remain to them and they are spent. The unit is returned to Australia to recover and re equip and the pilot who interests me is lost on a local mission in the outback and never heard of again.
There are extensive military records of the period available now on line. Google something like' 'New Guinea' 1942 p-39' and voila. The period in time April to June.
herosrest
02-15-2005, 08:42 PM
final part.
http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ozcrashes/qld134.htm
The pilot - Lt. Paul G. Brown
http://www.warbirdforum.com/zerodun2.htm
http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/8pursuit.htm
http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ronqld.htm
There is a fascinating tale buried in and beyond these links.
zybch
02-15-2005, 08:51 PM
Australia is a bloody big place, its only a couple of hundred thou sq miles smaller than the US, and things easily can get lost, especially if you remember that unlike the US, only the coastal areas are populated to any great degree. Huge, country sized chunks are uninhabitable desert so its not surppprising that people have gotten lost and have never been seen ever again.
Perhaps he was taken by a dingo.
herosrest
02-15-2005, 09:09 PM
Yup. A lot of planes went missing there during that period.
Whole flights, A squadron even ran out of fuel after getting lost.
Over the decades since the aircraft have been found.
herosrest
02-16-2005, 05:55 AM
Ah, well.
l would like to know if the plane and pilot were ever recovered but my search skills just aren't up to it.
ho hum. :(
herosrest
02-16-2005, 07:48 PM
Ho hum - no input?
j.m@talk
02-16-2005, 07:50 PM
Jonny 5 ......... INPUT ............ :D
mireland
02-16-2005, 07:53 PM
I haven't read this thread..so no need for me to comment..oh man..I think I just contradicted....:D
herosrest
07-23-2005, 09:09 AM
Ho hum - no input?
http://www.fancysplace.com/smileys/bigsmile.gif
j.m@talk
07-23-2005, 05:15 PM
Australia is a bloody big place,
How comes Australians don't keep goin' missin then ? :rolleyes:
mireland
07-23-2005, 05:17 PM
How comes Australians don't keep goin' missin then ? :rolleyes:
err wishful thinking? :D
j.m@talk
07-23-2005, 05:25 PM
Me finks so :t
herosrest
07-23-2005, 11:20 PM
Ashes to ashes (bouncing yorker type thingy as in clickett, grasshopper) :confused:
genesound
07-24-2005, 03:02 AM
Can't help you on yer expose at all, but last month I went to the "Planes of Fame Museum" in Ontario, California, and managed to stitch together this in one of their 4 very crowded hangars.
It's touted to be the last flyable one :cool:
genesound
07-24-2005, 03:08 AM
eres another stitch I took wiv my little pocket cam
genesound
07-24-2005, 03:13 AM
All those planes fly a lot at air shows and in movies.
I'm savin my pennies so's I can get a lift in this one :t
genesound
07-24-2005, 03:22 AM
Here's one of Jack's early twin wings that landed and is taxiing :t
herosrest
07-24-2005, 12:39 PM
Nice one Genesound. Ta.
Love the first pic with the Raiden in back.
Looks like a neat day out - apart from the crowds. :t
herosrest
03-19-2006, 09:42 AM
Lost Hero.
My search goes on.. but for many reasons l doubt a resolution.
l have trawled, in amateurish fashion, across the SW Pacific records of September 1942.
The period was a tipping point across the globe.
The linked page is the closest l will probably get to the US pilots fate,
Quite a journey... due to a busted fuel pipe, and lack of good judgment, in the beginning and at the end.
j.m@talk
03-19-2006, 04:16 PM
How about some pictures of Sarah Vandenburgh ?............ Wouldn't mind gettin lost in de dessert wiv her ;)
herosrest
04-22-2006, 09:07 PM
http://www.web-birds.com/5th/8/3.jpg
A bit closer.... Lt. Paul G. Brown served at this time with these guys in this place.
herosrest
06-08-2006, 07:53 PM
http://home.att.net/~C.C.Jordan/XP-39.html
Da mn....
At the time the Bell was being evaluated, the AAF was deep into "streamlining" as a way to improve aircraft performance. This is somewhat understandable, due to the relatively low powered aircraft engines of the 1930's. By reducing drag, especially parasite drag, the engineering minds at Wright Field found that significant increases in performance could be attained. This was all well and good. Unfortunately, they carried it too far as it related to the XP-39. NACA engineers decided that the Bell's turbosupercharger inlet created too much drag. Certainly the inlet generated no greater drag than did the Prestone inlets on the Lockheed XP-38. Nonetheless, they were insistent, the inlet scoop had to go. They reduced the height of the canopy, chopped 2 feet off the wing span and lengthened the fuselage by over a foot. A less powerful Allison with only a single stage mechanical supercharger replaced the turbosupercharged engine. This effectively eliminated decent high altitude performance. Thanks to these changes, the Airacobra had it's center of gravity shifted further aft, exacerbating its already marginal stability. All said and done, the people at Wright Field had reversed the old cliche, and created a sow's ear out of a silk purse..........................
Me granpappy allways said "Don't letcher schoolin get in the way of yer edjacashun!" ;)
Think he got it from Roy Rogers actually.
I, on the other hand, absolutely hate this edit tattletale and time limit, as can be evidenced by my proliferation, or lack thereof, of quality posts ever since.
j.m@talk
06-09-2006, 01:07 AM
Errrr yeah ............. :t
herosrest
09-27-2006, 04:30 PM
Lest we forget. Simple thanks to all who have sacrificed for freedom.
mireland
09-27-2006, 07:31 PM
what are we talking about??? :confused:
herosrest
01-03-2007, 12:32 AM
During the time l spent searching online records for this topic, one event kept emerging and i'll point it up here as best l can.
Official records indicate the 8th pursuit group deployed to Port Moresby, New Guinea from 26th April, moving north from Townsville through staging posts to Papua. The deployment encountered severe bad weather which thoroughly disrupted matters. Combat was joined on
30th April, 1942.
Previously however, at least six Airacobras and pilots had operated alongside the RAAF 75 Sqn at the beginning of April, 5th - 11th. l believe G.Brown was amongst this group of volunteers. Missions were flown, combat occured and records indicate all aircraft and pilots returned to Australia.
lt may well have been the 36th Pursuit Sqn's departure flight which came into contact with the Tainan Kokutai. The Japanese claims of victories that day and several previously do not to reflect in Usaaf official records. lt was a confusing and chaotic time as opposing airforces grappled ferociously. The USAAF mission was highly secret and the pilots would have learnt after a week or so not to dog-fight with the mitsubishi zero fighters. Full throttle dive out would have been passed on from the Australian aircrew.
Had the Coral sea naval battle of early May '42 gone the other way
those forces in Port Moresby would have found themselves in a similar spot to their forebears in the Philipines and Java.
A photo l posted earlier and post again.. nope .. can't access it now - was members of 36 pursuit sqn at bivouac, gathered around the squadron sign.
ITtread '36th Pursuit Squadron - first in New Guinea.'
As General MacArthur acknowledged at the outset of the campaign to retake Buna, "the successful employment of any considerable number of troops on the north shore ... was entirely dependent upon lines of communication."
The only answer was supply by sea—an extremely hazardous undertaking. The shores between Milne Bay and Buna are washed by some of the most dangerous waters in the world, foul with coral reefs, for which no adequate charts then existed. On that primitive coast, piers or jetties could not be depended upon; the names on the map— Wanigela, Pongani, Mendaropu, Embogo, Hariko—do not indicate ports, but native villages consisting of a few thatched huts surrounded by coconut palms.
No landing craft of the kind that were later to make island-hopping feasible were then available to General MacArthur. He had to depend on small, shallow-draft fishing vessels that could navigate the reefs and approach close enough to the shore for supplies to be lightered through the breakers. For months the Small Ships Section of USASOS SWPA had been acquiring such craft from the Australians. Its so-called catboat flotilla could boast 36 at the beginning of July 1942: 19 trawlers, 4 harbor boats, 4 steamers, 2 speed boats, 2 ketches, 2 motorships, 1 cabin cruiser, 1 schooner, and 1 powered lighter. In early September the Small Ships men were establishing an operating base at Port Moresby from which their ships could carry ammunition up and down the southern coast of Papua, mainly from Port Moresby to Milne Bay. Plans for the attack on Buna made it necessary to extend this operation to the northern coast and to expand it considerably.
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/wwii/Beachhd_Btlefrnt/Photos/70.jpg
werz
09-23-2007, 08:24 AM
Why dontcha holiday in PNG and walk the Kokoda trail.
In the footsteps of the diggers.
herosrest
09-23-2007, 09:28 AM
Cook islands will do fer moi.... planning a trip and will maybe settle.
nice pictures.....I'll think of something rude to say to you later... :D
herosrest
09-28-2007, 09:03 AM
[B]302/Radar Station 08/42 to 04/44 East Cape (Milne Bay) http://ajrp.awm.gov.au/ajrp/remember.nsf/pages/NT00002A62?openDocument
werz
09-29-2007, 06:52 AM
The only thing you can get from PNG is malaria.
herosrest
09-29-2007, 07:43 AM
and gold, copper, silver, timber, oil and that old fave..... natural gas.
mireland
09-29-2007, 10:32 AM
and gold, copper, silver, timber, oil and that old fave..... natural gas.
I can get natural gas via beans... :rolleyes:
herosrest
09-29-2007, 11:49 AM
Long live pork and beans. :D
herosrest
10-04-2007, 07:09 AM
The aircraft detail has come to light.
41-38339 c/n 14A-270 P-39 D-1-BE Sumac arrived by SS Stephen Fields USAAF 15-Aug-42
Unit:35thFS/8thFG USAAF Contract AC156 1/6/41
Went missing MIA ex Garbutt, Townsville to cover two schooners that left Wedau for GiliGili 27/09/1942(Given blurry but recorded 25/09/42)
Pilot:Capt PAUL BROWN 0-417000 MIA
herosrest
10-04-2007, 09:08 AM
http://www.squadron.com/images/large/SO32002.jpg
http://www.squadron.com/NoStock.asp?item=SO32002
41-38338, 'Nip’s Nemesis II', 36th Fighter Squadron
First is 41-38338, a P-39D of the 36th Fighter squadron (FS), 8th Fighter Group (FG) based at Port Moresby New Guinea in 1942. The aircraft is named “Nip’s Nemesis II” and was flown by Lieutenant Don “Fibber” McGee.
36th's first kill in moresby.http://www.aerothentic.com/historical/recollections/P39DonMcGeePOM1May42Published.htm
Details of the mission during which 41-38339 was lost are misleading.
Wedau is located on the North east coast of Papua NG,
some 25 miles (by air) from Gilli gilli wharf - Milne bay.
The coastal journey is much longer but within the p-39's range.
This mission could not be flown direct from Garbutt, Townsville.
and gold, copper, silver, timber, oil and that old fave..... natural gas.
And it all comes with a dose of malaria, and other diseases if yer not careful. :r
herosrest
10-09-2007, 07:04 PM
There are interesting accounts and detail here www.futurepd.org/les/Documents/NewBook%20B.pdf
of various Us and australian activity in the Oro bay, Wedau area during 42, including coast watching, supply and air sea rescue.
final part. http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ozcrashes/qld134.htm The pilot - Lt. Paul G. Brown http://www.warbirdforum.com/zerodun2.htm http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/8pursuit.htm http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ronqld.htm There is a fascinating tale buried in and beyond these links.
Details of the mission during which 41-38339 was lost are misleading. Wedau is located on the North east coast of Papua NG, some 25 miles (by air) from Gilli gilli wharf - Milne bay. The coastal journey is much longer but within the p-39's range. This mission could not be flown direct from Garbutt, Townsville.
SOURCES Wartime reports:
Combat Reports (RAAF Form A.108A) for Lt. P.G. Brown, 36 FS (27 May 42) ; Lt. F. Royal, 39 FS (4 Jul 42); Lt. J.C. Price, 39 FS (4 Jul 42); and, Capt. E. L. Egenes, 40 FS (6 Jul 42) (cited by pilot's last name)
In later actions combat reports sometimes offer helpful insights into the relative performance of the two aircraft. Lt. Paul G. Brown chased a Zero at 12,000 feet. "He nearly stayed away from me at 350 mph" (Brown). In a low level action: "I indicated 320 mph straight and level at 1,000 feet. Zero kept me in range" (Royal). In another action on the same day Zeros encountered P-39s and P-400s at 21,000 feet. "Zeros stayed with the Airacobras. I dived 12,000 feet indicating 450 miles per hour and Zero stayed with me and followed me to ground level firing. Lt. Martin pulled him off me" (Price). "4 Zeros were over Kokoda and attacked us on the way home. We were barely able to out speed them at 10,000 feet. We were indicating about 350 mph in a very slight dive. Their probable speed 340 mph" (Egenes).
Woodlark Island http://www.pacificwrecks.com/provinces/png_woodlark.html
P-39 Airacobras taking off and taxing http://www.pacificghosts.com/video/first/samples/sample2.html
A6M2 Zero Tail Number U-107 http://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/a6m2/murakami.html
werz
12-03-2007, 01:31 AM
You should go and spend a couple of years there, become a beachcomber and do some diving, before you get to old.
My brother in law lives on his yacht in the whitsundays and sails the south pacific.
He was a patrol officer in the new guinea highlands in the 1960s.
mireland
12-05-2007, 09:56 PM
http://www.fancysplace.com/smileys/hypn.gif
herosrest
01-05-2008, 08:20 AM
l spent a few idle moments this morning delving with Google.....
A diary quote caught my eye. http://www.aaac.100megsfree5.com/ww2kokodaremembered.htm
[79] [From the diary of Regimental Sar-Major Jock Reid:]
On 4 July Staff Sergeant Alan Collyer sailed from Port Moresby for Buna in the schooner Gili Gili with B Company's stores.
Gili gili was a boat as well as the harbour at Milne Bay.
Then http://www.northqueenslandatwar.com/htdocs/volume_1/v1amend/v.1%20interim%20amendments.pdf
25SEP42 KELTON(S-11) departed Cairns for Port Moresby.
KELTON was US Army Small Craft.
werz
01-05-2008, 05:59 PM
Do you think you're reincarnated from a WWII participant?
j.m@talk
01-05-2008, 06:43 PM
No he's just plain F***in Barmey ....... Thought that was obvious :t
mireland
01-05-2008, 07:57 PM
YAHTZEE!
herosrest
01-05-2008, 08:05 PM
l've maintained an in interest in human history, as a teen l read a book detailing the war of a Japanese combat pilot named Saburo Sakai who fought in New Guinea during 1942. The Japanese military conquests during the first quarter of 1942 were stunning.
l stumbled across a request for details of an American pilot MIA, who fought Sakai.
There are geographical errors in the detail of his loss. My interest was aroused.
There is a terrific story surrounding this pilot's squadron as it deployed, organised and entered battle. l have learnt much and yet the mystery of Cpt. Paul G. Browns loss remains.
herosrest
01-05-2008, 08:15 PM
Also, l was lead to this book = NANETTE ; Her Pilot's Love Story
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0874747376?showViewpoints=1
A terrific read. Beautifully written and a real lesson in the written art.
drewster
01-05-2008, 09:32 PM
I like gellato
werz
01-07-2008, 04:30 AM
Also, l was lead to this book = NANETTE ; Her Pilot's Love Story
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0874747376?showViewpoints=1
A terrific read. Beautifully written and a real lesson in the written art.Now you know that more than two lines of writing gets em confused down here.
So we'd like a two line summary please. )-|
mireland
01-07-2008, 08:09 AM
swiss cheese.
herosrest
01-08-2008, 09:38 AM
Now you know that more than two lines of writing gets em confused down here.
So we'd like a two line summary please. )-|
http://www.histoiredumonde.net/images/20_eme_siecle/avions/p39/intro.jpg
A class of five-year old school children return to the classroom after playing in the playground during their break time.
The teacher says to the first child "Hello Becky, what have you been doing this playtime?" Becky replies "I have been playing in the sand box". "Very good," says the teacher "if you can spell 'sand' on the blackboard, I will give you a biscuit". Becky duly goes and writes 's a n d' on the blackboard. "Very good" says the teacher and gives Becky a biscuit.
The teacher then says "Freddie, what have you been doing in your playtime?" Freddie replies "Playing with Becky in the sand box". "Very good" says the teacher. "If you can spell 'box' on the blackboard, I will also give you a biscuit". Freddie duly goes and writes 'b o x' on the blackboard. "Very good" says the teacher and gives Freddie a biscuit.
Teacher then says "Hello Mohammed, have you been playing in the sand box with Becky and Freddie?" "No" replies Mohammed, "I wanted to, but they would not let me. Every time I went near them they started throwing sand at me and calling me nasty names".
"Oh dear" says the teacher. "That sounds like blatant racial discrimination to me - I'll tell you what, if you can spell 'blatant racial discrimination' I will give you a biscuit".
Why was the airport at Milne Bay named Gurney?
Tags: airport, milne, bay
Gurney is named in honour of Charles Raymond (Bob) Gurney who, as an early aviator, started flying for Guinea Airways in 1929. He was killed in action in 1942 whilst flying for the Royal Australian Airforce.
http://www.acepilots.com/80fs.jpg (http://www.acepilots.com/usaaf_robbins.html) Klik the pik
Weevil-infested toast, powdered eggs, salt pork, Australian jam, coffee, and chlorine-laced water once again passed for breakfast at Three Mile Drome on the morning of September 4, 1943. The pilots of the 8th Fighter Group might have felt they deserved better fare, at what could be the last meal for any one of them. Here they were, at a primitive, muddy airstrip in the malaria-ridden jungle of New Guinea, in the pre-dawn darkness about to fly a dangerous combat mission, sure to be outnumbered by Japanese Zeros. Why complain about lousy food? Lt. Jay "Cock" Robbins had been with the Group for almost a year, at first flying the under-performing Bell P-39 Airacobras, switching over to Lockheed P-38 Lightnings in the spring.
Funnily enough, Samarai is an island and former administrative capital in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. Located off the south-eastern tip of New Guinea in the China Strait Samarai has an area of just 240,000 square metres (59 acres).
Turnbull Field (No. 3 Strip) Milne Bay Province
Location
Located at Milne Bay near Gili Gili beside Swinger Bay (also known as Stringer Bay).
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/png/turnbull/index.html
"You are standing on the eastern side of
what was in 1942 No. 3 Airstrip later named
Turnbll Field
In Honor of Sqn Ldr Peter St George Turnbull, D.F.C.
C.O, of No 76 Squadron
Born Ammdale NSW 9-2-1917
Killed in Action 27-9-1942 during a strafing
run on enemy near Sandersons Bay
To Strive - To Seek - To Find
Not To Yield
Errected by donations from family, veterans
and those who remember
Propeller donated by R.A.A.F."
drewster
01-16-2008, 05:40 PM
I'd like some Tiramisł if at all possible, Weevils I'll leave for JM, if thats all right with you lot.
http://www.artworkoriginals.com/images/GXB14002.JPG http://www.military.cz/usa/air/war/fighter/p39/p39q_m.jpghttp://www.artworkoriginals.com/images/GXB07665.JPGIt wasn't a game. :t
mireland
01-16-2008, 10:13 PM
:cool:
herosrest
03-25-2008, 07:48 PM
I stumbled across an anecdote to this tale and thought i'd record it.
Donald C McGee served in the the 36th Fighter Squadron with Paul G. Brown (the subject of this topic) in Australia and New Guinea. He scored the squadrons first recorded victory at Port Moresby. As mentioned i ran across this anecdote browsing web stuff on the Fort at Tilbury, UK. McGee completed a tour in the pacific and later flew escort for Eighth Airforce bombing missions from England.
"Pilots under combat stress perform breathtaking, innovative feats—tactics and maneuvers so new and different they are as creative as inventions or works of art. They are apparently the result of intuitive, flash-of-insight intellections just as notable inventions and artistic masterpieces are.
All pilots encounter unanticipated problems calling for innovative approaches when in flight. Many instances abound, but one described in the Winter 1970 Aerospace Historian is worth recounting as illustrative of one pilot’s inventiveness under stress.
Colonel John D. Mainwaring, in “Born for Combat,” tells of an attack against a Japanese formation of 36 bombers which the then Lieutenant Donald C. McGee, in a flight of P-39s, encountered near Port Moresby, New Guinea:
As three of us finished our initial firing run and dove away to start our climb for the second attack, Mac, who was flying last, performed a prohibited maneuver. Dissatisfied with his firing pass, he, alone, turned back to hit the Japanese from the rear, where he would soon receive full cannon fire from the entire formation of bombers as well as cannon fire from the rearmost flight of escorting Zeroes. . . . Closing to 100 feet, he pumped the rudder pedals back and forth as he fired, to yaw his plane’s nose 15 degrees. In a split second he had knocked out all three bombers’ tail guns and gunners. Then he pulled into the center of this three-ship V-formation of bombers which were now totally defenseless.
The entire bomber formation went after Mac, dropping down or popping up so their rear gunners could get a shot at him. They soon discovered that they could not strike Mac without hitting their bomber mates. During this time Mac flew a cozy, tight formation with the three enemy bombers as he manually disarmed all his guns but one 50 caliber. . . .
His plan was to employ one gun at a time to conserve ammunition. . . .
Then, with the calm of a pro golfer putting, he began firing short bursts from his one-armed 50 caliber at the port engine of the bomber element leader just in front of him. The crews of the Jap bombers flying on his wings just viewed the proceeding helplessly. His plan was to skip from bomber element to element, duplicating this same procedure until he’d downed all 36 bombers! . . .
When asked about the incident and how he had decided to use such tactics, Colonel McGee could not recall. He did mention that while attacking he always had the “feeling it was right, and that if one did not do right, one knew that one would ‘buy the farm.’” )-|
http://www.squadron.com/images/large/SO32002.jpg'Nip’s Nemesis II', 41-38338, a P-39D of the 36th Fighter squadron, 8th Fighter Group based at Port Moresby New Guinea in 1942, flown by Lieutenant Don “Fibber” McGee. 36th's first kill in moresby. http://www.aerothentic.com/historical/recollections/P39DonMcGeePOM1May42Published.htm
Japanese naval air flew three plane units - doctrine.
US air force flew pairs as a basic unit. No 3 in a three man sortie means that was all that was available or an aircraft had scrubbed.
McGee was a much more than capable pilot. In his element - either pure talent or application - and aggressive. The P-39 airacobra he was flying was inferior to the Japanese aircraft escorting bombers, in manoever, climb and level speed.
His insticts on the mission detailed above saved his life. He had no wingman and was to climb for a second pass at the bombers. The climbing pair pulled enemy fighters off him - he would have been a sitting duck. He got mad, cold blooded up yours, not expecting to come through and changed his rulebook. The genius of survival. Pure brilliance.
herosrest
02-17-2009, 07:59 PM
_
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
During its 90-year history, the 36 FS has flown 21 different types of aircraft, received 22 unit citations and accumulated 24 service and campaign streamers.
The unit came into existence when a group of aviation pioneers (http://www.corpusetampois.com/che-20-19170919etatsuniens-lotdephotos2a.gif), eager to prove the value of air power in World War I, formed the 36th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas, in June 1917. First Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt (http://www.historynet.com/aviators-quentin-roosevelt-he-died-fighting.htm#hide), the son of President Theodore Roosevelt, was one of the squadron's first commanders (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Quentin_Roosevelt_In_His_Plane.jpg), assuming command later that year. While the new squadron did not see combat as a unit when it moved to France, several of its members did while flying for other squadronsother squadrons (http://www.corpusetampois.com/che-20-19170919etatsuniens.html).
Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, Commander of the 94th Aero Squadron (also known as the "Hat-in-the-Ring" Squadron), in his memoirs described Roosevelt's character as soldier and pilot in the following words:
"As President Roosevelt's son he had rather a difficult task to fit himself in with the democratic style of living which is necessary in the intimate life of an aviation camp. Every one who met him for the first time expected him to have the airs and superciliousness of a spoiled boy. This notion was quickly lost after the first glimpse one had of Quentin. Gay, hearty and absolutely square in everything he said or did, Quentin Roosevelt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Roosevelt) was one of the most popular fellows in the group. We loved him purely for his own natural self.
After World War I, the 36th was inactivated, only to be resurrected in October 1930 at Selfridge Field, Michigan, to train pilots and develop new air tactics. In 1932, the 36th relocated to Langley Field, Virginia, as part of the 8th Pursuit Group. While assigned to the 8th, the 36th flew airmail for the U.S. Postal Service, flying in all types of weather without instruments. During World War II, the squadron flew P-40 Warhawk, P-39 Airacobra, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-38 Lightning fighters in a number of Pacific Theater campaigns. These included the defense of New Guinea and the battle for the Philippines. They moved to Fukuska, Japan at the end of the war.
Wanna make some money... like erm... tens of trillions in the blink of an eye! Play nice. :D :D
werz
02-18-2009, 03:58 AM
I'm dam'n good!. I can see IT coming.
Wanna make some money... like erm... tens of trillions in the blink of an eye! Play nice. :D :D
I could do with about 10 million dollars. All help is appreciated. As long as I don't have to do anything strenuous or to illegal.
j.m@talk
02-18-2009, 11:13 AM
I could do with about 10 million dollars. All help is appreciated. As long as I don't have to do anything strenuous or to illegal.
Werz's Yankee side comes out
herosrest
02-18-2009, 01:03 PM
Werz's Yankee side comes out
All ya gotta do is blow bubble's. For a while............... :p
herosrest
03-31-2009, 07:04 PM
Tommy Hayes in Java, 1942
Long ago and far away, in the days of first class privates with fourth class specialties, Tommy (Our Leader) Hayes was a 2nd Lieutenant. As a matter of fact, the time was 20 February 1942 and the place was Blimbing, Java.
Tommy was a pilot in the 17th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) part of the 24th Pursuit Group which was strung out from the Philippines through Australia. With very little to work with, they were rapidly loosing what they had. The successful Japanese were striking east of Java at Bali and Timor to cut the supply line from Australia.
On February 20, Tommy was part of a sixteen plane escort of P-40s herding three B-24s and some B-17s of the 19th Bomb Group going to stop the invasion of Bali. The result - exactly as you guessed - they got the hell kicked out of them.
Limping into Blimping Field with the canopy cranked back as the plane was shot to pieces, Tommy made a fantastic wheels up landing, no elevators landing right in the palm trees at the end of the strip. He came to rest on the duty runway. When the dust cleared and the shaking stopped, Tommy saw the "rescue" team drive up. Think of the joy and relief that flowed through his being. "I'm alive - I made it - help is here."
As he looked up he watched a long arm with screwdriver in hand begin dog robbing the instrument panel. Nobody said a word.
P-40Es in the Pacific: Dec 1941-Feb 1942 (http://www.prbsystems.com/P40E/P40E_Summary.html)
mireland
03-31-2009, 07:11 PM
All ya gotta do is blow bubble's. For a while............... :p
sicko.
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