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re: The top flying ace in WWII for the US was Dick Bong
Posted on 4/8/18 at 9:00 am to DavidTheGnome
Posted on 4/8/18 at 9:00 am to DavidTheGnome
quote:
credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft
That's a lot! My Uncle James served 3 tours of duty in Europe during WW2 (last one covered post war too, was under a year into 3rd when war ended) as a fighter pilot and only got low 20's (forget the exact #) confirmed shoot downs.
3
Posted on 4/8/18 at 9:02 am to Sidicous
quote:
only got low 20's
what a puss, had to have been a career wingman
jk
Posted on 4/8/18 at 9:04 am to Sidicous
quote:
My Uncle James served 3 tours of duty in Europe during WW2 (last one covered post war too, was under a year into 3rd when war ended) as a fighter pilot and only got low 20's (forget the exact #) confirmed shoot downs.
Low 20's makes him one of the top dogs in Europe. What was his last name?
BTW, Bong estimated he shot down as many as 80 Japanese a/c, but they weren't confirmed.
Posted on 4/8/18 at 3:34 pm to 777Tiger
quote:
had to have been a career wingman
Kinda sorta in a way. He was bomber escort. The fighting was harder early in the war when Germany had the planes and trained pilots. As he and others kept knocking them down, Germany lost air superiority and eventually air combat all but disappeared. 2/3 of his kills came in his 1st tour, the remaining third from the other tours of duty combined.
ETA:
quote:
Low 20's makes him one of the top dogs in Europe.
He was just outside the top 10 list. He wasn't trying to be the top dog or anything though. He was just killing the enemy to try to make sure our guys came back home.
This post was edited on 4/8/18 at 3:37 pm
Posted on 4/8/18 at 4:53 pm to DavidTheGnome
LSU baseball player Austin Bain...
Posted on 4/8/18 at 6:12 pm to DavidTheGnome
quote:
He died in California while testing a jet aircraft shortly before the war ended.
It always seems like great heroes who defied all odds like this guy die soon after doing some standard every day bullshite. Like some Final Destination shite
Posted on 4/8/18 at 6:15 pm to DavidTheGnome
My paw paw always said that he was overrated. My paw paw said they checked knuckles in the sky in a dogfight and my paw paw sent him running with his tail between his legs
Posted on 4/8/18 at 6:29 pm to deltaland
quote:Joseph McConnell
It always seems like great heroes who defied all odds like this guy die soon after doing some standard every day bullshite. Like some Final Destination shite
quote:
Joseph Christopher McConnell, Jr. (30 January 1922 – 25 August 1954) was a United States Air Force fighter pilot who was the top American flying ace during the Korean War. A native of Dover, New Hampshire, Captain McConnell was credited with shooting down 16 MiG-15s while flying North American F-86 Sabres. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in aerial combat. McConnell was the first American triple jet-on-jet fighter ace and is still the top-scoring American jet ace.
quote:The McConnell Story was filming when McConnell was killed. The script was hurriedly rewritten to include his death.
In 1954, he was temporarily assigned to the service test program for the new F-86H Sabre. This was the last and most powerful version of the Sabre, and was intended to be a nuclear-capable fighter-bomber.
On 25 August 1954, while testing the fifth production F-86H-1-NA (serial number 52-1981) at Edwards Air Force Base, McConnell was killed in a crash near the base following a control malfunction.
The cause of the accident was attributed to a missing bolt. Then-Major Chuck Yeager was assigned to investigate the crash and replicated the malfunction at a much higher altitude. This height advantage allowed him to safely regain control of the aircraft before it hit the desert floor.
The 1955 film The McConnell Story, starring Alan Ladd and June Allyson, chronicles his life story.
FWIW star Alan Ladd was terrified of flying and all his scenes were shot comfortably on the ground
This post was edited on 4/8/18 at 6:37 pm
Posted on 4/8/18 at 6:32 pm to Eightballjacket
quote:Loved it
Pappy Boyington
Posted on 4/8/18 at 7:02 pm to Sidicous
My grandfather was a bomber pilot(forget what he flew) in North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific.
He always said he and his guys didn’t want to poop in their pants on bombing runs so they’d poop inside the bombs they were dropping onto the Nazis.
He always said he and his guys didn’t want to poop in their pants on bombing runs so they’d poop inside the bombs they were dropping onto the Nazis.
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