Don Gentile liked to go fast. He had a reputation with the police in his home town of Piqua, in western Ohio for having a lead foot. Don got the flying bug when he was still in school, earned a private pilot’s license and his Italian immigrant parents bought him a small biplane which he buzzed the town with until joining the Royal Canadian Air Force in September 1940.
    Don was sent to England after earning his wings in November 1941 and was first assigned as an instructor—not exactly the front line combat outfit he had hoped for. By buzzing a dog race he managed to get transferred to No. 133 Eagle Squadron where he flew Spitfires in combat.     Don scored two confirmed victories with the 133 Squadron over Dieppe and then transferred to the 4th Fighter Group the following month. He continued to hone his skills as a fighter pilot throughout the next year during which time the 4th switched from the nimble Spitfire to the big, powerful P-47 Thunderbolt.
    He finally scored again on 5 January 1944 and only nine days later he shot down his fourth and fifth enemy planes. He became an ace that day but was nearly killed before he could get home to celebrate. “That fight was, perhaps the most critical I have ever fought.” He later commented.  “I have had bigger triumphs, easier ones, but this one taxed every last bit of me. It showed me what I had learned and taught me what I was.”
    Eighth Bomber Command had intended to attack strategic targets in Germany that day but foul weather in Germany forced them to alter their plans. The skies over France were clear so the mission for the day was changed to a “No Ball” mission; code name for attacks on V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area of France. 8th Fighter Command’s job was to provide an aerial umbrella for the attacking bombers.
    At Debden a pilots’ briefing was held at 1245 hours. Their mission was a Free Lance (fighter sweep) under type 16 control. The type 16 ground control of airborne fighters system utilised high definition radars located on the coast of England and had an operational range of about 120 miles. The controller’s display screen showed all air activity within that range. After the briefing Don caught a ride to his aircraft, a P-47D named “Donny Boy” which wore a Walt Disney designed cartoon boxing eagle on its nose. After chatting with his crew chief John Ferra and a quick kick of the tires, Captain Gentile climbed aboard. Sergeant Ferra strapped him in and on the order to “Press” Don coaxed the big radial engine to life. On this mission he led Blue flight. His wingman, Lt. Bob Richards was Blue 2. The second element, Lt. Louis “Red Dog” Norley, flying Blue 3 with Lt. Vermont Garrison on his wing in Blue 4 made up the rest of the flight. Group Operations Officer Lt. Col. Sel Edner led the 4th that day. The group crossed the enemy coast near Boulogne

at 1428 hours. As instructed they arrived at Margny, the rendezvous point. A port orbit was made and the pilots had picked up a southerly heading at an altitude of 18,000 feet when Captain Gentile spotted 15 Fw-190s about 3,000 feet below heading east. As Don took his flight down into the attack, the enemy formation split up and turned to face the diving Thunderbolts.  Picking out a pair, Don squinted into the gun sight and held his course in a deadly game of chicken. He later described the sensation. “At 700 miles an hour you can eat up all the distance in one gulp, but while you’re doing it, it seems slow.  You can think of a thousand things, and nothing seems to be happening in your life except that the plane is coming slowly toward you and you’re living a lifetime—as if it was a sped-up movie reel—and aging fast and growing older and looking suddenly at the end of your life in just about the time it takes to say it.”
    The Germans chickened out first and broke off, diving away to Don’s left. He put the nose of his heavy fighter down and closed the distance rapidly to about 300 yards before he gave the number two Focke Wulf a long squirt from his machine guns. The Nazi machine was hit in the cockpit area and trailed an 8,000 foot plume of smoke before impacting into an open field. Kicking right rudder, Gentile pulled onto the tail of the leader. The German took him down to the deck as Don peppered away at him with resulting flashes blooming from the engine and cockpit of the doomed German. “As I was trying to follow him down in his slipstream to get another shot, he hit the woods and I pulled out just missing the woods myself.”
    Just as he was pulling out, Gentile was set upon by another pair of 190s.  His wingman and the rest of Blue flight were nowhere to be seen. They had been attacked while Don pursued his second victim and in the ensuing combat they shot down three FW 190s. This however, left Don alone and down on the deck. He was cornered.
     “The lead Hun was close enough to me when he started to fire for me to hear the ripped-out chugging of his machine guns and the soft poom-poom-poom of his cannon. There was this sound, and at the same time tracers were going by me and my plane was starting to splinter around me. As I turned my head, I saw a 20 millimetre shell go through my wing and saw the metal of the wing flower and open like a torn mouth and saw my tail quaking and shuddering with animal movements under the blows of more cannon shells.” Gentile was in a pickle; if he tried to climb he would get nailed for sure. All he could do was turn and skid his P-47 around in an effort to keep from presenting an easy target for the 190s. Eventually he shook off one of the 190s but the other persisted. With his throttle wide open, Gentile used full rudder deflection, making flat turns that kept him right on the edge of a spin. “The best I could do with my turns was keep him part way off my tail and give him deflection shots at me. That is, keep my line of flight at an angle to

Captain Gentile gained one more victory in the P-47 before the group transitioned to the P-51 Mustang in February 1944. The greater range of the P-51 meant that the Germans could no longer wait beyond the range of escorting American fighters and attack the bomber formations with relative impunity. With a Mustang Gentile’s score began to rise swiftly and when he teamed up with John Godfrey they formed a legendary combat team whose successes have never been equalled. The above story is an excerpt from the chapter on Don Gentile in "Adventures of the 4th Fighter Group" by Troy White.

Distinguished Service Cross Awarded for actions during WWII 

The President of the United States of America, authorised by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Captain (Air Corps) Dominic "Don" S. Gentile (ASN: 0-885109), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-51 Fighter Airplane in the 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, EIGHTH Air Force, in aerial combat against enemy forces on 8 March 1944, in the European Theatre of Operations. On this date Captain Gentile, while leading a section of Fighter Aircraft on a bomber escort mission to targets in the vicinity of Berlin, Germany, saw a flight of bombers being attacked by approximately fifty enemy fighters. With only his wing man as support and without regard to the overwhelming odds against him, Captain Gentile immediately attacked the enemy formation and by extremely courageous flying and skilful gunnery destroyed three enemy planes and broke up the threat against the bombers. Continuing with his wing man, they destroyed three more enemy fighters. By this time the wing man had expended his ammunition and Captain Gentile's supply was very low. Despite this fact, they picked up a straggling bomber and escorted it to friendly territory. Captain Gentile's outstanding courage and determination to destroy the enemy on this occasion set an example of heroism which will be an inspiration to the Armed Forces of the United States.

General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Strategic Forces in Europe, General Orders No. 36 (June 12, 1944)

Action Date: 8-Mar-44
Service: Army Air Forces
Rank: Captain
Company: 336th Fighter Squadron
Regiment: 4th Fighter Group
Division: 8th Air Force

Distinguished Service Cross Awarded for actions during WWII 

(Citation Needed) - SYNOPSIS: Captain (Air Corps) Dominic "Don" S. Gentile (ASN: 0-885109), United States Army Air Forces, was awarded a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-51 Fighter Airplane in the 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, EIGHTH Air Force, in aerial combat against enemy forces on April 8, 1944. On this date Captain Gentile destroyed three enemy fighters and assisted in destruction of a fourth in a single engagement. Captain Gentile's unquestionable valour in aerial combat is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 8th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Strategic Forces in Europe, General Orders No. 23 (1944)
Action Date: 8-April-44
Service: Army Air Forces
Rank: Captain
Company: 336th Fighter Squadron
Regiment: 4th Fighter Group
Division: 8th Air Force

Blog lead off image: "Help! I'm Being Clobbered!" Oil on Canvas 30" x 40" © Troy White 2010 FOR SALE Contact me for price.
This painting is from the Rotational series.
For canvas prints click here or click on the shop button below.

At dawn on the morning of 1 January 1945 approximately 900 low-flying Luftwaffe fighters carried out a daring attack on Allied air bases on the continent of Europe. It was called Operation Bodenplatte. The Nazi plan called for a simultaneous attack on all of the enemy bases at exactly 0920 hours. According to German records 1,035 individual sorties were flown, 400 Allied aircraft were destroyed on the ground, 79 destroyed in the air and 100 damaged. Post war estimates put Allied losses at approximately 290 aircraft destroyed and 180 damaged. The cost to the Nazis was dear. At the end of the day, 143 pilots were killed or missing, 70 were captured and 21 wounded. These losses included many seasoned veterans which the Luftwaffe could ill afford to part with. Operation Bodenplatte was a last gasp and the Nazis final large scale air operation of the war.Probably the most fantastic performance put on by Allied fighters that day was by the 487th Squadron of the 352nd Fighter Group over a 5,000 foot Advanced Landing Ground simply known by its security code Y-29. The little strip had been carved out of the bush by Engineer Aviation Battalions near the village of Asch, Belgium in November 1944. The epic air battle that took place between Mustangs of the 487th and Focke Wulfs and Messerschmitts of JG 11 over that temporary airstrip in full view of ground crew and pilots became known as the “Legend of Y-29”.

Led by Oberstleutnant Günther Specht, approximately 65 fighters of JG-11 arrived at Asch on time at 0920, just as Colonel JC Meyer was leading the 487th down the runway. Despite the fact that they were outnumbered three to one and taking off into the teeth of the Nazi attack Meyer’s plucky pilots managed to shoot down 23 enemy fighters while suffering only 2 damaged Mustangs. JG 11 lost 21 pilots either killed or missing with four pilots captured. Oberstleutnant Specht was among the missing as was Gruppenkommandeur Hauptman Horst Günther Fassong.

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For their performance the pilots of 487th FS earned themselves the only Distinguished Unit Citation that was awarded to a fighter squadron in the ETO during WWII.

When veteran 352nd FG pilot and Group historian Bob “Punchy” Powell sent me the story of the New Year’s Day air battle I was inspired commemorate the event with a couple of paintings. After several discussions with Punchy I decided on two engagements which we both agreed were the most exciting of the day. I titled them “New Year’s Bash” and “The Legend of Y-29” featuring two-war ace Captain William T. Whisner and 487th CO Colonel JC Meyer respectively.

"New Year' Bash"
Oil on Canvas 48"x60"
© 1996 Troy White SOLD
Ltd. Ed. Lithographs are available

Most people are aware of the legendary history surrounding the Battle of Britain which took place between July 10 and October 31, 1940. Nothing less than the fate of all Europe was at stake that summer. In just a few short months Hitler had conquered Europe and had set his sights on Britain. All that stood between Britain and total Nazi domination were 1,450 young pilots. Many of the pilots had little or no combat experience and they were pitted against seasoned Luftwaffe pilots. Many of whom had gained valuable combat experience in the Spanish Civil War a few years earlier and in the Polish campaign and the Battle of France.

I have always enjoyed painting Spitfires but prior to 2010 I had never painted any from the Battle of Britain. So with the 70th Anniversary of the Battle looming I wanted to do something to honour the brave pilots who after Prime Minister Winston Churchill's famous speech became known as "The Few". Accordingly  I set myself the task of creating a dramatic and symbolic representation of that great aerial battle. The result was this fully rotational painting which I titled "Sod Off!"

In "Sod Off!" I wanted to put my audience in the middle of a battle in which the outcome is questionable for the hero (as it was for England in August 1940) and utilise the iconography of vapour trails to help illustrate the unusual attitudes that are typical of any dogfight. During the summer of 1940 the English people looked aloft to see a phenomenon unique in history. Vapour trails from high flying aircraft criss-crossed and swirled in the skies making patterns delineating the battle. This emblematic image of the titanic struggle makes a perfect backdrop for the equally iconic Spitfire versus Messerschmitt theme.

An important requirement of this composition was that it be fully rotational, one that would work however the canvas is hung. I also wanted to portray actual people and machines and depict a specific moment in time.  I decided to interpret an event that took place between August 13 and September 15th which was the most critical phase of the battle.

The pilot of the Spitfire is Sgt. Ronald F. Hamlyn of 610 Squadron. 610 Squadron was part of 11 Group which operated from English bases closest to the English Channel and was the first line of defense against incoming Nazi raiders. 11 Group was commanded by the renowned Keith Park. Park was a New Zealander who, along with Chief Air Marshal Dowding was a major player in the victory of the Battle of Britain. Ronnie Hamlyn aka “The Pied Piper of Harrogate”, was one of the first RAF pilots to become an ace-in-a-day when he downed a Ju 88 and four Bf 109's in three sorties on 24 August 1940. For this feat he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal but for this feat he might have been in really hot water.

The previous day he had pranged his Spitfire while landing at Biggin Hill and on the morning of 24 August he was waiting to see his CO having been charged with negligence. As he awaited his fate the alarm bell went off and he scrambled to intercept the incoming Nazi raiders. During that sortie he shot down a Ju 88 and one of the escorting Bf 109's over Dover.  Upon landing he reported back to the CO's office but before he could be seen the alarm bell went off again and he had to excuse himself to scramble again. This time he shot down another Messerschmit. Once again he returned to the CO's office and once again the alarm bell sounded while he was waiting and once again he scrambled to intercept the incoming raid. On this sortie he shot down two more 109s over London. After landing he finally was seen by his Commanding Officer who sternly told him that he was recommending him for the DFM!

Although I would have liked to portray Hamlyn's big day in my painting, his combat report for 30 August perfectly matched the idea I had had for the composition of my painting. All that was needed was to find the identity of the Messerschmitt and pilot in my painting. The German pilot was Ofw. Karl-Heinz Harbauer of 4. Staffel, II./JG 2. He overshot Hamlyn who in turn shot him down in flames. Ofw. Harbauer bailed out but was killed when his parachute failed to open. The wreckage of his Bf 109E, WNr. 2765 "White 1" was salvaged during the battle but recently some additional fragments of the wreckage have been recovered. They can be seen at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum.

610 Squadron's base at Biggin Hill was hit hard on by Luftwaffe bombers the 30th of August and was temporarily out of commission. Repair crews worked through then night and by morning the base was more or less operational again. 610 Squadron which had been in combat constantly and had suffered 18 pilots killed or missing since May was sent north for a well deserved rest.

Ronald Fairfax Hamyln was born on 26 February 1914 in Harrogate. In 1936 he joined the RAF and began pilot training. The Spring of 1940 found  Hamlyn flying with 72 Squadron based at Church Fenton. After the evacuation of Dunkirk he joined 610 Squadron at Gravesend.  Hamyln was posted to 610 Squadron on the 6th of June 1940 and within a month had shared in the destruction of a Dornier bomber. As the battle moved into its critical second phase, the Nazis increased the tempo and the airfields of 11 Group were hit with heavy attacks. As Ronnie and his mates fought for their lives he added to his score. After bagging five Nazis on 24 August Hamlyn kept on going. He scored three more confirmed kills and a probable, all Bf 109's before the end of the month.

On August 30th, for the first time during the battle, Fighter Command flew more than 1,000 sorties in a day. Thirty-six Nazi airplanes were shot down but it was also one of the darkest days for the RAF. The radar stations of Foreness, Beachy Head and Pevensey were damaged. Over 50 RAF personnel had been killed on the ground (39 of these at Biggin Hill). Thirty-nine Spitfires and Hurricanes were destroyed and 10 pilots were killed. To date over 20% of the Fighter Command’s pilots had been killed. It simply could not sustain losses like this.

Fighter Command’s high losses of both new and veteran pilots coupled with the damage to aerodromes and radar stations brought England to the edge of defeat.  The country was in the gravest danger that it had been in since the Norman Invasion of 1066. Meanwhile Biggin Hill was in the dark and shut down. Repair crews worked through then night and by morning the base was more or less operational again but control of its sector was transferred to Hornchurch. It was with this grim backdrop that 610 Squadron was ordered to move north and become part of 13 Group far away from the hotly contested skies of the South-east coast.

The onslaught against the RAF sector airfields continued for the following week and then the Luftwaffe changed strategy and began attacking London. This gave Fighter Command time to replace lost aircraft and pilots. 610 Squadron base with 13 Group was Acklington north of Newcastle. They remained there until December. Sgt. Hamlyn was personally commended by Winston Churchill for his exploits and was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM). The citation read in part: "The pilot's feat of destroying five enemy aircraft in one day shows great skill, courage and good marksmanship". The DFM is the version of the RAF Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) that was awarded to enlisted men. Hamlyn later was promoted to Flight Officer and transferred to 242 Squadron under the command of Douglas Bader, the famous legless ace. He shot down two more Nazi aeroplanes before his tour with 242 Squadron was up. He was then given command of 275 and then 276 Air Sea Rescue Squadrons respectively. He was awarded the AFC on 1 January 1943. Hamyln stayed in the RAF after the end of WWII retiring as a Wing Commander in 1957. In civilian life he worked for the Save the Children Foundation. Ronnie passed away in 1991. My rotational painting  is entitled "Sod Off!" which I imagine would have been the printable sentiments of Sgt. Hamlyn when he had the Hun on his tail.

 Research data regarding Sgt. Hamyln, his victories and his aircraft has kindly been provided by Michael Lewis, Jonathan Tuckwell and Frank Olynyk. Lynn Ritger and Bill Espe provided historical data regarding Ofw. Harbaur and JG 2.

That last week of August transformed an almost perfect summer into the summer of my discontent. It was then that I began to question authority and the integrity of those who have it. I wondered if what I had been taught was right and wrong were in fact that way. I realised for the first time that I didn’t have to respect my elders across the board. People had to earn my respect regardless of their age. I wanted to know why it was so important to sacrifice American lives in a far flung country where we were not wanted in the first place. The lyrics of protest songs began to make sense to me and I reckoned that grown-ups who said they couldn’t understand the words in modern music actually did but didn’t like what they were hearing.

Events of the subsequent years, such as the revelation of the My Lai Massacre, The Kent State Massacre and the Watergate affair reinforced my newly found scepticism. The song “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills Nash and Young is a song with a message that still resonates with me today.  As the years passed, many of my contemporaries who felt the same way I did back then changed their political views but I have not and I can trace it all back to one week in August 1968.  Those turbulent years also had an effect on my aviation art. To this date I have only created one painting for depicting a combat aircraft that took part in the Vietnam War. It is still in my possession but I keep it tucked away in a crate and it rarely sees the light of day. 

Tom McGuire was born in Ridgewood New Jersey on August 1, 1920. He graduated from High School in 1938 in Sebring Florida. He attended Georgia Tech University in Atlanta GA for three years before enlisting in the Army Air Corps at in 1941. He was commissioned a 2nd Lt. on February 2, 1942. He served in the  Aleutian Islands flying the P-39 Airacobra from June 14 to October 16, 1942.  Returning to the lower 48 in December 1942, he transitioned to the P-38 Lightning. In March 1943, he was shipped out to the South Pacific as a replacement pilot with the 49th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force. He flew his first combat mission with the 49th on April 22. In June Tom  transferred to  the 475th Fighter Group which was created at Amberly Field near Brisbane Australia in May of 1943,  He was assigned to the 431st Fighter Squadron. On August 18, 1943, McGuire was part of a group flying top cover for bombers striking at Wewak, New Guinea. Nearing their target, the fighters were attacked by Japanese aircraft. During the battle, McGuire scored victories over two A6M "Zekes” and one Ki-61 “Tony”. Three days later day, near the same location, he splashed two more “Zekes” and made ace. "Zeke" was the allied code name for the Mitsubishi A6M Navy type 0 carrier fighter.   "It was a common mistake for American pilots at the time to confuse the A6M Zero with the Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar, and for the most part they encountered Ki-43s over Wewak.  The JAAF and JNAF had agreed that New Guinea was the province of the army while areas over the sea and New Britain were primarily the responsibility of the navy.  McGuire almost certainly claimed Oscars in August 1943." -- John Stanaway 

"Agua Caliente" (Hot Water)
Oil on Canvas 24" x 24" © Troy White 2011
Captain Tom McGuire is depicted seconds before being shot down on 17 October 1943 and earning a Purple Heart. He survived and went on to become America's number two scoring ace of all time.

By the middle of October Tom's score had risen to 11 confirmed victories. On the 17th of October McGuire had one of his biggest days but nearly lost his life in the process. Here is his encounter report for that day.

"We were at 23,000 feet when we sighted the enemy at a position of 11 o'clock, slightly above us (a group of 15 to 20 Zekes). After we dropped our belly tanks, Lieutenant Kirby, in his capacity as squadron leader that day, led us in to a head-on attack, climbing slightly. I selected one Zeke at the right of the formation and began firing. He started smoking and rolled out and down to his right. I followed, firing intermittently, to 18,000 feet, then pulled back to rejoin our formation.

I lost my second element and my wingman by this time. My wingman could only drop one belly tank, and because of this could not pull out of his dive until he reached 4,000 feet. He saw the Zeke that I had fired on going straight down, still smoking. I pulled up behind Red Flight at 21,000 feet and arrived in time to see two Zekes attacking from a position of 4 o'clock high. After I had fired at them in an attempt to drive them away, four other Zekes started down on me from 6 o'clock high, forcing me to dive to about 1,000 feet.

I had begun a climb when I sighted two Zekes at 3 o'clock and about 1,000 feet below me. I dived to attack, getting several shots with no results observed. I was at 18,000 feet when three Zekes from 8 o'clock high attacked me. As I was diving out, one closed in to very close range, putting about two slugs into the cockpit and possibly other parts of the ship. My evasive maneuver in this instance was to increase my dive to vertical, diving to 7,000 feet, then pulling back up to 12,000 feet.

At that time I saw seven Zekes in a loose formation and to the rear of a P-38, which appeared to be in trouble. As one Zeke began his pass at the P-38, I made my attack on him at 90-degree deflection. I fired a long burst and saw him break into flame. Feeling that I could distract them from the P-38 by making an attack, I pulled up slightly and to the right, getting a direct tail shot. I closed to about 100 feet and began firing. The Zeke immediately started burning and rolled slowly to the left and down. The remaining Zekes attacked and hit me at that time.

One was about 100 feet behind me and closing. As I started to dive out, my left engine began to burn, my right engine was smoking, a cannon shell burst into the radio compartment, and a 7.7 shell hit my wrist and passed into the instrument panel. Other shells hit at the base of the control column. I received shrapnel in my right arm and my hips. I tried to pull out of my dive, but found my elevator controls were entirely useless. I then released my escape hatch and bailed out. I landed in the sea about 25 miles from shore and remained there for approximately 30 minutes. I was unable to inflate my life raft due to shrapnel holes in it. I was picked up by a Navy PT boat, No. 152, and carried to PT tender Hilo in Buna Bay. During the engagement I saw at least 30 enemy fighters and clusters of bombs that had been dropped about 28 miles offshore."

McGuire went on to become one of the finest pilots in the Air Force. His skill at controls of a P-38 was legendary. During his spare time he wrote a  book on combat tactics for the 5th Air Force. Tom scored his final four victories on 26 December 1944 which put him just two victories behind  Maj. Richard I. Bong, the USAAF’s ace of aces.

On January 7, 1945, McGuire was leading a group of four P-38s over a Japanese-held airstrip, Fabrica aerodrome, Negros Island. After descending through cloud cover, McGuire’s flight attacked a lone Ki-43 “Oscar”. Another Japanese aircraft, a Ki-84 “Frank” became involved in the combat and McGuire attempted a turn at low altitude while still retaining his auxiliary fuel tanks. His P-38 stalled and went in exploding on impact.

In March of 1946 McGuire was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His citation reads:

McGUlRE, THOMAS B., JR. (Air Mission) 

Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps, 13th Air Force. Place and date: Over Luzon, Philippine Islands, 25, 26 December 1944. Entered service at: Sebring, Florida. Birth: Ridgewood, New Jersey. G.O. No.: 24, 7 March 1946.

He fought with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity over Luzon, Philippine Islands. Voluntarily, he led a squadron of 15 P-38's as top cover for heavy bombers striking Mabalacat Airdrome, where his formation was attacked by 20 aggressive Japanese fighters. In the ensuing action he repeatedly flew to the aid of embattled comrades, driving off enemy assaults while himself under attack and at times outnumbered 3 to 1, and even after his guns jammed, continuing the fight by forcing a hostile plane into his wingman's line of fire. Before he started back to his base he had shot down 3 Zeros. The next day he again volunteered to lead escort fighters on a mission to strongly defended Clark Field. During the resultant engagement he again exposed himself to attacks so that he might rescue a crippled bomber. In rapid succession he shot down 1 aircraft, parried the attack of 4 enemy fighters, 1 of which he shot down, single-handedly engaged 3 more Japanese, destroying 1, and then shot down still another, his 38th victory in aerial combat. On 7 January 1945, while leading a voluntary fighter sweep over Los Negros Island, he risked an extremely hazardous maneuver at low altitude in an attempt to save a fellow flyer from attack, crashed, and was reported missing in action. With gallant initiative, deep and unselfish concern for the safety of others, and heroic determination to destroy the enemy at all costs, Maj. McGuire set an inspiring example in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.

In addition to the Congressional Medal of Honor McGuire was awarded Distinguished Service Cross three times, two Silver Stars, six Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Purple Hearts, and 15 Air Medals. McGuire AFB was named after him in January, 1948. In 1949 Major McGuire's remains were recovered from the Philippines and returned to the USA. On 17 May 1950 he was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.

Read about Tom McGuire and all of the USAAF aces who lost their lives overseas during WWII in Gold Star Aces Volumes I & II.

I originally thought that this painting, "Stardust" which I began in 2016 would be my last air combat painting aside from commissions. As it turns out it is not, because even though I have not yet finished “Stardust” I’ve already begun a painting featuring WWI bad boy ace Lt. Frank Luke. For “Stardust” I chose 1st Lt. Bill "Flaps" Flowler's P-51D-5 as my main subject.
I’ve always been a big fan of the 352nd Fighter Group I first met Flaps in 1996 at a 352nd  FG reunion in Savannah, Georgia shortly after starting Stardust Studios. Flaps flew with the Group's 487th Fighter Squadron. I really took a shine to Flaps, not only was he a very cool guy but he had named one of his assigned P-51s "Stardust" after the same Hoagy Carmichael song that inspired me to name my business. I decided right then that I would paint his Mustang.  I never thought it would take 20 years to get around to starting it. "Stardust" measures 90 x 90 cm and is oil on canvas.
Bill was born September 14, 1921, in Rock Island, Illinois, the son of William E. and Harriet Jacobson Fowler. He was a graduate of Monmouth High School and before enlisting in the Army Air Corps worked at Western Stoneware and Pottery Company in Monmouth. Flaps’ daughter Denise has been kind enough to send me copies of wartime memories that Flaps put into writing back in 1998. I’ve combined them here with contemporary combat reports written by Lt. Fowler in 1944 to illustrate his time in the 8th Air Force.

July 1, 1998

January 1 1944,
Left New York Harbor aboard the ship Empress of Australia, a British ship (which was) taken from the Germans in the First World War. It took us and our convoy fourteen days to cross the Atlantic.
Arrived in Liverpool and I was sick. We disembarked carrying our gear and packs, boarded a train and were in old chair cars for three days going to Southern England. We went to a base (Atcham) to be given a refresher course in the P-47 airplane.  

The field was sort of odd. We were told the ground elevation east of the field was much higher than the field. When you took off to the south and made a left turn, the ground came up real fast and unless you were aware of this, you might be in trouble. Seems like they had a pilot killed due to this.

After about a week we were assigned to our new base in England. For me, George Kopecky, William Fur and Sammy Dyke it was Bodney Field. They gave us four days en-route which made it just right for a stopover in London. Kopecky and I were assigned to the 487th Squadron. This field was home for our three squadrons, the 486th, 487th and 328th. These squadrons made up the 352nd Fighter Group.

I can’t remember how we got from London to Bodney. It probably was by train to the Watton rail station near Bodney. We were usually transported around Bodney in a big old open command car. This was used for all transportation wherever on the base and to and from our quarters at the old English mansion Clermont Hall. At this time there were no quarters for us on the base. Clermont was converted for us Air Force Officers to live in. I can’t remember whether the 487th Squadron were the only ones there. The other squadrons may already have had Quonset huts for quarters on the base.

In recent weeks I have read a biography of Thomas Jefferson. As you know, Jefferson was big in the Revolutionary War. He had no love for the British. To illustrate this Jefferson wrote to his friend William Carmichael, American Envoy to Spain. “I consider the British our natural enemies and as the only nation on earth who wish us ill from the bottom of their souls.” At this time Jefferson was ambassador to France. John Adams was Ambassador to England. He urged Jefferson to come to England not only on official business but to show him some of the nice English homes and estates. After much persuasion Jefferson did agree.  He went to England and Adams was showing him the country sights. The came to Clermont Hall, our wartime home for several months. It had a large veranda and off to the right a bowling green, to the left was a lake, all part of the estate. Jefferson gave Clermont two words “Nothing remarkable”. Personally I thought it was great!

After being shown around the field, introduced and being filled in on all the facts we were supposed to know, we were taken up for some combat training in the P-47 There was no period that I can remember for just going up and familiarizing yourself with the area. On March 2, 1944 I was to fly accompanying Lt. Whinnem from the 486th Squadron. He was the lead ship. I had not met him and strangely enough, to this day I still have never met him. He died this year in April.  We were to fly as spotters over the North Sea. This was for spotting downed airmen and aircraft in the water. The controller in England would call and instruct us which direction to flay and for how long in each direction. If we spotted anything, we would transmit a call to the controller and they would get a fix on us and send out a rescue airplane or ship.

We were out for about an hour and Whinnem’s engine quit. He started down and this excited me. I thought he would be killed when he hit the water since he was too low to bail out. I keyed my radio and called the controller and told him we were five miles offshore. I kept my transmitter keyed and gave them a blow by blow description of the event. Never gave them a chance to reply. He crash landed on the east coast of England and I saw him climb out of his airplane.

Then I started for home but where was home? I knew the general direction but we operated off a camouflaged field and I wasn’t familiar with it from the air. My assistant crew chief Joseph Rubin, said I flew across the field five times before I spotted it. He lied, I think? Rubin was a great guy, he kidded me all the time and kept my spirits up. My crew chief, Sergeant Murphy was a good mechanic and a great guy as well. (Cause of engine failure, forgot to switch tanks.)

July 28, 1998
Well, I’ll try to put my mind back together and recall some of our play time. It has been so long ago, it’s hard to recall the sequence of events.

March 8, 1944
While flying Crowned Prince two position, I collided with Crowned Prince Leader just before we broke through the top of the overcast. The collision caused damage to my right wing tip and his left elevator so we aborted and returned to base.

The incident occurred on my first combat mission. While waiting in our pilot's ready room over in the 487th area that morning, Colonel Meyer said to me, 'Fowler, how are you on instruments?' I replied that I hadn't thought much about it, but I'd had the usual training. This query put me on guard I guess because I thought, 'They'll never lose me in the overcast.

After our usual briefing, we took off in a twelve ship formation on a mission over Germany. The weather was foul as usual and the overcast ceiling about one thousand feet with the tops at about six thousand feet. One man, the squadron leader flies on instruments and the rest of the squadron fly off him. That’s the only way it could be when you are all twelve clumped together in this next-to-tragedy flight through the clouds. This method was used so we could all be together when we came out on top. Otherwise if we went up individually we would be scattered hither and yon. It was like flying close formation in a milk bottle as far as visibility went.
The twelve of us entered the clouds and it was scuddy at first but everyone was visible. Then it got thicker and all I could see was my leader. Then it would lighten up and I could see everyone through the misty clouds. Well this day was a bad one and about 50% of the time I couldn’t see my man so I decided to move in closer. Now I see him, now I don’t. After a little more of this I moved in closer and now my right wing was resting on Red Leader’s left elevator. It was so gentle you couldn’t even feel it happen

Can you imagine the fourteen foot propeller driven by that two thousand horsepower engine swinging so close to Red Leader’s cockpit? Well, he discovered he didn’t have control because my wing was laying on his tail surface. After trying to adjust his flight by moving his control stick with no success, he abruptly pulled his control stick back and his airplane shot straight up and out of the formation and out of sight! I was then leading Red Flight behind White Flight. Shortly we broke through the top of the clouds and it was obvious what had happened.
Both planes were damaged so the two of us aborted the mission. This could have been a real tragedy if it had happened a little differently. If we had been flying P-51s we probably would have had a major disaster. The P-47 was a very stable airplane. We landed our airplanes and I went to my squadron, 487 and Major Edwards went to the 328th and surprisingly I have never talked to him since that day. Maybe he thought he was to blame but that is not correct. I was to blame, I caused it because of inexperience. I hated instrument flying and was always troubled with vertigo.

On that day Major John C. 'Curly' Edwards was Red One and he was flying a P-47D-11, serial number 42-75523. Lt. Bill “Flaps” Fowler was flying P-47D-2, s/n 42-22492, coded HO-F.

A little more than a month later Lt. Fowler scored his first victory the hard way, down on the deck while strafing a Nazi airfield near Berlin. By this time the 487s had converted to the P-51 Mustang which had a liquid cooled engine and was much more vulnerable to ground fire than the more robust P-47 Thunderbolt with its massive radial engine. The Mustangs took off that day at 0930 to provide withdrawal support for 8th AF heavy bombers. No enemy fighters were encountered so after being relieved by other American escort fighters on the relay Lt. Colonel JC Meyer led the 487th down to pounce on a couple of enemy aerodromes. These aerodromes were bristling with guns but in the face of withering defensive ack-ack fire the Mustangs made repeated passes until 13 enemy planes were burning wrecks. Fowler got one of them, a twin engine Me 110 heavy fighter.
A month later Flaps had his first aerial encounter during an escort mission to Brunswick, Germany during which the Bluenosers of the 352nd FG would earn a Distinguished Unit Citation for their outstanding performance.

8 May 1944
I was flying Red 2. Red flight was circling in the area around Neinberg to Unterlus with White flight. Shortly after the e/a were sighted, several broke for the deck. Red flight went down after them. I was flying red leader’s wing and the first e/a we picked was an Me109. We chased him from 5000 feet to the deck. When the e/a discovered we were on his tail he broke up to the right and then a break to the left in an attempt to turn into us. I had no difficulty turning inside of him firing all the way around the turn, but observed no hits. The Me 109 then went into a long straight dive for the deck. I was dead astern of him and was closing in firing and was cut out by Red leader from the right. He got many strikes all over the fuselage and cockpit. The ship crashed into the ground and was destroyed. I make no claim on that Me109.

We then climbed up to about 6000 feet and were flying east in the same area when an Fw 190 carrying a belly tank came diving down on us. We chased him to the deck. Captain Davis, Red leader overtook him and opened fire, got a few hits but overran him and had to pull up and to the left. The e/a then broke up to the right which gave me about a 20 degree deflection shot which I took and plastered him with strikes. He then sort of leveled out giving me a dead astern shot at about 200 yards, or less. I gave him one –two second burst hitting him all over. He caught fire and exploded while I was still firing. The ship then broke violently down to the left and crashed straight into the ground. I lost Red leader in the overcast right after this scrap. I circled the area several times in an attempt to pick him up again but never saw him. After spiraling up to ten thousand feet I joined two ships in the 328th Sq. The lead ship of the two was flown by Lt. Quinn and the second, his wingman, Lt. Stott. The three of us bounced and Me 109 and another ship which looked like an Fw 190. As we closed in, the supposedly Fw 190 pulled up as if to drop back in on our tails so I pulled up to make an attack on him. As I came into range I identified him as a Yellow nose P-47. I joined up with him and started home. The two of us ended up in a group of P-47s on the way home, with whom I came home.
Serial No of A/C: 43-6658   Markings: HO-F   Ammo Exp: 241 API.
William E Fowler, 1st Lt. AC.
 
September 2, 1998
I can’t remember the exact date but it was prior to the D-Day invasion. We weren’t scheduled to fly a mission that day. Back at the 487th pilot’s shack where we spent time if there was no mission or if you weren’t scheduled to fly. Our pilot’s shack was a Quonset hut with a fireplace, a large wall with the entire squadron compliment listed on it. It show who was flying, who was missing in action (MIA) and those killed in action (KIA). Our intelligence officer had a small room at the back of the pilot’s room. He interrogated us after each mission.
Also adjoining the pilot’s Quonset was a parachute room. This was used for storing our parachutes, Mae Wests (floatation device) and our flying togs. Several times Lt. McIntyre would take down his chute from the rack and sling the harness over his arms and back. Then he would lunge forward in a crouched position in a jumping motion. After seeing him do this for several days just before going out to our ships for takeoff on a mission I asked him, “What the hell are you doing McIntyre?” He replied, “You know one of these days I might have to bail out of my airplane and I am practicing.” We all got quite a laugh out of that.

About two weeks later no mission was scheduled. It was a nice sunny warm day for a change and we were out in front of the pilot’s shack in the warm sun on the ground. All of a sudden I saw a P-51 spinning down. I exclaimed, “He look at that!” We watched the airplane spin all the way down to the ground. As it happened, we had two new pilots in the outfit and McIntyre was given the job of giving them a little refresher course in the air of combat tactics. This was more or less some high powered aerobatic flying. It was also a check on their flying ability. They were flying in trail (rat racing) doing steep dives, climbs, chandelles, Immelmann turns, etc.

It seemed like after a long, steep dive and pull out, the second airplane made a very sharp pullout and it was assumed the pilot had blacked out and flew right into McIntyre in the lead ship. McIntyre told us he crawled out onto the win. He said he sat next to the fuselage right at the trailing edge of the wing. There were no forces acting on his body at all. He said he could have comfortably ridden all the way to the ground. Of course that would have been fatal. He got up, walked to the end of the wing and jumped off.  After that I never saw him practice his jumping in the parachute room again.
Result, two airplanes lost, one pilot killed.

May 24, 1944
About 1150, Blue Flight, consisting of Lts. Luksic, Hannon, Whisner and myself, came down to the deck in the Stendal area to strafe. I first shot up some high tension wires. The four of us then made a pass at 4 locomotives. Lt. Whisner hit and damaged at least 3 of the 4 on his first pass. He maneuvered for another pass while the rest of us rejoined and proceeded on a course of due west. I shot up two flak towers on the way and another high tension line. We then attacked a locomotive freight train and shot it up. I next shot up a tug boat, observing strikes all along the waterline which probably caused the boat to sink. My next target was an electric locomotive which I damaged. As I attacked this last target, Lts. Luksic and Hannon made a pass at an A/D in the Ulzen area. I did not see the field until too late to join them. They both were shot down by very intense flak on their first pass. Finding myself alone I climbed to 30,000 feet and came home.
Claim: 2 High tension wires, 2 Flak towers, 2 locomotives (1 shared with Lts Luksic and Hannon), 1 Tugboat.
Serial No of A/C: 7167   Markings: HO-D   Ammo Exp: 474 API. 682 I.
William E Fowler, 1st Lt. AC.
 
24 May 1944
Lt. Luksic and Lt. Hannon had just strafed and airdrome in the vicinity of Stendal, when Lt. Luksic pulled up and said his left gas tank had been hit and he was going to bale out. When he reached an altitude of about 1500-2000 feet, he half rolled, released his canopy and left the ship. I saw his chute open about three seconds after he was clear of the plane.
Before Lt. Luksic had reached the ground, Lt Hannon called me and said his oil pressure was going. About three minutes later has ship was smoking badly and he called and said the engine was frozen and he was crash landing. He crash landed and I saw him stand up in the cockpit and climb out. I then proceeded home. I was the third man in the flight of three before they went down.
William E Fowler, 1st Lt. AC.

October 25, 1998
Some people say my memory is flawed and they are probably right but this I remember real well:

June 5, 1944
We had a fighter sweep mission over France this day which was very uneventful. We returned about the middle of the afternoon. Two pilots and myself were leaving the pilot’s room on the line and walking back to our Quonset hut barracks. As we walked we noticed the maintenance people were painting white stripes on the P-51s’ wings and fuselages. Old know it all “Flaps” said, “Guess we’ll have an invasion in a couple of days”.
That evening after chow we were just sitting around talking, some guys were writing letters. About eight o’clock a noncom came in and said pilots will go to bed. Well, we knew what that meant.  This was it, the invasion was imminent. At eleven o’clock pm the same noncom came in and said, “All pilots will report to the mess hall.” You can bet your boots that we didn’t get any sleep between eight and eleven pm.
At the mess hall we got the finest meal we’d ever had since arriving in England but we didn’t really enjoy it. It was like the last supper!

We went from the mess hall to the Group briefing room As we entered the briefing room we noticed all the strange faces. They were flown in from the States the day before. From this we realized Colonel Joe Mason was right. These were to be our replacements as we were shot down.

Joe Mason was a bird Colonel and the field Group commander. He was a good pilot and a serious man. I think he felt the pressure of being the group commander, especially at this time. As he talked to us as a group at these briefings, I think his concern was passed on to us. He once said that we’d fly so much during the invasion that we’d have to have tooth picks propping our eyes open. We were briefed and told to return to our squadrons to await takeoff at 2:30 am.

You can imagine what an eerie sight that was, 48 airplanes taxiing around the field to get in position for takeoff! In the darkness you could see the little green, red and white wing and tail lights as these airplanes zig-zagged down around the outer edge of the field. They had to zig-zag because in position on the ground you couldn’t see over the nose of the P-51. We were instructed to take off as we did in the daylight, four ships abreast.

The first flight of four planes made the takeoff OK but in the process the tail wheel of one caught the wire of the guide lights and ripped them out of commission. The second flight lined up using a compass.  Well the second flight leader made a slight error and that put the other planes in error for the takeoff. Without a guide light to help line up, the compass is a pretty poor tool for line up at night.

As a result Lt. Robert Frascotti flew into the new control tower which was under construction. Carrying better than four hundred gallons of gasoline it made quite a fire when it impacted. The field lit up like daylight and the men at the 328th barracks said the .50 calibre bullets were going off like mad.

I remember my mouth dropped open and I just sat there staring at the fire. Colonel Mason came on the radio and said, “We’ll take off individually.” I don’t know how long I sat there in a daze, but someone came on the radio and said “Get out there Fowler, you’re next.” I taxied out to the corner of the field and took off into the blackness of that night. You see after looking at that burning airplane and control tower the night looked black as ink.
I don’t know where the rest of my outfit went, I could not locate them. I eventually joined up with an airplane from the 328th Squadron. As it turned out he was a Colonel who was supposed to be leading the big show. Because it was so secret, he happened to be off the base when it all started and he was late for takeoff. We flew together for the rest of the mission. I turned my recognition lights on and he kept calling me telling me they were on. Finally I said “Don’t you see those ships down there? I want them to know I’m friendly.
We flew the whole mission and never saw a German airplane. As I recall there was only one German plane seen all day. The invasion must have been a surprise move on them.

July 18, 1944
I was leading Red Flight. About 0915 our squadron sighted a large formation of about 50 plus T/E A/C (Twin Engine aircraft). I kept my flight up for cover since I knew there were probably Me 109s or Fw 190s giving top cover for the T/E ships below. I sighted and chased two ships which from a tail view appeared to be 190s. They were at 27,000 feet. Upon overtaking them I saw they were Me 109s. As I closed into range they attempted t out climb us but failed. I opened fire at 200 yards or less, slight deflection, and got hits all over the fuselage of the last 109. He started smoking and went down out of control. Lt. Clark, flying Red 3 saw this E/A explode at 24,000 feet according to his statement annexed. I immediately pulled over and took a ring lead on the lead 109 and opened fire. After increasing my lead to about two Radii, I saw strikes covering the cockpit and wing roots. The 109 then went into a spin and started burning at 20,000 feet according to Lt. Clark’s statement annexed. I believe the pilots of both ships were dead since I saw no one bale out of either ship. In addition to Lt. Clark Lt. Littge saw both ships burning and spinning down.  
Serial No of A/C: 4807   Markings: HO-X   Ammo Exp: 340 API.
William E Fowler, 1st Lt. AC.

I was flying Red 3. Red Leader, Lt. Fowler attacked the rear one of two Me 109s and after getting hits, the E/A started burning, went into a spin and exploded at 24,000 feet. Lt Fowler then attacked the other and after getting strikes on it, the E/A went spinning down, burning as it went.
Submitted in corroboration of claim of Lt. Fowler to 2 Me 109s destroyed.
John F. Clark, 1st Lt. AC.

I was flying Red 2 Wingman to Lt. Fowler. The first 109 he attacked went spinning gown and exploded. The second 109 went down in a violent spin, burning as it spun. 
Submitted in corroboration of claim of Lt. Fowler to 2 Me 109s destroyed.
Raymond H. Littge, 2nd Lt. AC.

July 18th was the last time Flaps encountered enemy aircraft during the twelve remaining missions of his combat tour. Flowler flew his 69th and last operational mission on 8 September 1944. Three days later on September 11, 1944, his CO, Lt. Colonel JC Meyer used "Stardust" to record his best performance of the war in terms of aerial victories when he shot down four enemy fighters over Germany. Here is his combat report:
 
11 September 1944
While sweeping in above area on route to R/V with bombers we sighted bomber formations from the preceding task force 50 miles SE of us pulling contrails. About ½ distance between the bombers and ourselves were 30-plus S/E fighters in 3 gaggles of 10 each. They were pulling contrails and appeared to be forming up. We headed toward them and as we got closer they dove down out of contrail level in ones and twos. Contrail level was 28,000’ plus. At 29,000’ I identified two of them as Me 109s and attacked one as he headed down in a 60 degree dive. The whole squadron then engaged small groups of the e/a after their original gaggle had been split up. At about 17,000 feet the e/a I was chasing leveled off and I closed rapidly. He saw me and started in a steep climbing turn, my first burst was about 20 degrees deflection at 300 yards. I observed a few hits. I closed on him in the climbing turn and at 30 degrees deflection and 200 yards I got hits on the rear portion of his fuselage, pieces coming off. He split S’d, recovered and turned into me. I had little difficulty in overtaking and in turning inside of him. At 20 degrees deflection and 300 yards I got good strikes on wing-root and e/a started to smoke. It rolled over and crashed straight into the deck from 8,000 feet. Pilot seemed inexperienced, his breaks were conspicuously non-violent. He was hesitant in all his maneuvers.

After completion of this engagement I was separated from my squadron and seeing what appeared to be a dog-fight to the NW proceeded to that area at 14,000 feet to discover that it consisted of a gaggle of 15-plus bandits, (109s & 190s) at 12 to 8,000 feet. They had belly tanks and appeared to be forming up. I approached them from out of the sun and attacked the # 2 of a pair of e/a that were farthest from the mass. I fired at 15 degrees deflection from 300 yards to point blank range. The e/a burst into flames. I broke into the sun, cleared my tail and attacked the element leader, at 300 yards I got strikes in the vicinity of the cockpit and wing-roots. The e/a rolled over and spiraled down, crashing into the ground. Neither of these e/a indicated having observed my attacks, until in the case of the element leader, he was hit.

Then I saw a lone Me109 emerging from a cloud in the vicinity of the large enemy gaggle. And as I was not yet under attack I attacked the e/a. Only my right wing guns were now firing so I opened at 200 yards and no deflection closing to point blank range and 10 degrees deflection. I saw strikes all over the e/a and pieces flew off the tail and fuselage. He caught fire at his left wing-root. I broke off the attack and headed for the deck and home. Shortly thereafter 2 Me109s attacked me from slightly below and directly astern. I pulled 67 inches for 30 seconds and when I got detonation reduced throttle to 55 inches. I climbed at 1,000 feet per minute. The e/a remained at about 300 yards astern and always 3 or 400 feet below. Occasionally they would pull up their noses and fire but would then drop behind. They chased me from the vicinity of Kassel to Bonn, breaking off their attack when I reached the Rhine River.
Claim 3 Me109s & 1 Fw 190 destroyed.
Serial No of A/C: 3597   Markings: HO-F   Ammo Exp: 587 API.
John C. Meyer, Lt. Col, AC.
 
After finishing his tour Flaps returned to the United States. He was awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster. With Flaps’ combat tour completed “Stardust” was reassigned to Lt. Jack “Moose” Landrum. Landrum nicknamed the Mustang “Moose”. Lt. Landrum was flying this P-51 on 24 October when he was shot down and killed while strafing at Hannover, Germany. William E.“Flaps” Fowler Jr. passed away on 24 January 2008. He is buried at Monmouth Cemetery, Warren County Illinois.

For more additional contemporary photos that go with this blog click here.

By this time in my career I had over 1,800 jumps and had logged about 150-200 hours flying. I was pretty current inside and out of an aeroplane. In the late 1980’s and early '90s a new generation of parachutes were being developed that were lighter and faster and more manoeuvrable than previous designs. They were also less docile and less forgiving than the previous generation. These new canopies were finished with a silicon coating that made them zero-porosity so performance did not degrade with age as had happened with earlier canopies. All came in a variety of sizes so the higher you loaded them up the faster they went. I had recently purchased a zippy little number called a "Jonathan" that had semi-elliptical wings and because of this feature it was very fast in a turn. The idea had come from a Spitfire wing. I still jump a similar design called a "Stiletto" made by a different manufacturer only this one is a bit smaller (higher wing loading) and faster. At the time of my incident I had about 25 jumps on my new "Jonathan".
The second jump was a sit-fly jump. In those days we called it chute assis, I guess because that’s what the French skydivers called it. Sit flying is just what it sounds like. All of the participants assume a body position in freefall that is like sitting in a chair rather than falling in a flat, belly-to-earth position. The sit position is very comfortable and affords better visibility than any other freefall position. Back in '93 this style of flying was getting popular and we had special sit-fly suits with wings on the arms and short pants giving us more drag on top and less on the legs. We also had web fingered gloves so we could catch more air. After about a year we realised that the sit body position is much easier without extra drag and these days no one wears stuff like that.

In this painting titled "Selfie with David Bowie" I've depicted myself transitioning from a sit fly position to a head down body position. The red cutaway handle is visible on the right main lift web and you can see a bit of my silver reserve ripcord handle opposite it on the left main web. 

Anyway, the skydive went as planned and we broke off at about 4,500 feet, tracked in opposite directions to deployed our main canopies. When I saddled out I took off my gloves and stowed them inside my jumpsuit and released my brakes. All modern "ram-air" canopies are packed with the brakes stowed in a medium flight position.  The brakes are also the left and right steering lines (they are sort like rudder pedals on aeroplanes in that way).  Since my canopy was new I was still wringing it out. I put it through a series of turns, dives and stalls. At the time I was working for Skydiving magazine and recently we had reported on two experienced jumpers who had been killed on the same type of canopy when they spun into the ground at low altitude for unknown reasons. Aware of this, I performed my aggressive manoeuvres above 2,000 feet.
 
With ram air parachutes we fly traffic patterns to landing just like aeroplanes; There are Downwind, Base & Final legs although the turns are are not so squared off as they are in an aircraft traffic pattern, they are more like a racetrack. When I was at about 1,100 feet I decided that I would execute a 360 degree turn to the right and then a 180 degree to the left which would put me on my Downwind leg. I checked for traffic and started the right turn. I put a lot into it and could feel the Gs which is always fun. When I rolled out on heading I immediately initiated the left turn without letting the canopy completely recover from the right turn. That was the big mistake. I was suddenly kicked around violently and laid out on my back. I tried to let up on the left toggle but it was just limp in my hand with the slack line floating lazily by my face. I had given myself severe line twists which had cinched down on steering line, locking in the control input. I couldn't see the ground or my canopy because my suspension lines were knotted tightly behind my head, pushing my chin into my chest. After one quick revolution I tried to separate my risers in an effort to get rid of the twist. That action took up a second revolution. Witnesses on the ground reported that it appeared that my canopy just "went away" and I lost at least 500-600 feet in those two turns. After the second turn I was still on my back and knew I was getting low and that I would have to chop it, so grabbed my cutaway handle located on the right main lift web of my harness and jettisoned my main canopy. Centrifugal force slung me out horizontally. Still on my back I flipped over to my belly and reached for my reserve ripcord handle which is located on the left main lift web of my harness (directly opposite the cutaway handle). It wasn't there! That’s because my harness had shifted after I chopped my main canopy. This is normal and I had told many of my students to expect it so it was no big surprise. It was just that I was a bit in a bind for time and could not afford to be groping around. I followed the main lift web up and  found the handle up near my shoulder and pulled it with one hand but I had a "hard pull" it did not clear so I came across with my right hand and punched it out for all I was worth and it cleared. I watched the pilot chute launch off my back and felt the free bag containing my reserve go so there was nothing left for me to do except let nature take its course and hope that I had enough altitude for it to deploy. Geographically I was just off runway 9 in the vicinity of the NDB tower. I was way down “inside the bowl” and looked down at a gigantic number 9 and directly below me a little patch of what looked like grass but was actually palmettos filled my vision.  
 
All this was happening across the runway from the DZ so about a 30 or so people or so had a perfect view of what was going on while I was high but there was a line of trees that went down alongside runway 30 between me and them. They later told me that just before I went behind the pine trees all I had out was my pilot chute. Then after my body disappeared behind the trees they saw a little flash of pink. My reserve canopy (also a ram-air) was pink in those days.

Meanwhile as I was waiting for my parachute to open I didn’t take my eyes off the ground. I saw my own shadow and it was big, coming towards me and getting bigger fast. I thought "I reckon I'm not going to make it out to see dad". And that was it. No panic, no images of my life flashing before me or anything like that, just a matter of fact… I wasn’t going to make it out to see my dad. Then I was jerked upright. I had saddled out at about 15-25 feet. I figure I had less than 1/100th of a second to spare -- if that. I didn't even have time to release my brakes. I just grabbed my rear risers and flared. Nice soft landing but sure enough I was in palmettos up to my thighs and I was wearing shorts and flip-flops! It took me a bit to gather up my canopy from the prickly palmettos and presently I could hear Scotty Carbone yelling for me. He had driven the DZ truck over to me. When I told him I was OK he told me I might want to stay in the bush for a while because my wife Mindy RIP, was going to kill me for giving her such a scare. Regardless of the danger still awaiting me, I made my way through the bush to the edge of the runway where the yellow DZ truck with Scotty and my somewhat upset but relieved wife were waiting for me.

When I got back to the hangar I dropped my canopy and stepped out of my harness. When I unzipped my jumpsuit, my webbed gloves fell out on the floor and I realised if I had not taken them off I probably would have died because it would have taken a bit longer to go through my emergency procedures. I started shaking like a leaf. Before that I had been cool as a cucumber.  I went to the bar and ordered a Yoo-hoo chocolate milk drink to calm down. One of my fellow jumpers was a bit critical of how I had gotten into the emergency situation and why I didn’t have my hand on my reserve ripcord when I pulled the cutaway handle. Scotty heard him and came to my rescue saying "Don't listen to him. You did everything right. If you didn't you wouldn't be sitting here".
 
Now we knew what had killed those other jumpers. The next week when the canopy manufacturer heard of my lucky escape he gave me a call at the magazine. After what I reported, he made recommendations in the owner’s manual and in general tell people not to do what I had done. Since then I have had four subsequent cutaways. All of them have been up high but I have always had my left hand on my reserve ripcord before pulling my cutaway handle.
 
The rest of the story is that we made it out to my mom and dad’s house and my mom’s pot of sauce was indeed delicious and that meal of spaghetti and spicy Italian sausage was delicious. Later while we were having a couple of beers I told my dad I had a routine cutaway that morning and that it was no big deal. But I'm here to tell you I've really been enjoying these bonus days.

In August of 2005 Susan scored a show for me at the Qantas Founders Outback Museum in Longreach, QLD. The show was scheduled for the following winter so I needed to get cracking if I was going to have enough Australian subject matter in time for the show. Pursuing information on the internet I discovered Stan's biography, "Australian Hawk Over the Western Front" by Adrian Hellweg. I contacted Adrian and got a copy of his book which is where the above photo is from. The book gave the serial number of almost every aeroplane flown by Dallas in achieving 45 victories. Between late January and mid August 1917 Stan scored 11 destroyed and 12 Out of Control enemy machines with triplane number N5436. Now all I had to do was find out what that triplane looked like. It was easier said than done and my paintings needed to be completed by mid-April in order for them to dry in time for the show. Thinking that his plane was number 7, when I found a photo of a line-up of triplanes from Stan's unit I surmised that the third machine from the camera was N5436 and used it for the markings on my painting.

Time was zipping right on by but I managed to complete 12 paintings of Australian aircraft, among them the triplane which I titled "Queenslander Over the Western Front". Here is what it looked like.

So round about the first of my we packed all of my paintings into two large crates with wheels an shipped them around the first of May via rail to Longreach. A month later Susan and I followed. Here I am at the museum on the day after the show opened.

That was in 2006. About 10 days ago, a little over twelve years since I completed I discovered new information contradicting the paint scheme I had used in my painting. First there was this photo from a book by Norman Franks attributed to the T Mellor-Ellis Collection which stated that this was Stan's N5436 and it wasn't number 7, it had the letter "C" on the fuselage.

More searches turned up several websites that said the same thing. I also found another, more clear photo of the triplane line-up and the serial number on number 7 was legible. It is N5472 which was flown by Flight Commander H.V.Rowley. Bailleul, France, circa 1917.

That was all the evidence I needed to see what I had to do and luckily I have not sold the painting yet. Over the years there have been several instances where I have wished I could make changes upon discovery of new information but the paintings were long gone. This particular painting measures 30" x 40" and was painted on very heavy, marine quality canvas which is much rougher than the canvas I have been using since then. It was interesting to feel that coarse texture again. Here is my revisited painting updated with the new information I discovered twelve years later. 

And that folks, is my tale of two triplanes.

This evocative photo titled "Into the Jaws of Death" was taken by Chief Photographer's Mate Robert F. Sargent. It is mind boggling to imagine what those infantry men thought when the ramp was lowered and they saw that ominous vista. There were about 2,000 American casualties at Omaha Beach that day. My godfather was not one of them. The reaper caught up with him two decades later in steamy south east Asia. He was one of the first American advisors sent by JFK to Vietnam and one of the first Americans to die there. But that is another story.
  In 2012 a four year research and writing project culminated with the publication of Gold Star Aces, volumes I & II.

   Gold Star mothers and families have been in American news headlines a bit the past few years. Gold Star families are those who's daughters, sons, husbands or wives have died while on active duty in the US military. My books are about the 114 USAAF ace pilots, those who destroyed five or more enemy planes but were killed overseas during WWII. Seven of those pilots were killed on 6 June 1944. The highest scoring ace and the first to die and earn a Gold Star for his family on 6 June 1944 was nowhere near Normandy. When time ran out for him he was half a world away, in what was then Burma. 

   He was Captain Walter F. "Wally" Duke and he is credited with 10 air and 8.5 ground victories. On 6 June 1944 he took off from his base at Chittagong, India on a fighter sweep to attack Maiktila and Heho airfields in Burma. The Americans had been visiting the two airfields regularly and on 6 June the Japanese were waiting for them in superior numbers at a higher altitude. When the Lightnings neared the target they were bounced by Ki-43 Oscars from 64th Sentai. Outnumbered and in an unfavourable tactical situation the Lightning pilots had to fight their way out of the trap. After the scrap Captain Duke could not account for his wing-man Lt Baumeister. He went back into the combat area to look for him. Meanwhile Baumeister called over the R/T that he was flying over the wreck of Lt. Goodrich’s P-38 after the latter had crash landed in a dry river bed. Captain Duke acknowledged him but was never heard from again.
   Captain William Broadfoot was on the mission that day. After the Lightnings finished their runs on the airfields they were bounced. Captain Broadfoot described the events. “At the western edge of the airfield we were jumped by ‘many’ Oscars and Zeros. We had some ammunition but not enough gas to fight. The total effort was to shake them off and go home. 1 Lt. Goodrich was shot down at this time. When he was finally clear and headed over the mountains, Capt. W.F. Duke radioed that he was missing his wingman. 2 Lt. Baumeister Jr. that he had sufficient gas to make a circle back to make sure Baumeister wasn’t in trouble. Baumeister returned to base OK but Duke didn’t.”
   In May 1945 after hostilities had ended in Burma, Duke’s squadron mate Captain Hampton Boggs visited Japanese air bases and interviewed Japanese pilots and intelligence officers. They reported that on 6 June 1944, A6M Zero fighters were waiting for Duke when he circled back. They bounced him and he surprised them by turning into them. In the ensuing dogfight he shot down  three of them before he was finally shot down, this brought his  unofficial score to thirteen. Captain Duke’s final official score was ten confirmed aerial victories eight probably destroyed, thirteen damaged. 
    Captain Duke’s crash site remained undiscovered for six decades.  Wally was officially declared dead on 8 February 1946 and is listed on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery in Manila, Philippines. It was after the turn of the 21st century, during deforestation in Myanmar (formerly Burma), that an American P-38 Lightning was discovered and reported to U.S. authorities. In December 2012 a team from the U.S. Army arrived at the crash site and found that the serial numbers matched Duke's aircraft. Walter's remains were recovered from the wreckage and his sister, Eleanor Ann Fearns provided a DNA swab for positive identification.
    Captain Duke was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf clusters, Air Medal with two Oak Leaf clusters, Purple Heart, the Canadian War Medal (1939-1945) and the British Burma Star.
   By coincidence the runways at the airport in Duke’s home county are numbered 11 and 29. Captain Duke’s last mission course was 110 degrees out and the reciprocal, 290 degrees back. Wally Duke is now buried in the family plot at old St. Aloysius Cemetery in Leonardtown, Maryland. It was a long journey home.

I recall reading somewhere that contrary to the PRO release, Bill did not want to have that name for his plane, it was actually the PR officer who thought it would be a good idea. Anyway, a couple of years after moving to Uruguay I made this pencil drawing of Whisner and "Princess Elizabeth" which was meant to depict him scoring a shared victory over an Me 109 on 30 May 1944. He shared the kill with his buddy George Preddy. I've always liked this drawing and think it would make a great painting but I've painted so many blue nosed Mustangs over the years including Whisner's subsequent P-51D, that I have been reluctant to do another one unless it is a commissioned work. Recently I've been tossing around the idea of creating a painting using the same composition but changing the markings to depict a Tuskegee Airman Mustang instead as I think more attention should be focused on their contribution to victory in WWII.

The real "Princess Elizabeth" only lasted for a week after that sortie. She was shot down by flak on D-Day, 6 June 1944 with another pilot at the controls. These days there is a restored warbird on the air show circuit that bears similar markings. The actual  aeroplane is a beauty to behold but sadly the markings on it are not historically correct. Here is a photo I found on the MustangsMustangs website.

In actual fact ground crews were hard pressed to get the black and white invasion stripes painted on the planes between close of business on 5 June 1944 and the first mission the following morning. They simply painted over the fuselage codes and as time permitted in the following days they relocated the aircraft ID letters to the tail. They never had a chance to do so for "Princess Elizabeth" because she was a wreck in France by sundown on the 6th. I reckon the owners made an aesthetic decision to remove the "W" from the fuselage and paint it on the tail. When you own an aeroplane you can paint it any way you want. Unfortunately this has resulted in revisionist history because modellers and artists are unknowingly depicting this Mustang incorrectly.
And the beat goes on...

If you are interested in more on Bill Whisner check him out at this link: http://www.starduststudios.com/william-t-whisner.html