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#1
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Not everybody wants to fight
Been exchanging memoirs with some vets and offer this extract, fwiw:
"One of the pilots that was with me in cadet and P-40 training was transferred to a non-flying assignment. He had been with the squadron since September 1943 and had not flown one combat mission. He just didn’t want to fly the P-38, so he managed to stay drunk all the time. He did check out in the plane and flew locally, but refused to fly combat. "There was one incident that I’m sure contributed to his condition. When we moved to Sicily to bolster the 12th Fighter Wing during the invasion of Italy, he was supposed to fly one of our planes from Mateur to Dittaino. When he arrived over Sicily, he flew to the northern shore and started looking for the airfield (the field was on the eastern coast). He spotted a field near Palermo that had a P-38 parked on the ramp. The field had one very short north-south runway. The north end stopped at the edge of the beach and the south end stopped in a canyon. The windsock indicated that the wind was out of the north, so he maneuvered into the canyon, flew down to the runway, did a fighter-type 360-degree approach, and attempted to land. The runway had a very steep slope toward the sea and he was “hot.” The result? One P-38, wheels up, and in the water. After that, you couldn’t get him to fly even in the local area." Chris Mark |
#2
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"Chris Mark" wrote in message ....snip .. When we moved to Sicily to bolster the 12th Fighter Wing during the invasion of Italy,...snip Chris Mark Nice story, old chap but the 12th was a B-25 outfit during the war, didn't become a Fighter-Escort unit until 1950, assigned to SAC. Perhaps the booze was flowing too freely when you were priming the old vets? We have the same recurring problem periodically on RAM NG. |
#3
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From: "Phineas Pinkham"
Nice story, old chap but the 12th was a B-25 outfit during the war, didn't become a Fighter-Escort unit until 1950, assigned to SAC. The 12th Fighter Wing mentioned in this anecdote was "Provisional," assigned to the XII Air Support Command for the invasion of Sicily. The "B-25 unit" you may be thinking of was the 57th Bomb Wing, part of the 12th Air Force. Although organization changed during the war, the below is the arrangement as it was toward the end of 1944: The 12th AF, divided into 3 main units: - MATAF (Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force) - MACAF (Mediterranean Allied Command Air Force) - XII TAC (Tactical Air Command), based in France after the landings there. These 3 units were subdivided thus: MATAF 42nd Bomb Wing (B-26) 17th BG - 319th BG - 320th BS 57th Bomb Wing (B-25) 310th BG - 321st BG - 340th BG DAF 79th FG (P-47) XXII TAC 47th BG - 27th FG - 57th FG - 86th FG - 350th FG - 414th NFS - 416th NFS 51st TCW (C-47) 60th TCG - 62nd TCG - 64th TCG 3rd PG (P-51) 3rd PG (P-51) MACAF 417th NFS (Beaufighter) XII TAC 324th FG 111th TRS 415th NFS Perhaps the booze was flowing too freely when you were priming the old vets? E-mail exchange. We have the same recurring problem periodically on RAM NG. No kidding. Chris Mark |
#4
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"Chris Mark" wrote in message From: "Phineas Pinkham" Nice story, old chap but the 12th was a B-25 outfit during the war, didn't become a Fighter-Escort unit until 1950, assigned to SAC. The 12th Fighter Wing mentioned in this anecdote was "Provisional," assigned to the XII Air Support Command for the invasion of Sicily. No such Unit listed (12th FtrWg) The "B-25 unit" you may be thinking of was the 57th Bomb Wing, part of the 12th AF No, the Unit was the 12th BmGp stationed at Ponte Olivo, Scily , Gerbini,Sicily, Foggia,Italy , B-25's. |
#5
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"Phineas Pinkham" wrote in message "Chris Mark" wrote in message ...snip . When we moved to Sicily to bolster the 12th Fighter Wing during the invasion of Italy,...snip Chris Mark Nice story, old chap but the 12th was a B-25 outfit during the war, didn't become a Fighter-Escort unit until 1950, assigned to SAC. Perhaps the booze was flowing too freely when you were priming the old vets? We have the same recurring problem periodically on RAM NG. The 12th FtrSq was a P-38 Unit assigned to the 18th FtrGp operating in New Guinea, Phillipines and Borneo. |
#6
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From: "Phineas Pinkham"
The 12th FtrSq was a P-38 Unit assigned to the 18th FtrGp operating in New Guinea, Phillipines and Borneo. Yes, Keith, I'm aware of that. I used to know Maj. Jack Mulvey, the squadron CO at one time. What has this got to do with anything? Chris Mark |
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