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Apr 07, 2008 - 1:24 PM - by DerAdlerIstGelandet |
Go to the Best Pilot thread and cast your vote for who you think is the Best Pilot of WW2.
http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/avi...lot-12686.html
The Poll will be open for 20 days and then the top pilots will be put into another poll and then the top pilots there will go into another poll and so forth until we as a forum decide who we think is the best pilot of WW2.
This should spark up some good interesting conversation and maybe we can all learn something about the pilots and maybe learn some stuff about pilots that we never new.
If there is a pilot that is not in the poll and you think he should be added then dont vote and tell us in a post why you think that should pilot should be added and I will add him to the poll.
Remember this is just for fun guys...
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3 Replies | 266 Views | | Another new forum in the techical section | |
Apr 04, 2008 - 4:00 PM - by evangilder | |
Again at the suggestion of Micdrow, our technical reference demi-god, a new section has been added for flight test data. This will be a handy reference for comparison of capabilities of different aircraft.
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7 Replies | 245 Views | | WWII Triple ace gone west | |
Apr 02, 2008 - 10:22 AM - by evangilder | Quote:
March 28, 2008
Richmond Times - Dispatch
Lt. Gen. Gordon M. Graham logged more than 9,000 flying hours during his career in the Air Force.
But Graham's first flying experience came while he was working as a teenager at an airport in California in the early 1930s. Told one payday there wasn't enough money to pay him, he accepted an offer of a flying lesson instead, said his wife of 40 years, Vivian Fox Graham of Irvington.
That first experience piloting a plane became a passion for Graham, who destruction of at least 16 enemy planes during World War II made him a triple ace.
"He had a fantastic career. It was far more exciting and interesting than anything else," his wife said.
Graham, who retired from the Air Force in 1973 as commander of the 6th Allied Tactical Air Force in Izmir, Turkey, died Saturday at Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury after suffering a stroke in February. He was 90.
He was born in Ouray, Colo., and grew up in Taft, Calif. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley -- where he was a lightweight Golden Glove champion -- with a bachelor's in petroleum engineering. He joined the military in December 1940 and received his wings in August 1941.
By the end of World War II, he had flown 73 combat missions in P-51 Mustang fighter planes. He also saw combat in Korea and Vietnam, being credited with more than 1,000 combat hours in fighters.
During his career, he held various posts in the Air Force and received 55 decorations and service awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal and Silver Star.
Proud of those honors, Graham displayed them in a framed box on a wall, his wife said.
After leaving the military, Graham worked for McDonnell Douglas Corp., first as president of its Tokyo office and then as corporate vice president in Washington.
Upon retiring in 1983, Graham and his wife moved to the Northern Neck, where he volunteered with the rescue squad, the free health clinic and the Animal Welfare League.
In 1996, he published an autobiography, "Double for Down: Anecdotes of a Fighter Pilot."
In addition to his wife, survivors include two daughters, Eloise Graham Brooks of McLean and Helen Huntingdon Stubbs of Merritt Island, Fla.; a son, Gordon Alexander Elting Graham of Gig Harbor, Wash.; two stepsons, Robert Earl Fairbairn of Williamsburg and Donald Boyce Fairbairn of Darnestown, Md.; 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A memorial service is scheduled for April 4 at 11 a.m. at Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church, 3712 Weems Road, in Weems. Burial will be July 8 at 1 p.m. at Arlington National Cemetery.
| World War II Triple Ace Dies
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19 Replies | 574 Views | | Ace fighter pilot, Medal of Honor recipient dies, age 86 | |
Nov 28, 2007 - 10:24 AM - by evangilder | Quote:
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Retired Marine Col. Jefferson DeBlanc Sr., an ace fighter pilot who won the Medal of Honor during World War II, is dead at the age of 86.
DeBlanc, of St. Martinville, died Thursday at Lafayette General Medical Center, of complications of pneumonia.
His funeral Mass was scheduled at noon Monday at at St. Martin de Tours Roman Catholic Church in St. Martinville, with visitation Sunday afternoon and evening and Monday morning at Pellerin Funeral Home, also in St. Martinville.
DeBlanc was awarded Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor for bravery, for his actions during a bombing raid against the Japanese in the Solomon Islands on Jan. 31, 1943.
A lieutenant barely in his 20s, he was in charge of the six planes providing air cover.
In an F4F Grumman Wildcat, he downed two Japanese float planes and one fighter before heading back for the Naval base at Henderson Field. But he spotted two more Japanese planes coming up behind the bombers.
Because all six fighters were low on fuel, Henderson ordered the rest of his flight group back to base. He took on and shot down the two enemy aircraft alone, though it was unlikely he would have enough fuel to make it back safely.
His plane was hit, and DeBlanc parachuted into the ocean and swam all night to reach Kolombarangara Island.
There, he was captured by local tribesmen and bartered to a friendly tribe for a sack of rice.
He was eventually picked up by a Navy float plane and reunited with his squadron.
DeBlanc was decorated several times for his service in the war before and after that engagement.
He said in a 1998 interview that after he had shot down the five planes, he stopped to look at his watch, which flew off his hand a split-second later when his instrument panel exploded in his face.
He said in 1998 that he used a Japanese uniform stolen from a barge and traveled by night to reach a place where U.S. forces could be contacted and pick him up.
DeBlanc recovered from his wounds and went on to see action in several other campaigns in the war.
After the war, he returned to St. Martinville. He was a school teacher and administrator, and retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1972.
| Ace fighter pilot, Medal of Honor recipient dies, age 86 - NewsFlash - NOLA.com
Youtube videos of him on "Dogfights"
YouTube - Jefferson DeBlanc, Coon-Ace Dogfights: Guadalcanal 1 of 2
YouTube - Jefferson DeBlanc, Coon-Ace ! Dogfights: Guadalcanal 2 of 2
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