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Not everybody wants to fight



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 8th 03, 09:43 PM
Chris Mark
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Default 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  
Old July 8th 03, 10:52 PM
Phineas Pinkham
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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  
Old July 9th 03, 02:00 AM
Chris Mark
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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  
Old July 9th 03, 11:48 AM
Phineas Pinkham
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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  
Old July 9th 03, 12:07 PM
Phineas Pinkham
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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  
Old July 9th 03, 04:36 PM
Chris Mark
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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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