Some of the 4th FG and a lot of A-2s

[Smithy]

Had to Google him; however, you could be on the money. Are those flight boots British?

Pic is a bit shitty but yup they look like '43 Pattern "escape" boots.

 

[ausreenactor]

His moustache is a ripper....

 

[Smithy]

Dude of the Day...

A former Eagle today, Don Young who flew with 335 Sqn (121 with the RAF). 2 victories and survived the war to become a long term pilot with Delta Airlines.

 

[ausreenactor]

Interesting manner in which to wear the garrison cap?

 

[ausreenactor]

British flight helmet too!

 

[Smithy]

British flight helmet too!

All the Eagles were obviously issued British flying kit whilst in the RAF and kept it after their transfer to the 8th AF. British kit was viewed by many as superior and often highly sought after.

 

[ausreenactor]

Always new the boots were popular. I guess the plugs were easy to switch out.

 

[Smithy]

British flying boots were exceedingly well thought of, especially the 36 Pattern. The British Mae Wests were also very popular, one of the reasons why a lot of Eagles kept using their old British ones rather than take a newly issued US one.

 

[B-Man2]

One piece of British kit that saved a few American lives was the quick release parachute harness with the round twist and hit release disc feature in the center of the chest. It was issued a lot of the US Airborne paratroopers after D-Day as a result of the drownings by guys who couldn’t get out of the American harnesses when they went into water. Not sure if they were issued to the Eagle Squadron Pilots as it may have been to early in the war prior to its development.

 

[Smithy]

One piece of British kit that saved a few American lives was the quick release parachute harness with the round twist and hit release disc feature in the center of the chest. It was issued a lot of the US Airborne paratroopers after D-Day as a result of the drownings by guys who couldn’t get out of the American harnesses when they went into water. Not sure if they were issued to the Eagle Squadron Pilots as it may have been to early in the war prior to its development.

Hi Burt,

Don Young is carrying a British parachute in the photo above ;-)

 

[B-Man2]

Sad that the US didn’t pick up on that gear early on. A bunch of American lives might have been saved if they had.
Thanks for that Tim.

 

[ausreenactor]

Lives vs Dollars. Likelihood vs Conseqence. That equation still gets first priority today.

 

[Smithy]

Keeping on the Eagle theme, here's another 4th FG guy who flew with the RAF Eagle Sqns...

Dude of the Day for today is Hank Mills, a New Yorker through and through.

Hank was one of those fellows you knew at school who was good both academically and on the sports field. He played college football (American football at uni level for the non-US members) and gained a BA at Dartmouth.

When war hit he joined the RCAF in Canada and ended up with the RAF and his first operational posting was with 71 Eagle Sqn. He was shot down whilst with the 4th and at Stalag Luft III from where he escaped in March 1945.

He had 6 confirmed victories and died in 2005.

 

[B-Man2]

The back stories are as interesting as the photographs!
Love em!!

 

[ausreenactor]

Crew chief looks like he has been up all night....or he is about to be.

 

[Smithy]

Crew chief looks like he has been up all night....or he is about to be.

Although they weren't directly at the pointy end they worked like Trojans those guys, and it was long, hard work which was just about as important as it gets.

 

[ausreenactor]

Even today. 15.6 man hours for one goes flying for a CH-47F

 

[Smithy]

A couple of pages back I posted a photo of 336 Sqn on January 1 1945 and thought it might be of interest to post the photos of 335 and 334 taken on the same day.

So today's Dudes of the Day are 335 Sqn photographed on New Year's Day 1945. As with the other one, click on the pic for higher and better resolution.

Tomorrow 334...

 

[B-Man2]

Looks like B-10s were the preferred flying jackets of the day from the looks of the photo.

 

[Smithy]

Looks like B-10s were the preferred flying jackets of the day from the looks of the photo.

It's amazing how quickly the 4th took up the B-10 Burt. Photos show they were very keen on swapping their A-2s for B-10s and in short order. There were a few guys who held onto their A-2s and kept using them operationally but the majority did seem to change over to the B-10 in short order.