Scope and Contents In this two-part oral history, fighter ace Louis W. “Bill” Chick, Jr. discusses his military service with the United States Army Air Forces. In part one, he describes his experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time with the 24th Fighter Squadron in Panama, the 4th Fighter Group in England, and the 317th Fighter Squadron in Italy. Special focus on a bomber escort mission in January 1944 in which he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 over Udine, Italy; several years later, Chick met the...

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Fighter ace Walter E. Clarke discusses his military service with the United States Navy during World War II. He describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot and his time in Guadalcanal and Okinawa with Fighting Squadron 5 (VF-5). Topics discussed include his combat air patrol missions at Henderson Field (Guadalcanal) and his carrier missions aboard the USSIntrepid.

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Fighter ace Jerry D. Collinsworth discusses his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot and his time in Europe and North Africa with the 307th Fighter Squadron of the 31st Fighter Group. Special focus on several combat missions, including his first aerial victory in February 1943 and a mission on March 8, 1943 in which he downed a Focke-Wulf 190 that had just shot down his squadron mate.

Scope and Contents In this two-part oral history, fighter ace Harold E. Comstock discusses his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. In part one, he describes his experiences as a fighter pilot and his time in Europe with the 63rd Fighter Squadron of the 56th Fighter Group. Special focus on several of his combat missions, including one on December 23, 1944 in which he destroyed or damaged several Focke-Wulf Fw 190s; one on September 18, 1944 in which the 56th Fighter...

Scope and Contents Fighter ace Jack E. Conger discusses his military service with the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He describes his experiences as a fighter pilot and his time in Guadalcanal with Marine Fighting Squadron 212 (VMF-212) and Marine Fighting Squadron 223 (VMF-223). Topics discussed include his flight training, military life and conditions in the Pacific Islands, and various combat missions. Special focus on a combat mission in which Conger bailed out after ramming a Japanese...

Scope and Contents

Fighter ace Paul A. Conger discusses his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot and his time in Europe with the 61st and 63rd Fighter Squadrons of the 56th Fighter Group. Special focus on several of his combat missions in Germany and the Netherlands, including one in which he encountered a large group of German planes near Emden, Germany and scored several aerial victories.

Scope and Contents Fighter ace John T. “Ted” Crosby is interviewed by historian Eric M. Hammel about his military service with the United States Navy during World War II. Crosby describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot and his time in the Pacific Theater with Fighting Squadron 18 (VF-18) and Fighting Squadron 17 (VF-17). He also touches briefly on his postwar military career. Special focus on a photo reconnaissance mission over Shikoku, Japan on March 19, 1945 in which Crosby witnessed the bombing...

Scope and Contents Fighter ace Louis E. Curdes is interviewed by historian Douglas E. Clanin about his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Curdes describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time with the 82nd Fighter Group in the Mediterranean Theater and with the 3rd Air Commando Group in the Pacific Theater. He also touches on his postwar career with the United States Air Force. Topics discussed include his time as a prisoner-of-war in Italy,...

Scope and Contents Fighter ace Phillip C. DeLong discusses his nearly three decades of military service with the United States Marine Corps. He describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time with Marine Fighting Squadron 212 (VMF-212) during World War II and with Marine Fighter Squadron 312 (VMF-312) during the Korean War. He also touches on other assignments from his military career, such as his time with the Marine Corps Aviation Guided Missile unit and with several Marine training...

Scope and Contents In this two-part oral history, fighter ace Anthony J. Denman discusses his military service with the United States Navy during World War II. In part one, he describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time in the Pacific Theater with Fighting Squadron 36 (VF-36) and Fighting Squadron 18 (VF-18). Special focus on a combat air patrol mission in October 1944 in which Denman helped defend Task Group 38.2 against a group of Japanese dive-bombers and fighter planes. In part...