Scope and Contents In this two-part oral history, fighter ace Eugene Ralph Hanks discusses his military service with the United States Navy during World War II. In part one, he describes his experiences as a fighter pilot with Fighting Squadron 16 (VF-16) in the Pacific Theater. Special focus on a combat mission on November 23, 1943 in which Hanks scored several aerial victories against a formation of Japanese fighter aircraft. He also discusses incidents from his flight training and briefly describes his...

Scope and Contents

Fighter ace Thomas S. Harris discusses his military service with the United States Navy during World War II. He describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time with Fighting Squadron 18 (VF-18) and Fighting Squadron 17 (VF-17) in the Pacific Theater. Special focus on a combat mission on April 12, 1945 in which he downed a Kawanishi N1K-J “George” aircraft near Kikaishima, Japan.

Scope and Contents Fighter ace Ivan S. Hasek is interviewed about his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time in Europe with the 353rd Fighter Squadron of the 354th Fighter Group. Special focus on a mission on March 16, 1945 in which Hasek’s flight encountered a large group of Messerschmitt Me 109s near Limburg, Germany. Hasek scored four-and-a-half aerial victories during the ensuing dogfight....

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Fighter ace Herbert B. “Stub” Hatch, Jr. discusses his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time in the Mediterranean Theater with the 71st Fighter Squadron of the 1st Fighter Group. Special focus on a dive-bombing mission against an oil refinery in Ploiești, Romania on June 10, 1944. During the mission, Hatch scored several aerial victories and became “an ace in a day.”

Scope and Contents In this two-part oral history, fighter ace Thomas L. Hayes, Jr. is interviewed about his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. In parts one and two, he describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time in the South Pacific with the 35th Pursuit Group and his time in Europe with the 357th Fighter Group. Topics discussed include his training and service history, his missions in Java with the 17th Provisional Squadron, and his...

Scope and Contents In this two-part oral history, fighter ace Edwin L. Heller discusses his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He describes his experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time in Europe with the 486th Fighter Squadron of the 352nd Fighter Group. Special focus on a bomber escort mission to Germany on May 8, 1944 in which Heller scored two aerial victories and afterwards managed it back to England in a damaged North American P-51 Mustang....

Scope and Contents Fighter ace Frank A. Hill discusses his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time in England and North Africa with the 31st Fighter Group. Topics discussed include his participation in the Dieppe Raid in August 1942, incidents at Tafaraoui Airfield during Operation Torch, and several combat missions during the Tunisian Campaign.Some of the audio may be difficult to hear...

Scope and Contents Fighter ace Besby F. Holmes is interviewed about his military service with the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He describes his experiences as a fighter pilot and his time with the 47th Pursuit Squadron while stationed in Hawaii in 1941. Special focus on his experiences during the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. Topics discussed include his visit to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on the evening of December 6th, his rush to return to base when Japanese forces attacked the...

Scope and Contents In this two-part oral history, fighter ace Curran L. Jones discusses his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. In part one, he describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time in the Pacific Theater with the 39th Fighter Squadron. In part two, he provides clarifying details about his experiences and also gives an overview of his postwar assignments with the Air Force and his civilian careers. Topics discussed include his combat...

Scope and Contents In this two-part oral history, fighter ace Richard C. Lampe discusses his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. In part one, he describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time in the Mediterranean and European Theaters with the 2nd Fighter Squadron of the 52nd Fighter Group. In part two, he provides clarifying details regarding his experiences. Topics discussed include his personal background, his training and service history,...