The 13th Air Force did not fight the most glamorous of wars, theirs' was a war of ground attack, relentlessly destroying Japanese ground forces and infrastructure. They fought, not from centralized bases closely tied together, but from island bases, spread hundreds of miles apart.
No. 25 Squadron, RNZAF Piva Airfield, Bougainville, March – May 1944
This update brings to life another of the older articles, from around 2005-2006 and tells the story of No.25 Squadron RNZAF in Bougainville in mid 1944...
Col. James Beckwith’s 15th FG P-51D-25 Mustang “Squirt” at Iwo Jima, March-May 1944
Early on the morning of 7 April the 15th and 21st Groups were poised ready for the signal to start engines. The briefings of the day before and that morning had everyone eager to get the operation underway...
2nd Lt. John A. Weese’s USAAF P-47D-15-RE of 365th F/G, 386th F/S in June, 1944
"A short time later 2nd Lt. Weese reported that his engine was out and that he thought he could put his aircraft down behind friendly lines in the shallow water a little offshore Juno Beach. 1st Lt. Beaudrault reported that nothing more was heard from Wesse."
F/O Les Clisby’s Hawker Hurricane Mk.I of No.1 Squadron RAF, France May 1940
I present my first previously unpublished Feature Article. The subject is F/O Les Clisby and his Hawker Hurricane Mk.1. This remarkable Australian fighter pilot was noted for his aggression, both in the air and on the ground... "Remarkably, Clisby landed nearby, drew his service sidearm and chased the German crewmen across the field as they tried to escape! He captured one in a rugby tackle..." I hope you enjoy the article.
Flying Officer Ted Kosh’s Hawker Tempest V of No.3 Squadron, RAF July 1944
While it wasn't a very glamorous job, taking on the V1’s pounding southern England almost every day was still very dangerous. Tipping could damage...
Major Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weissenfeld’s MESSERSCHMITT BF 110G-4 March, 1944
...it was because Weissenfeld had been marked for elimination, that the aircraft was destroyed over the Ardennes Forest in Belgium...
