Guy Gibson, the glorious WWII pilot, was not always the dashing manly hero he was known to be when he unfortunately was shot down. In fact, he was denied the first time he applied to the Royal Air Force because of his short stature; he was only 5’6” (Hickman, "World War II: Wing Commander Guy Gibson."). However, a determined “Gibson reapplied in 1936 and was accepted for flight training” (Hickman, "World War II: Wing Commander Guy Gibson."). The zenith of his career was when he successfully and very precisely dropped a large bomb on the dam of Ruhr Valley while his very talented squad of aircraft pilots was fired upon by high caliber rounds from AA(Anti-Aircraft) Guns and enemy aircrafts which flew in to intercept the British heroes. His action-packed battle with the Germans involved a new method of bombing and a high speed battle of aircrafts. Gibson’s fast military preparation led him to be the best of the best WWII pilots in history. Gibson’s first kill in Squadron No. 83 was on March 21, 1941. As his kills of German pilots started racking up, his squad became inactive and Gibson had to wait long periods of time before another mission would take place, rather than wait, Gibson requested a transfer, he wanted more. He was then moved to squadron No. 29 to begin his exciting journey of heroism (Hickman, "World War II: Wing Commander Guy Gibson.").
Gibson was known to be a terrific leader, and as any successful leader would miss his previous squad but all great things must come to an end, “Gibson’s time with No. 29 Squadron concluded in December and he received a promotion to squadron leader and a bar for his Distinguished Flying Cross. In early 1942, Gibson received orders to report to No. 51 Operation Training Unit to serve as ...
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Officially credited with 80 air combat victories, 26 year old Manfred von Richthofen (“The Red Baron”) was not only Germany’s greatest Ace, but the greatest Ace of World War 2. Despite the fact that he was killed nearly 100 years ago on 21 April 1918, the question still remains: Who killed Manfred von Richthofen? While the kill was credited to be the work of Captain Roy Brown, a Canadian pilot, there are reasons to believe that the Baron was killed at the hands of a different soldier. Sergeant Cedric Popkin, of the 24th Australian Machine Gun Company is the man who was most likely to have shot his plane down. Not only was Cedric within the range the bullet was shot from, but bullet trajectory and evidence from the official autopsy comes
Collision and its Implications." Defense Technologies Information Center. 25 Jan 1994. http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA274926 (accessed Mar 23, 2012).
Billy Bishop’s path to greatness was not an easy one. He encountered many challenges throughout his young life that recognized him as a fiercer fighter pilot and a true hero. Billy Bishop faced an incredibly tough task to achieving his dream of becoming Canada’s greatest ace. Bishop had a tough life at Owen Sound Collegiate. He would be the subject to many jokes and preferred the company of girls. However his anger and fists won him acceptance on the school ground. He was a good natured boy born on February 8th, 1984. In 1911, at the age of 17, his parents sent him Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario due to his mediocre marks in school which his father knew would not allow him to get accepted to the University of Toronto. He was not an academic student and in his third year of high school was found cheating on a class exam which would later be the subject to many controversie...
Mr. Billy Bishop was an ace World War One pilot who was extremely devoted to being a pilot. Billy was a man who was loyal and courageous. The young, gentle, Canadian man was devoted to what he did, Bishop would practice flying and shooting all the time. “You’ve got to be good enough to get him in the first few bursts, so practice your shooting as much as you can. After patrols between patrols, on your day off. If I get a clear shot at a guy, he’s dead.” (Pg. 69) Billy was a role model for his devotion ...
...ation he gave black people hope to fly and all through the war, the airmen commanded by Davis had compiled an exceptional record in combat against the Luftwaffe. They flew more than 15,00 sorties, shot down 111 enemy planes, and destroyed or damaged 273 on the ground at a cost of 66 of their own planes and losing only about twenty-five bombers.
Major Ted Tolman’s F-105 Thud fighter/bomber streaked through the air at just under the speed of sound. His aircraft performed modestly at best, struggling to maintain its speed and altitude under the heavy load of ordinance and fuel it carried under its wings (Patrick).
In the initial phase of the planning, the Army practiced flying B-25 Michells on an airfield meant to simulate the flight deck of a naval aircraft carrier (WorldWar2.com). Eventually the takeoffs were attempted on an actual aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet (WorldWar2.com). The problem they had to solve was to reduce the weight of the bombers so they could take-off from the flight deck of the carrier (WorldWar2.com). When it was determined that pilots could overcome this obstacle, the command of the project was given to Lieutenant Cornel James Doolittle (Shepherd). Doolittle was the most accomplished aviator of his generation, from his PhD in aeronautics to his daring stunt flying career (Shepherd)....
You may know Adolf Hitler or President Roosevelt, but do you know Gregory “Pappy” Boyington? He may not be as famous as Hitler but he made a difference in WWII. He was a marine pilot.
Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller was born on 26th June 1898, and died on 11th October 1971. He retired in 1955 as an officer of the U.S. Marine Corps and goes down in history as the only U.S. Marine to receive five Navy Crosses. He also fought the Haiti and Nicaragua guerrillas, the Korean War, and the World War II (Russell & Cohn, 2012).
In Conclusion the feared and praised Manfred Von Richthofen is the most famous fighter pilot ace in history. Why he died can be explained with previous injury to his head and a pilot mistake to fly his plane at a dangerously low altitude within enemy grounds. We might never know who killed the famous air ace but he was a great tipping point for the allied forces. With the death of The Red Baron we gained a new confidence help defeat the exhausted and morally downed Germans.
Douglas MacArthur is a true war hero. He risked his life to defend both his and our country. Douglas MacArthur had many bad experiences in his past; his older brother, Malcolm had died of measles when Douglas was a young boy. He had a choice: don’t serve the country, you’ll live and stay out of harm’s way (for the most part) or serve the country and put your life on the line, you might die, but think of the positive: you might live! MacArthur chose to serve the country and was one of our many war heroes and I would like to acknowledge him for that.
Although to most people it may just be a brand of good tasting pizza, The Red Barron was actually a German fighter ace of World War I. His full name was Rittmeister Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, who will be referred to as von Richthofen for simplicity’s sake. By the Germans, he was called “der rote Kampfflieger” (The Red Battle-Flyer), the French called him “le Diable Rouge” (Red Devil), and in the English-speaking world he is known as “The Red Barron.” In a time of ancient aircraft technology when twenty air victories insured a pilot legendary status, von Richthofen had eighty victories, and he is still considered even today as the ace of aces (The Red Barron).
to World War II as a pilot who saves his crew from a severe storm to
Admiral Stockdale is best known for his leadership capabilities during the Vietnam War where he was the highest ranked officer in the prisoner of war camp. Stockdale was a 1946 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and became the first pilot to accumulate more than 1000 hours of flight time in the F-8U Crusader. The North Vietnamese
Pear, Tom Hatherly and Grafton Elliot Smith. Shell Shock and its Lessons. First Edition. England: Manchester University Press, 1917. http://www.vlib.us/medical/shshock/index.htm (assessed February 10, 2012).