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    P-40 Warhawk Aces of the MTO
    P-40 Warhawk Aces of the MTO
    P-40 Warhawk Aces of the MTO
    Ebook212 pages2 hours

    P-40 Warhawk Aces of the MTO

    By Carl Molesworth and Jim Laurier

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    About this ebook

    Thrown into action following the Torch landings of late 1942, the 'green' American pilots flying the obsolescent P-40F suffered cruelly at the hands of seasoned German fighter pilots flying superior machines.

    Those that survived learnt quickly, and a handful of Warhawk pilots succeeded in making ace by the time the Axis forces surrendered in North Africa. The action then shifted to Sicily and Italy, and the P-40 remained in service until mid-1944.

    This book charts the careers of the 23 men who succeeded in making ace during that time, despite the advent of much better P-47 and P-51 fighters.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateJan 20, 2013
    ISBN9781472800640
    P-40 Warhawk Aces of the MTO
    Author

    Carl Molesworth

    Carl Molesworth is a former newspaper and magazine editor now working as a freelance writer and editor. A graduate of the University of Maryland with a BA in English, Molesworth served as an enlisted man in the USAF from 1968 to 1972 before becoming an award-winning journalist for 35 years and then transitioning to full-time book writing. He has been researching and writing about fighter operations in World War II for nearly 30 years. His 14 previous titles include three books in Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces series, three in the Aviation Elite Units series and two in the Duel series. He is best known for his writing about the China-Burma-India theatre and the Curtiss P-40 fighter. He lives in Washington, USA.

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      Book preview

      P-40 Warhawk Aces of the MTO - Carl Molesworth

      COMMENTARY

      INTRODUCTION

      P-40 Warhawk pilots of the United States Army Air Force assigned to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) during World War 2 never achieved the notoriety accorded to their brothers-in-arms in the Pacific and in China. This is unfortunate, but perhaps not surprising.

      Although P-40 squadrons played a key role in the air war over North Africa, Sicily and Italy during 1942-43, the press paid little attention to them. For the most part, they operated far from the media centres on desolate landing strips close to the frontlines. Their aeroplanes weren’t sleek new Lightnings nor legendary Spitfires, but the ubiquitous Curtiss P-40, a type better known at the time for its performance shortcomings than for its attributes of outstanding toughness and versatility. Maybe even more important in the eyes of the contemporary press, P-40 pilots in the MTO did not run up big personal scores of enemy aircraft destroyed.

      But shooting down enemy aircraft was not the primary task of these Warhawk pilots. They were engaged in fighter-bomber operations, the forerunner of what is known today as tactical aviation. Their job was to batter enemy ground forces from their frontline positions to their lines of communications and supply, many miles to the rear. Some days their assignments were direct bombing and strafing attacks, and on other occasions they would provide fighter escort for medium bombers. If enemy aircraft attempted to intervene, the P-40 pilots were expected to fight them off and then complete their primary bombing mission. It was a rare day indeed when P-40s were sent out with the express purpose of seeking and destroying Axis aircraft, but they could do that, too, with vicious effectiveness. Just ask any Messerschmitt pilot who encountered them over Marble Arch, Cape Bon, Sardinia or Anzio.

      Despite its shortcomings, the Curtiss P-40 was an excellent weapon for this type of air combat. It was never the fastest nor highest climbing aeroplane in the sky, but it was tough, reliable, well armed, and capable of carrying a substantial bomb load over a respectable range. And unlike in China and the Pacific, it was more manoeuvrable than were the enemy fighters it encountered. P-40 pilots in the MTO may have wished they were flying more modern Lightnings, Thunderbolts or Mustangs, but the Warhawk was the only American fighter available to them at the time, so they made the best of it.

      It is a little recognised fact that the P-40 was the most numerous American fighter in the MTO until early 1944, equipping five full fighter groups at its peak during the summer of 1943. The pilots in these units were credited with a respectable total of 592 confirmed victories in P-40s, and 16 of them reached ‘ace’ status with five or more enemy aircraft destroyed. This is their story.

      I have always had a soft spot for stories about underdogs, so I took on the challenge of writing about Warhawk pilots in the MTO with great enthusiasm. My only regret is that the limitations of this book did not allow me to also detail the outstanding service rendered by the ground personnel who supported the pilots. They suffered through the sand storms, the floods, the flies, the bad food, the bombing and strafing raids, the artillery barrages, and the other miseries of life in the MTO, just as the pilots did. These men worked long hours in terrible conditions, and many of them did it for three years or longer before they went home. They are truly the unsung heroes of this story.

      In the course of gathering material for this book, I have made contact with many wonderful people who have connections to the P-40 units of the MTO. As I write this, I am looking at two storage bins full to bursting with personal accounts, photographs, official documents, books and other items that they sent me related to their experiences, or the experiences of loved ones. I sincerely appreciate the trust they have placed in me to tell this story, and I only wish I could have incorporated something from each of them into this book.

      Carl Molesworth

      Washington

      September 2001

      WARHAWKS OVER ‘THE BLUE’

      The teletype in the headquarters office of the 57th Fighter Group (FG) at East Boston, Massachusetts, began to clatter on the morning of 24 June 1942 with a message from the Eastern Defense Command Headquarters, United States Army Air Force. This was not unusual. For six months, since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the US into World War 2, the 57th FG had been receiving a steady stream of orders and instructions as it worked up to combat readiness while providing air defence for the New England area of the USA.

      On this day, however, the teletype spat out a message that everyone in the unit had been anticipating for months. In the terse language of the military, Special Order No 168 told 72 pilots that they were going into combat.

      ‘The officers on the attached roster . . . will proceed without delay to Mitchell Field, New York, reporting to the commanding general, I Fighter Command’, the order stated. ‘Upon completion of this temporary duty they will proceed to station outside limits of Continental United States. This is a permanent change of station. Dependants will not accompany any of these officers’.

      The 57th FG had been activated on 15 January 1941. The war in Europe was already in its 17th month by then, and American leaders could see the likelihood of their own nation being drawn into the conflict. US military forces had been badly neglected during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and now a mad dash was beginning to bring it back up to strength.

      Growth came in fits and starts for the 57th FG during 1941, as men were assigned to the unit out of training schools and just as rapidly transferred back out, after gaining a little experience, to form the nuclei of other new combat units being formed. Likewise, the number of Curtiss P-40 fighters assigned to the group grew slowly over the course of the year – see Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 35 - P-40 Warhawk Aces of the CBI, for more information about the development of the Curtiss P-40.

      When the United States entered World War 2 in December 1941, the 57th FG was initially assigned to provide air defence in the New England area. Here, a 64th FS P-40C is prepared for a flight at Bradley Field, Connecticut. It bears the tail code ‘22/57P’ (barely legible) in yellow on its fin (Lou Lederman)

      Pilots of the 65th FS/57th FG pose in their flying gear in front of the sandbagged operations building at Groton, Connecticut, shortly after the declaration of war. The squadron commander, Capt Philip G Cochran, is standing third from the right. The others are, from left to right, 2Lt Gilbert O Wymond, unknown, 1Lt Arthur G Salisbury, 2Lt Thomas W Clark, 2Lt Roy Whittaker and unknown. Both Salisbury and Wymond would later command the squadron, and the former also commanded the 57th FG from December 1942 through to April 1944 (Ed Silks)

      By October 1941, the group was considered of sufficient strength and experience to conduct a cross-country exercise. Leaving from its main base in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, the 57th FG flew all the way across the nation to McChord Field, Washington. Bad weather and other problems plagued the flight, and the group lost nearly half of its 25 aeroplanes, with four pilots being killed in crashes.

      Once back in New England, the 57th FG settled into a steady schedule of air defence patrols and practice missions, as its pilots and technicians honed their skills in preparation for deployment to a combat zone. With the arrival of Special Order 168, the men of the 57th knew they were on their way overseas. Topping the list of pilots was Maj Frank H Mears, who would serve as group commander. He and 27 other pilots were already members of the 57th FG – the rest were drawn from two other fighter groups, the 33rd and 56th, then still in training. Now the big question for the pilots was where were they going?

      The answer, or at least a pretty strong hint, awaited them at Mitchell Field, where the USAAF had assembled 72 brand-new Curtiss P-40F Warhawks for the 57th FG to take overseas. These aeroplanes differed from the P-40s that the pilots had been flying in two key ways. Most importantly, the F-model was powered by the Packard V-1650-1 Merlin engine, a license-built version of the superlative Rolls-Royce powerplant installed in British Spitfires and Hurricanes. This engine was similar in size and output to the Allison V-1710 installed in earlier (and later) versions of the P-40, but its superior supercharging system allowed it to produce full power at higher altitudes than the Allison could reach.

      The strongest clue, however, lay in the camouflage scheme that each of the P-40Fs had been adorned with. It was not the ubiquitous Olive Drab that the pilots were accustomed to seeing. These Warhawks had been finished in a colour the Army called ‘Desert Tan’, although the paint exhibited a distinctly pinkish hue. Where else could the 57th be going with aircraft painted this way but to the deserts of North Africa?

      June 1942 was a critical month for the British Commonwealth forces fighting in North Africa. Their see-saw war had started two years earlier, when Italy declared war on Great Britain in June 1940. The RAF in Egypt immediately launched air attacks against the Italians in neighbouring Libya. Emboldened by their German ally’s successes in northern Europe, the Italians then advanced eastward into Egypt in September 1940.

      A British counterattack in December pushed them back, and within two months, British forces had advanced some 1000 miles to El Agheila, capturing more than 100,000 Italian troops in the process. To head off further disaster, Germany entered the desert war at this point.

      German General Erwin Rommel and his soon-to-be-famous Afrika Korps attacked in April 1941, and within two weeks the British had been pushed all the way back into Egypt. There, a stalemate developed, as German resources were diverted to the Nazi attack on the Soviet Union. The British mounted a second campaign late in the year, and by mid-January 1942 they again were deep inside Libya. But once more, their success was fleeting, for Rommel struck back on 26 May 1942 at Gazala and pushed British forces all the way back to El Alamein, in Egypt, which was less than 100 miles from Alexandria.

      Just as Rommel’s advance was picking up steam, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington, DC, to discuss war plans with US president Franklin D Roosevelt. Early on, the two leaders had agreed on a ‘Europe first’ policy for the defeat of the Axis powers. American-made war materials were being shipped across the Atlantic at a ferocious pace, but thus far Roosevelt had been reluctant to commit US combat forces to the European conflict piecemeal. He preferred to build up American forces to sufficient strength to open a second front on the continent with one smashing blow.

      Now, however, with the British backed up in Egypt again and Soviet leader Josef Stalin demanding relief from the German invasion of his country as well, Roosevelt agreed to commit American combat units to North Africa. Among them would be six fighter groups of the USAAF, the first of which was to be operational in-theatre by 1 September 1942. That group would be the 57th FG.

      Pilots began arriving at Mitchell Field within 25 hours of receiving Special Order No 168. There, they were surprised to learn that they would be travelling overseas on a US Navy aircraft carrier, and that they would have to fly their P-40s off the ship when they arrived at their destination.

      One of those pilots was 2Lt Dale Deniston, who had transferred in from the 33rd FG. He described his short stay at Mitchell in his privately published book, Memories of a Fighter Pilot;

      ‘I went up to Mitchell Field on the early morning train. When we arrived at the base, the airfield contained 75 brand new P-40Fs painted a pink colour, which we guessed might be desert camouflage. We were processed with shots, dental and physical exams, and drew sidearms, winter flying gear and all sorts of stuff. Then we met our aeroplanes – mine was number 84. All the aircraft were brand new, with only four hours total engine and flight time on each

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