Daily Earl Millers - pls don't clutter up

[Shane]

I'll post the daily Earl's in this thread.  Hopefully, you weenies won't clutter it up too much, so I can keep them in one place....


Here's a few "back issues":

July 31

1944:  
I flew a P-39Q on a maintenance test flight for 35 minutes,
and had my first flight in a P-47.  I flew it for one hour.

1965:  
I checked out the particular A-1H aircraft that I would be
flying on scheduled dive bombing missions into North Vietnam.  
The flight time was 20 minutes  

1969:
I retired from the Unites States Air Force.
-------------------------
August 3

1942:  
I flew a Vultee BT-13 on two flights.  One was solo for
1:55 hours.  The other was a 40-minute check ride by Lt.
Barrett.  All students were given check rides after 20
hours in the BT-13.

1944:  
I flew a P-39Q on convoy patrol for 1:50 hours and a P-47D
on a familiarization flight for 1:05 hours.

1965:  
We flew another A-1H dive bombing mission against a target
in North Vietnam for 2:10 hours, returning to Danang.  
After refueling, we flew back to Nha Trang for 1:20 hours.
------------------
August 5

1943:  
I flew a P-39N for 1:55 hours and a P-38G for one hour.  
The official log Remarks column states that the P-39N
flight was "N-Taher-Beat Up".  The "N" means it was not
an operational mission.  Taher was the airfield at Djidjelli
(Jijel) where the 347th Fighter Squadron was based at the
time.  The P-38G flight was listed as "N-Local-Patrol".

1944:  
I flew a 1:30-hour formation training flight and a 1:45-hour
fighter sweep in the Florence area.  Both flights were in P-47s.

2nd Lt. William E. Hardin, 345th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group was ferrying new P-47s from the depot at
Naples to Tarquinia.  Returning after dark on the second
ferry flight, Hardin landed with the gear not fully extended
and it collapsed.  He was not injured.
(This was the day after my group ferried new P-47s from
Naples to Tarquinia.  We also landed after dark on our
second ferry flight)

1st Lt. Earnest D. Falberg, 346th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group was on a solo training flight at 35,000 feet
when his P-47 lost propellor control.  While descending,
the engine caught fire at 12,000 feet.  He bailed out near
Avezzano and hitchhiked back to Naples.
--------------------
August 11

1942:  
I had a dual flight in a BT-13 for 35 minutes.

1943:  
I flew P-39Ns for a total of 3:25 hours, of which 1:40
hours was on convoy patrol in the Algiers area.

1965:  
I flew an A-1G (the two-place Skyraider) for one hour.
------------------------
August 16

1943:  
I was scrambled in a P-39N and flew for 1:25 hours.

1944:  
I flew a P-39Q for 3:15 hours.  My logbook indicates that
one flight was to Naples and return.  The last flight was to
Alghero, Sardinia to support the invasion of southern France.

A flight of four P-47s of the 346th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group  that were on CAP over the invasion fleet
going into Southern France attacked a radar site on a hilltop
near the coast.  They received intense machine gun fire
with about a dozen rounds striking one of the aircraft.  
----------------------
August 18

1942:  
I flew a BT-13 for 3:50 hours.  Two were daytime flights
(one dual and one solo) and one was a solo night flight.

1943:  
I flew a P-39N on convoy patrol for 1:05 hours and a P-38G
for 1:25 hours on off-shore patrol in the Algiers harbor area.

1944:  
I flew a P-47D on sea patrol off the coast of southern
France for 1:55 hours.

2nd Lt. Charles H. Burgess, 347th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group, was unable to get one main gear of his P-47
to come down.  After circling the field for two hours, he
made a belly landing safely.  It is reported that the
tremendous audience that had gathered on the field and on
top of hangars, buildings, trucks and flagpoles was totally
exhausted by the long wait.  
--------------------------
August 31

1942:  
This was my last flying in Basic Training at Gunter Field.  
I flew a BT-13 for 3:20 hours, including a solo formation
flight and an instrument check ride.  My total flying time
at the completion of Basic Training  was 132 hours, of
which 57 hours was dual and 75 hours was solo.  Of this,
8:20 hours was night flying.  In addition, I had 21 hours
of Link Trainer time (instrument).

1943:  I returned to Reghaia airfield from the rest camp
near Fes, Morocco and flew a P-39N for 1:20 hours.

1944:
With the Allied capture of Livorno, the 345th Fighter
Squadron sent a detachment of eight P-47s and pilots to the
Rosignano airfield to provide intercept capability over
front line troop positions and conduct weather
recon/strafing attacks over enemy territory.  The
detachment was released on October 1, when a detachment from
the 346th Fighter Squadron took over those duties at Pisa.

The 347th Fighter Squadron sent a detachment of 12 P-47s
and pilots to Ajaccio to provide air defense of the harbor
and escort convoys to southern France.  It replaced the
345th Fighter Squadron detachment which had returned to
Tarquinia.
------------------------------
September 7

1943:
1st Lt. Ross T. Combest, 346th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group was patrolling a convoy of ships headed for
Italy via Sicily when he spotted a submarine periscope
"feathering" in the water and trailing the convoy.  He
advised the controller but the submarine disappeared before
an anti-sub aircraft arrived on the scene.

Capt. Kitt R. McMaster, 347th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group was scrambled in a P-38 and vectored toward a
couple of bogies.  When he came up behind two Me-109s in
echelon, he zoomed up, destroying the one on the left and
made a quick turn to finish off the second one.  One of the
aircraft crashed in Djidjelli, the nearest town to
McMaster's home base at Taher airfield.

1965:  I test flew an A1-G for 1:30 hours.  That aircraft was
newly assigned to the VNAF detachment at Nha Trang, South
Vietnam.
---------------------------
September 20

1943:
I flew 1:05 hours in a P-39N on convoy patrol in the
Algiers area.

1944:
My Deputy Flight Commander came by to tell me that the
flight was returning to Tarquinia tomorrow.  The doctors
in charge of my recuperation said I had not recovered
enough to go back on flying status.

[Guppy35]

the 345th FS Flight that Earl commanded in 1944.  He isn't in this photo but it was taken by one of his pilot's Art Schramm over the Po Valley in Italy in the Fall of 44.

Dan/Slack

[Shane]

September 22

1942:
I flew an AT-6 for 50 minutes.

1943:
I flew a P-39N for 45 minutes of formation practice.

1944:
1st Lt. Leecroy Clifton, 347th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group had the engine of his P-47 hit by AAA while
attacking the Parma rail yard.  He was able to reach the
foothills of the Apennine Mountains before crashing in enemy
territory.  He was rescued by the Partisans and traversed
the rugged mountain terrain, crossing the front lines near
Massa on 31 October.

EARL

[Shane]

September 23

1942:
I flew an AT-6 for 2:25 hours of formation practice of
which 2 hours was night formation flying.

earl

[Guppy35]

Don't say I'm not doing my part

Earl in front of one of the P38Gs assigned to the 345th FS, 350th FG to interecept high alt Ju88 recce birds.  The 350th at the time was flying P39s as their main ride.

Earl and others sat runway alert in the 38s to try and get to the LW recce aircraft.

Dan/Slack

[Shane]

September 24

1942:
I flew an AT-6 on a practice formation flight for 55
minutes and on a cross-country flight of 1:40 hours.  
The cross-country flight was from Spence Field, Moultree, GA  
to Bainbridge, GA to Tallahassee, FL and return to Spence.

1943:
I flew a P-39N for 1:15 hours on Dawn patrol in the
Algiers area.

1944:
I flew a P-47D on a dive bomb mission on a target in
Bologna.  As usual, the flak was very intense.  Flight
time was 2:55 hours.

earl

[Shane]

September 25

1944:
I led a flight of P-47s to bomb and strafe targets in the
Mantova area.  My flight time was 2:20 hours.

1st Lt. Hugh E. McCall, 347th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group was captured and sent to Germany as a
Prisoner of War.  His flight of P-47s was on an early
morning bombing and armed recce mission.  After dive
bombing the rail marshaling yard at Fidenzo, the flight
turned south on the Milan-Piacenza rail line looking for
targets to strafe.  The flight flew directly over gun
batteries and McCall's aircraft was hit by a stream of
machine gun rounds and three 20 mm rounds and set on fire.  
McCall zoomed up to 2500 feet and bailed out, landing on
the north side of the Po River while his aircraft had
crashed on the south side of the river.  He was captured
immediately.

2nd Lt. Virgil B. Roush, 345th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group was a member of a flight of P-47s scheduled
for a dive bombing mission.  Shortly after takeoff the
mission was canceled by higher headquarters.  The flight
jettisoned its bombs in the sea and returned to land at
Tarquinia.  As Rouse was turning on his final approach with
a full load of fuel, the tower changed the direction of
traffic due to a cross-tail wind.  On his go around attempt,
the aircraft stalled in a turn, flipped upside down,
cartwheeled upon impact with the ground and disintegrated,
strewing engine and aircraft parts over a wide area.  The
cockpit caught on fire, giving Roush burns on 35 percent of
his body.  He was hospitalized for three months and returned
to the squadron in December.

earl

[Guppy35]

A couple more Jugs from Earl's flight.  Taken by Art Schramm

Gotta love those Devilhawk Jugs.

Dan/Slack

[Guppy35]

Sorry Shane, I'm cluttering it up

Earl "Dutch" Miller on the left.
Art Schramm on the right.

He's the one who took the inflight photos of those Devilhawk Jugs.

Note the USAAF pilots wearing RAF Mae Wests.

Dan/Slack

[Shane]

No, Dan, you're adding to it, not cluttering.  Thanks
----------------------
September 26

1943:
I flew a P-39N for 2:50 hours on a squadron formation flight.

1944:  
I led a flight of eight P-47s loaded with napalm on my
first L-5-directed Rover Joe mission.  Our target was a
large masonry building just a little south of Bologna
which I later learned was a Nazi Headquarters and that the
ground forces were about to make a push to capture the area.  
After the L-5 pilot pointed out the target to me, he flew
off to one side.  When he did so, the whole place erupted
in both small arms and 88 fire.  I called to him to return
to the target area.  He said he was afraid we would collide
with him.  I told him that if he stayed to the south of the
target, he would be safe.  As soon as he came back, all the
flak stopped.   The Germans were afraid to fire when they
could be observed by the observation plane.  We covered the
entire building with our napalm and was amazed at the amount
of fire the sixteen canisters produced.  A 5th Army report
the squadron received later stated that the people inside
had suffocated from a lack of oxygen.  My flight time was
only 1:45 hours because there was no strafing involved.

1965:
I flew an A1-G for 1:10 hours.

Earl

[Guppy35]

Just got this image yesterday.

 It's enough to make us fictional P38 drivers weep.  Earl in the cockpit of a P38G on strip alert for LW recce birds in North Africa

Dan/Slack

[Shane]

September 27

1944:
I led a flight of P-47s and bombed and strafed targets in the
Mantova area.  My flight time was 2:30 hours.

earl

[Guppy35]

Earl's Jug  "Viking"

Dan/Slack

[Shane]

September 28

1944:
1st Lt. Henry E. Tatum was a pilot of one of the sixteen
P-47s of the 346th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter Group
based at Pisa that escorted 72 B-26s to hit targets in the
Brenner Pass in northern Italy.  His logbook entry at the
time states, "The bombers hit targets all through the pass
and I've never seen anyone catch so much flak.  I surely
don't envy them.  Our flight escorted a crippled bomber
from the target southwest to the sea.  Five men bailed
out and the B-26 crashed into the sea ten miles west of
La Spezia.  The crew hasn't been picked up yet.  They
can't live through the night floating in Mae Wests.  Too
damn bad!"

earl

[Shane]

September 29

1942:
I flew an AT-6 for 2:00 hours - dual instruction for 1:20
hours and forty minutes of solo formation flying.  I don't
recall why I had no flying during the previous four days.

1943:
I flew a P-39N for 1:30 hours of squadron formation.

1944:
I led a flight of P-47s to dive bomb a target in the Milan
area.  The flak was heavy, as always around Milan.  We then
strafed targets of opportunity.  My flight time was 3:00  
 
Major Andrew R. Schindler, 346th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group was pulling up from dive bombing a target in
northern Italy when he spotted an Fw-190, six to ten miles
out and at 300 feet.  Schindler gave chase, overtook the
aircraft and shot it down.  He noticed that the Fw-190
pilot took rather feeble evasive action and seemed more
intent on bailing out than in dog fighting.  The pilot and
chute were observed on the ground.  D'Amico reported that
enemy aircraft were being delivered to Germany from a factory in
Italy.

earl