I ran across these the other day. For the unknowing, Earl played AW, and I believe maybe AH. from what I recall, anyone can correct me, he was a WWII pilot an/or became a test pilot. He was somewhat regular on Bigweek. He gave a lot of tips on the AW flight model. He was a very captivating guy with his stories. A seriously great guy. When he posted, everyone listened.
I found a few of his flight logs he had posted many years ago.
May 23
1942:
I had a solo flight in a Stearman PT-17 for 1:05 hours.
1943:
I had my first flight in a P-38. I flew a P-38G for 1:00
hour. I also flew a P-39N for 10 minutes.
2002:
I departed for the 345th Fighter Squadron reunion held in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I expect to return on Monday.
May 24
1943:
I flew a P-39N for one hour of slow time.
F/O Hugh E. McCall, 347th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter
Group was a member of a P-39 flight sent out from Taher
airfield, Algeria to search for an enemy pilot who was shot
down at sea. The pilot was found and picked up by a Walrus.
May 25
1942:
I flew a dual flight in a Stearman PT-17 for 53 minutes.
1943:
I flew a maintenance test flight for 30 minutes in a P-39N.
I flew a P-38G for 1:30 hours in the Algiers area.
1944:
I flew a maintenance test flight in a P-39N for 30
minutes.
May 27
1942:
I flew a dual flight for 43 minutes in a Stearman PT-17.
1943:
I flew a P-39N for one hour of slow time.
1st Lt. Vincent J. Dugan, 347th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group was killed after taking off from Maison
Blanche airfield, Algiers in bad weather with a load of
"supplies" for a squadron party planned at his home field,
Taher airfield, 125 miles east. His P-39 struck a hillside
20 miles east of Algiers while he was trying to fly under
low clouds. Don't know what happened to the "supplies".
1944: I took my flight to Monte Cavino, Italy to pick up
P-39Qs. We flew them to Naples, a 30-minute flight, to be
checked by our mechanics before ferrying them to Sardinia.
May 28
1943:
I practiced ground gunnery for 40 minutes in a P-39N.
1944:
My flight ferried the P-39Qs from Naples to Alghero,
Sardinia, a 1:45-hour flight.
1st Lt. Harry R. Carney, 345th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group, had engine failure of his P-39 while on
convoy patrol over the Strait of Bonifacio. He bailed out
10 miles northwest of Maddalena and landed on the beach on
the south side of the strait. He rode a horse for 20 miles
to a small airfield at Albio, where he was picked up by
Major Lee C. Wells, the Squadron Operations Officer, in the
two-place Hurricane.
May 31
1943:
1st Lt. Joseph L. Morsheimer, 347th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group was scrambled to intercept a Ju-88 recce
aircraft. He sighted the enemy aircraft overhead, but at
16,000 feet his P-39 blew an engine cylinder. He undershot
the Taher airfield by 100 feet when making a "dead-stick"
landing. The aircraft stopped with its nose in the sand.
2nd Lt. John B. Byrn, 347th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter
Group was flying the squadron's L-4 Taylorcraft aircraft,
which was acquired when it was left by some Army unit and
repaired and flown by the pilots, nosed up in a shallow
ditch on the airfield. The propellor and engine exhaust
were damaged, but Byrn was all right.
1946:
Four of us, flying P-51Ds, were enroute from Biggs Field,
El Paso, Texas to Tarrant to perform in an air show, when
bad weather forced us to RON at Waco Field.
June 1
1942:
At the Mississippi Institute of Aeronautics, near Jackson,
Mississippi, I flew
55 minutes dual and 48 minutes solo in a Stearman PT-17.
1943:
At Maison Blanche airport, near Algiers, North Africa, I
flew a P-38G for 40
minutes and practiced ground gunnery in a P-39N for one
hour.
Each squadron of the 350th Fighter Group was assigned two
P-38s for the interception of high altitude enemy
reconnaissance aircraft.
Sometime in late May or early June (I have no specific date)
F/O Kenneth B. Smith, 346th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter
Group was returning from a convoy patrol mission in a P-39
when he saw a submarine 20 miles east of Algiers. He flew
low over it and could see no markings. He checked with the
Controller, who had no information, but advised, "Use your
own discretion". Smith attacked the submarine with both his
cannon and machine guns and reported that he got some hits
on it. Later, the squadron learned that a British submarine
had filed a formal complaint. The squadron kept "mum".
1944:
At Alghero Airfield, Sardinia, I was preparing to ferry our
Hurricane to Naples, Italy.
In late May or early June (I don't have a specific date) 2nd
Lt. Clifford L. Stockwell, 347th Fighter Squadron, 350th
Fighter Group, based at Aghione airfield, Corsica was
scrambled with wingman 2nd Lt. Maurice A. Brasch. They
climbed up through the overcast, but made no contact with
the bandit. Upon landing, Stockwell was asked if he had
seen any flak. Upon review, it was discovered that the
Ajaccio AAA had fired at aircraft in the clouds for several
minutes.
1945:
I flew an AT-6 for 1:10 hours at the Central Instructors
School, Single Engine Advanced at Waco, Texas,
1946:
Based at Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas, four of us flew P-51s
from an RON at Waco,
where we were weathered in enroute to Tarant, Texas, for an
air show. Flight time
was 40 minutes.
1965:
At Pleiku, South Vietnam, I was attending to my duties as
Chief of the Air Force
Advisory Team (AFAT) and advisor to a Vietnamese Air Force
(VNAF) wing.
June 2
1942:
I flew 54 minutes of dual instruction and 1:06 hours of solo
time in a Stearman PT-17.
