Month: August 2018

There are many aspects to the world of military aviation.

Primary – in terms of technology, human endeavor, mystique, and sheer symbolism – has long been fighter aviation.

However, another facet of military flight, not as prone to accolade and attention as the world of air-to-air combat, is the use of aircraft to support ground campaigns by attacking targets such as enemy transportation, supply, and communication networks, and – where necessary – enemy troops.

An excellent account of this activity can be found in Bill (actually, “William B.”) Colgan’s WW II Fighter Bomber Pilot.  Very well written, the book is extremely detailed in describing the use of P-40 Warhawk and P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft in the Mediterranean Theater, in terms of the experiences of “the” individual pilot, and, the tactics used to actually employ these aircraft on ground attack and troop support missions.

A veteran of service in the 87th and 525th Fighter Squadrons, Bill Colgan (serial number 0-673993) scored two aerial victories while serving in the former squadron (on January 24 and 28, 1944), and eventually attained the rank of Colonel while serving in the post-war Air Force.

His book features very nice cover art by Larry Selman, prominently displaying P-47D 44-32734 (“Ole Missouri” / “The Jawbone”), an aircraft of the 525th Fighter Squadron, perhaps over the Po Valley of Italy.

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William Colgan as a Major, “at the war zone in Europe”. 

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Though WW II Fighter Bomber Pilot is amply illustrated with official photographs, and, images from Bill Colgan’s personal collection, the above image, oddly, does not appear within its pages.  An image in Records Group 342 of the United States National Archives (Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies Activities, Facilities, and Personnel – World War II), the picture (56875AC / A17071), taken in early April of 1945, is captioned…

“FRANCE – Uncle Sam holds a hand of six aces that are hard to beat … a sextet of Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters pilots whose combat missions total exactly 1000.  (One of the fliers Maj. John R. Dolny, was ill at the time the photo was taken). The six pilots are with the “Invader” Group of the 1st Tac. AF.  Left to right; standing: Major William B. Colgan of Waycross, Ga., 195 missions; Lt. Col. George (Iron Man) Lee, of Norwood, Mass., 245 missions; Capt. Walter C. Taylor of Newark, N.J., 119 missions.  Seated, left to right: Capt. Jesse R. Gore III of Little Rock, Ark., 126 missions; Capt- Bushnell N. Welch of Wellesley, Mass., 189 missions.  Absent in the photo is Maj. John R. Dolny of Minneapolis, Minn., 126 missions.  Add ’em up.  Total!  1000 combat missions.”

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William Colgan can be seen recounting his experiences, in a video (from March 10, 2009) appropriately entitled “A Fighter Pilot’s Story“, sponsored by the Northwest Florida Daily News, while his personal website is here.

References

Colgan, Bill, WW II Fighter Bomber Pilot, TAB Books, Inc., Blue Ridge Summit, Pa., 1985

Lind, Ragnar G., The Falcon – Combat History of the 79th Fighter Group, United States Army Air Forces, 1942 – 1945, 1946 (at Archive.org)

USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II (USAF Historical Study No. 85), Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center, Air University, Office of Air Force History, Headquarters, USAF, 1978

Colgan Family Letter Collection (University of Georgia Libraries)