# 355th FG pics



## drgondog (Sep 22, 2007)

I'll run a few through here


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## drgondog (Sep 22, 2007)

a few more - all 354FS so far


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## comiso90 (Sep 22, 2007)

Very cool!

thanks


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## Gnomey (Sep 22, 2007)

Excellent pics! Look forward to more.


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## drgondog (Sep 22, 2007)

so far all the flak damaged Mustangs are shots that hit my father's a/c..


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## Graeme (Sep 22, 2007)

Do you have a story to tell regarding the Russian-American handshake? And who is the artist (2nd last photo). Clever usage of converting 'tails' into 'crosses'? 
Great photos, thanks for posting them.


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## FLYBOYJ (Sep 22, 2007)

VERY COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## drgondog (Sep 22, 2007)

The first two pics at the very top (of post 1) are Henry Brown getting the first DSC for the 355th - for attacking 5 Me 109s shooting at two 354FS Mustands, out of ammo, out turned them one at a time in a lufberry, causing each one to split S and dive away..

The second one is a DSC to Royce Priest for first Piggy Back rescue of his CO (my father).

Below are several more of his film clips, then Moon Elder in front of his Mustang with 357FS - the Licking Dragons served with distinction in WWII, Viet Nam, Gulf War and today

so the sequences afther the film clips are 357FS - at the bottom bunch is Norm Olson in Ma Fran OSP. Only Jug ace in 355th and only ace KIA (flak) in the group. The 355th may have been unique in that no air ace was shot down by a German fighter.


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## Micdrow (Sep 22, 2007)

Very cool shots, the memorial looks great and I love the shots of the two seater Fw-190 and Bf-109


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## drgondog (Sep 22, 2007)

Graeme said:


> Do you have a story to tell regarding the Russian-American handshake? And who is the artist (2nd last photo). Clever usage of converting 'tails' into 'crosses'?
> Great photos, thanks for posting them.




Graeme - the photo is of Henry Brown - top ace in 355th... on the Shuttle Mission - Frantic VII, which my father was leading. 

Brown was flying Yellow 1 and his flight was sent to break up an attack by JG51 Me 109s. He blew one up in a head on pass and hit another one, then strafed an airfield near Warsaw and damaged a Ju 87 and an Me 109 to finish up his day. His combat film is in his left hand with the the Russia segment map..

The picture below Brown is Bob White - retired Lt General, ex X-15 Test Pilot and got a DSC/AFC while flying with the 355th in Viet Nam.

The picture below the parafrag is of Jabby Jabara - later first USAF jet ace and number 2 in Korea behind McConnell

The artist is Art DeCosta - he did Miss Behave as well as several other Nose Art on P-47s and all the O Club Murals as well as being an accomplished oil artist. He did a portrait of my father which I still have.

He recently passed away after a long career at Univ of Penn (I think)..


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## drgondog (Sep 22, 2007)

Now for some 358FS pics 

The third from top and fourth from bottom are the Walter Gresham - the 358FS pilot and P-47 (YFT) that probably shot down Egon Mayer on 2 March, 1944. The two pics next to Gresham are of Billy Hovde - top 358FS ace

The pic of YFC with the 20mm flak holes in cockpit are German photos after Walburn shot down in this ship at Lechfield A/D - with only minor wounds and burns.

The last pic is Gilmore who had a close escape from 20mm flak on 15 August and then was killed by 20mm flak two weeks later on 355th's worst day of war -losing 8 Mustangs to flak around Metz on a fighter bomber sweep..two KIA, the rest Evaded and returned.


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## mkloby (Sep 22, 2007)

Absolutely awesome pictures!


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## Wildcat (Sep 23, 2007)

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.


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## insomnia (Sep 23, 2007)

great pics, thanks for sharing


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## drgondog (Sep 23, 2007)

some Scout Force (Experimental) formed from 355th FG at Steeple Morden in July 1944

Bud Peaslee - father of Scouts - ex 384BG, then Peaslee in his Calamity Jane.

Each of the 355th FG squadrons formed an E flight into which 4-6 Mustangs (brand new P-51D-5) were transferred. 

James Kilmer, 354FS pilot transferred in. The 355th provided volunteers to serve as 'escorts' to the bomber pilots which came in from 1st and 2nd Division.

McNally in YF (bar) -J Morphine Sue from 358FS


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## Aggie08 (Sep 23, 2007)

Great shots! It's nice to see the earlier models, like the razorback and bubble-canopy mustang.


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## drgondog (Sep 23, 2007)

More Scout Force - this series is 2nd SF

The first is the only known pic of all of the 2nd SF at Steeple Morden, the second Lt Col John Brooks, former Avalanche B-24 pilot at Ploesti, now 2nd SF CO getting a DSC for a mission in which he and Bill Whalen - only SF air ace - attacked 75+ German Fighters to break up an attack and shot down two each.

Brooks ship YF(bar) X

WR(bar) A was the Whalen ship in which he shot down three on November 26 when battling Erich's cousin in JG301, while flying Whitlow's wing. 

Ceglarski was a combined air/ground ace in 2SF flying YF(bar) D.

Whitlow's WR (bar) R taken from 445BG B-24 on November 26 on way home after shooting down one Fw190A8

Castleberry, Rodebaugh and Wilkens each shot down an Me 262


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## drgondog (Sep 23, 2007)

Some more 355fg HQ shots, including Decosta art in O club, Doolittle on WR-B Jane VII, some shots of Galland and a Fw190D, Duffy in a G Suit plus RAF Me109F visiting Steeple Morden in late 1943..

Kinnard's last Man O War about to go home. This ship went down in Korean War.


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## thirtybg (Sep 24, 2007)

Splendid selection of photos here.

Thanks so much for sharing them with us.



drgondog said:


> some shots of Galland and a Fw190D


No Fw 190s to be seen here. This shot shows a Bf 109E.







This photo does not show a JG 27 bird as the filename says; it's from JG 51. The fellow 
in the center of the photo is Werner Mölders, and the aircraft is his personal Bf 109F.







Thanks again for sharing these excellent photos with us!


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## Thorlifter (Sep 24, 2007)

Fantastic. Thanks for posting these.


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## drgondog (Sep 25, 2007)

thirtybg said:


> Splendid selection of photos here.
> 
> Thanks so much for sharing them with us.
> 
> ...



I may post a couple more, any particular requests?


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## Profiler (Dec 17, 2007)

Great thread, thanks for posting these images.


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## Wurger (Dec 17, 2007)

I'm with Profiler.Nice pics there.


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## lesofprimus (Dec 17, 2007)

Maybe some more battle damage shots Bill... That and some of those excellent gun cam clips....


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## FLYBOYJ (Dec 17, 2007)

Great stuff Bill!


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## drgondog (Dec 27, 2007)

lesofprimus said:


> Maybe some more battle damage shots Bill... That and some of those excellent gun cam clips....



Dan - I'm trying to find the right device to convert a lot of 355 vcr to DVD - I also have Whisner, Landers, Pompetti, and others from WWII and Korea on 16mm that I need to convert as it is 60 plus years old.

I don't know if you saw the excellent promo film that GD put out re: fighters from WWI all the way through VietNam (leading to "why' F-16) with interviews with Hartmann and Tuck and Parr etc. Several of the shots were from dad's film - which I loaned to them and they lost.

I still have some on VCR but the original film is gone. 

I'll look for some of the BD shots


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## ccheese (Dec 27, 2007)

Those are great pic's. Thanks for putting them up for us to see.

Charles


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## Micdrow (Dec 27, 2007)

Awsome shots there Bill, Thanks for sharing!!!!


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## wilbur1 (Dec 27, 2007)

Drgon you actually have those pics? i think you said your father was in a few? THOSE ARE AMAZING!


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## Erich (Dec 27, 2007)

hey Bill good to see some of those pics of yours in a larger format...........thanks for the posts as always and hopeful your Christmas was good. enjoying the snow the last couple of days in your spot ?

nice little dump today but gotta run up north for the weekend to visit ailing inlaws

E ~


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## FLYBOYJ (Dec 28, 2007)

SURPRISE BILL! These are from the guy I e mailed you about - I'll PM his e mail address to you!!!


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## drgondog (Dec 28, 2007)

FLYBOYJ said:


> SURPRISE BILL! These are from the guy I e mailed you about - I'll PM his e mail address to you!!!



Joe - I sent those to Pete wednesday. He contacted me thanks to you and I sent him stuff on WR-B before he bacame nelson's crew chief in WR-B. Those were pilots that had WR-B before Nelson.


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## drgondog (Dec 28, 2007)

wilbur1 said:


> Drgon you actually have those pics? i think you said your father was in a few? THOSE ARE AMAZING!



I have about 2000 355th shots from WWII and Viet Nam. Yes my father is in about 70 of the collection... All the WR-B shots for example. The ones Joe just put up I had sent to a friend of his, Pete Caruana , who actually was a crew chief in the 355th about the time my father came home.


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## FLYBOYJ (Dec 28, 2007)

drgondog said:


> Joe - I sent those to Pete wednesday. He contacted me thanks to you and I sent him stuff on WR-B before he bacame nelson's crew chief in WR-B. Those were pilots that had WR-B before Nelson.


 I just e mailed you - sorry for the confusion!


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## drgondog (Dec 28, 2007)

FLYBOYJ said:


> I just e mailed you - sorry for the confusion!



No confusion Joe - just my way to get you to post some of my pics.

It's always great to hear from one of the vets - and the crew chiefs have a special place in my heart.


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## FLYBOYJ (Dec 28, 2007)

Thanks Bill!

he never had a color photo of "his plane." Dan (his son) and I made a color copy and framed it for him. Dan gave it to him on his 85th birthday (last week). Dan said his dad really got a kick out of it!


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## ThunderThud (Dec 29, 2007)

Wow Totally awsome collection of pics.Thanks for sharing!


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## chicoartist (Jan 12, 2008)

Bill,

Just had to pass on to you that I'm (almost) finished reading Bud Fortier's AN ACE OF THE EIGHTH ... what an excellent book, as you well know! 8) 

I'm embarrased to admit that I've seen the paperback on the shelves "for ages", it seems, and each time I never picked it up, thinking, "Not another 'There I was' book ... 

However, recently I *did* pick it up, and the name Fortier rang a bell for some reason, though I'm about (was, anyway) about as ignorant about the 355th as a box of hammers ...  I read a bit and immediately bought it. I have not been disappointed. Probably one of the best "There I was" books I've ever read. As you know, Bud was there for 18 months or so, and saw it all. His descriptions of various "innovations" is entertaining and educational. I see that Bud died in 2005 or so - found his alum listing on the UNH website.

I have your book on order as well. I got a VG+ used copy for a good price, and can't wait to read it. Thanks again for the CD recently ... 8) 

Wade


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## drgondog (Jan 13, 2008)

chicoartist said:


> Bill,
> 
> Just had to pass on to you that I'm (almost) finished reading Bud Fortier's AN ACE OF THE EIGHTH ... what an excellent book, as you well know! 8)
> 
> ...



Wade - he was one of my favorite people.. unassuming, quiet, smart

Bill Cummings, original and long time 355CO and Henry Brown - top 355 ace both just recently passed and i fear Gordy Graham is heading for the 'bridge.

Bill


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