Viking1066
Brigadier General
General Dwight Eisenhower posing for the camera before taking off in a Piper L-4 Grasshopper in Italy, Aug 1943 the net
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Viking1066
Brigadier General
Grumman F4F 4 Wildcat VF-9 Black 9F16 and 9F5 aboard CV 4 USS Ranger Oct 1942 the net
Viking1066
Brigadier General
The USS Gillis (AVD-12) refuels a PBY astern in Aleutian waters with three Higgins 78 foot Patrol Torpedo Boats alongside the net
MIflyer
Major
Spitfire PR Mk XI of 400 Squadron. Note the deeper section under the prop, which is the result of the larger oil tank of the photo recon version. And that is not the shape of the cowling over the oil tank, that IS the oil tank. Photo from Flight Journal.
There are reports of Gen. Eisenhower flying in liaison aircraft over the battlefield on the advance into Germany, at least one time coming under hostile fire. He also utilized a captured German Fieseler Fi 156 Storch as a personal liaison aircraft during World War II. Eisenhower received his Storch (likely a French-built Morane-Saulnier copy, sometimes referred to as a Criquet) on November 22, 1944, in Belfort, France, presented by French General René Bouscat. The Storch was prized by Allied leaders—including Eisenhower, Winston Churchill, and Bernard Montgomery—for its unmatched Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) capabilities. Eisenhower's light planes were typically emblazoned with four stars to designate his general rank, and he is shown here visiting Field Marshall Montgomery.
Eisenhower was actually a pilot. He learned to fly while stationed in the Army in the Philippines. Eisenhower soloed in a Stearman PT-1 on May 19, 1937. Later, he flew a Stinson Reliant and logged over 350 hours from July 1936 to November 1939. Eisenhower was a Lt. Colonel in the pre-war Philippines, serving under General Douglas MacArthur.
Ike earned a private pilot license in 1939 at Fort Lewis.
A reference is found of Eisenhower flying later is found in At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends by Dwight D. Eisenhower on page 227, "After World War II, I had ceased to fly altogether, except that once in a while, on a long trip, to relieve my boredom and demolish the pilot's, I would move into the co-pilot's seat and take over the controls. But as the jet age arrived, I realized that I had come out of a horse and buggy background, recognized my limitations, and kept to a seat in the back."
Ike earned a private pilot license in 1939 at Fort Lewis.
A reference is found of Eisenhower flying later is found in At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends by Dwight D. Eisenhower on page 227, "After World War II, I had ceased to fly altogether, except that once in a while, on a long trip, to relieve my boredom and demolish the pilot's, I would move into the co-pilot's seat and take over the controls. But as the jet age arrived, I realized that I had come out of a horse and buggy background, recognized my limitations, and kept to a seat in the back."
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