This account of 509th Fighter Squadron activities is condensed from a microfilm 295 pages long. The reason it is condensed is that most of it was so dim that it could not be photocopied legibly and, likewise, total transcription was not feasible. Most of the original document was authored or ramrodded by Squadron Assistant Intelligence Officer Neil MacLachlan. Bob Blackburn and Chester Van Etten reported much of the Combat Ops. Fred Kinne contributed. In some of the early history, Harry Greathouse and Edgar Loftus are paraphrased.
When asked 40 years after the war why the microfilm was so dim, Squadron Intelligence Officer Bill Abrant noted that typewriter ribbons were a scarce commodity at squadron level. This is believable, for documents became more legible as their origin climbed to Group to TAC to Air Force.
Editing is the work of Bob Lipscomb and Art Barrow.
The 509th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 405th Fighter Bomber Group was originally activated and designated the 624th Bombardment Squadron (D) 405th Bombardment Group (D) at Drew Field, Tampa, Florida March 1, 1943. Cadres came from Hunter Field, Savannah, Georgia.
On 15th August 1943 the 624th Bombardment Squadron (D) was redesignated as the 509th Fighter Bomber Squadron and removed from III Air Support Command and 22nd Bombardment Training Wing and assigned to III Fighter Command.
As a divebomber squadron, the 624th had been flying A-24s, but the 509th flew missions in August, 1943 in P-39-Q-5s. These were practice missions in support of land and sea units simulating assaults in the Florida and Carolina areas.
August 15, 1943 orders by Group Commander Major Fred G Hook and signed by Adjutant Captain Edgar J Loftus changed the 624th, 625th and 626th Bombardment Squadrons (D) to the 509th, 510th and 511th Fighter Bomber Squadrons, respectively. A True Copy of this order was certified by 1Lt William T Wedesky, squadron adjutant. Other early members of the squadron were Johnny Catterton, Bill Abrant and Melvin Koerth.
The 509th continued its training from October 27, 1943 at Walterboro, SC Army Air Field in P-39-Q-5s.
In November, 1943, Operations Officer Frederick B Kinne was promoted to Captain and Thomas E Collins was promoted to 1Lt as a Flight Leader. Captain John F Schlechter joined the squadron from Pinellas AAF, St. Petersburg. Other November gains included 2d Lieutenants Alex Kedrock, Bob Lipscomb, Bruce MacKay and John Wheeler.
In December, 1943, 2d Lieutenants Walt Davis, Billy Doyle, Art Barrow and Charles Dooney joined the squadron. By then, the group had changed to P-47 aircraft. During the month, promotions included: One Sergeant to Staff Sergeant, 14 Corporals to Sergeant, and 12 Privates and PFCs to Corporal.
The squadron commander was Major Thornton J. Mostyn and the group commander was Lieutenant Colonel James Ferguson. Deputy group commander was Major Robert L. Delashaw.
December operations included escort missions for bombers after rendezvous at various Carolina and Georgia locations, aerial gunnery near Charleston, and night flying. Both officers and enlisted men were qualified in weapons.
Major Mostyn joined the Aviation Cadets December 28, 1939 at Houston, TX, and after Primary at Love Field, Dallas, and Basic at Randolph Field, he got his wings and commission at Kelly Field 30 August 1940. After service at Mitchell Field, in Iceland, and at Sarasota he took command of the 509th at Walterboro.
Captain Kinne was accepted as an Aviation Cadet 12 November 1941, after working as a California newspaperman, and he got his wings at Foster Field, Victoria, TX. After fighter training at Spartanburg, SC and Sarasota, FL he became squadron operations officer of the 509th 4 November, 1943 at Walterboro.
January, 1944 saw the squadron continue training as in December, but January 16, 17 and 18, all pilots and 24 P-47s participated in a group mission at Bushnell, Florida.
At Bushnell, ground controllers scrambled squadrons and directed them to ground targets or to air interception of “enemy” formations.
On January 24, Major Mostyn led 16 ships of the squadron in a fighter cover for 14 B-25s as they were intercepted by two flights of P-47s from the 406th Group at Congaree AAF. This was an exercise for General Gilkeson of III Fighter Command.
More than 49,000 rounds of .50 calibre ammunition was expended in aerial gunnery during the month.
Among pilots gained in December was Glen DuMars. In January, Art Barrow was assigned to group operations.
January 1944 marked the end of the training period for the squadron under III Fighter Command and III Air Force. Supply and Administrative activities then focused on the necessary preparation and inspections for overseas shipment.
The squadron departed Walterboro Army Air Field by rail 14 February 1944 per paragraph 3, Special Orders 34, Headquarters Columbia AAB, dated 3 February 1944 and arrived at Camp Shanks, New York, the following day where the entire group was billeted and processed for movement overseas.
The squadron moved with the group from Camp Shanks by rail to the New York port of embarkation and boarded ship 26 February 1944, sailing the next morning, 27 February. The crossing was made without incident and without convoy, docking in Liverpool 6 march 1944. The trip from Liverpool to the airfield, Station 416, Christchurch, Hants, was made by rail with arrival on the morning of March 7, 1944. Major Roland Lamb and 2Lt Art Barrow edged Major Edgar Loftus and 1Lt Bill Hubler in 26 rubbers of bridge lasting all the way from Liverpool to Christchurch.
Strength of the squadron was 39 officers and 252 enlisted men. Officers included: David Wood, Les Damman, Andrew Sundborg, Billy Doyle, Glen DuMars, Bob Lipscomb, Johnny Catterton, Roland Peterson, Alex Kedrock, Bob Blackburn, Tom Collins, Bill Wedesky, Fred Kinne, Bruce Mackay, Jack Wheeler, Jack Stampley, Mel Koerth, Jerry Boller, Hugh McDonald, Charles Dooney, Paul Massey, Paul Huff, Warren Woirol, Ed Wilk, Wayne Stout, Norman Wymbs, Joe Piche, Neil MacLachlan, Lew Jones, John Schlechter, Johnny Weir, Thornton “Gus” Mostyn, Bill Abrant, Bill Chapman, Dicky Dawn, Bill Downey, Tommy Cole and Art Barrow.
A listing of enlisted men is appended.
Pyramidal tents for housing personnel had previously been set up under the direction of advance party officers from group headquarters.
An English manor house, “Bure Homage”, dating from George III era provided quarters for squadron commanders, operations officers and ground officers on a group basis. It also served as an officers’ mess. Other flying personnel occupied cottages on the opposite side of the flying field.
During the last week of March, an average of ten hours per pilot was flown in P-47-D type aircraft as the first flying time in England for the squadron. This was all non-combat training.
At the time the unit arrived in the ETO, accumulated flying time for its pilots was as follows:
| Pilot | Total Hours | S/E Fighter Hours |
| Major Thornton J. Mostyn, Squadron Commander | 1115 | 689 |
| Capt Frederick B Kinne, Operations Officer | 1335 | 932 |
| Capt Richard C Bender, Flight Commander | 1489 | 170 |
| 1Lt Robert M Blackburn, Flight Commander | 1506 | 1051 |
| 1Lt Thomas E Collins, Flight Commander | 707 | 461 |
| 1Lt Wayne H Stout, Flight Commander | 573 | 323 |
| All other Pilots (Average) | 458 | 191 |
The first month in the European Theatre of Operations was spent by the squadrons in the group in preparing equipment and men for war. Aircraft were shaken down and some key men were given several days of special training with more experienced units elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
Early missions over the European Continent were fighter sweeps, termed by some as “familiarization rides”, in group strength. These first sweeps were 48-plane forays at 18,000 feet, with each squadron furnishing 16 aircraft. Squadrons were formed of four four-ship flights designated as Red, White, Blue and Yellow flights. Initially, 509th squadron was called “Messbill”, but this was soon changed to “Schooner”. The group commander’s designation was “Trojan”.
At the start, each squadron would put up two spare aircraft, in addition to the 16 scheduled, as substitutes if members of the starting lineup had to abort. Spares would trail the group until ordered to return to base, usually no more than a third of the way across the English Channel. Occasionally, a spare was called into the lineup to replace a faltering aircraft.
April 11, 1944 marked the first mission by the group and its three squadrons. All told, 15 missions were flown by the 509th Squadron in April. Seven were sweeps, two were escort missions and two were area support.
April 26, the squadron inflicted its first actual damage on the enemy when Lt. Col. Robert L. Delashaw led it on a dive bombing mission as 24 hits were scored against a railway marshalling yard at Nantes, France.
The following day the squadron bombed St. Omer airport, scoring 24 hits in the target area, three among hangars, starting two fires.
On the last day of the month the squadron, operating alone for the first time, hit Criel Airport. All bombs landed in the target area, destroying hangars and repair shops. Lieutenant Paul R. Massey nursed his severely damaged plane back across the channel and he bailed out successfully near home base, returning to the squadron without delay.
During April, pilots of the 509th flew more than 600 operation hours, without engaging enemy aircraft. One aircraft was lost to flak damage and seven others received minor flak damage. 406 non-operational hours were flown.
The following pilots were recommended for award of the Air Medal: Major Thornton J Mostyn, Capt Paul E Gardiner, Capt Frederick B Kinne, Capt Richard C Bender, 1Lt John T Wheeler, 1Lt Robert M Blackburn, 1Lt Edward J Wilk, 1Lt Wayne H Stout, 2Lt Warren S Woirol and 2Lt William C Doyle.
Capt Frederick B Kinne, Squadron Operations Officer, made a trip to Italy where he observed dive bombing tactics with the 324th Fighter Group in Naples.
Maj Mostyn was relieved as squadron commander to become Deputy Group Commander. He was replaced as squadron commander by Capt Paul E Gardiner, former Group Operations Officer. John T. Wheeler, squadron assistant operations officer, was promoted from 2dLt to First Lieutenant. Ten enlisted men were promoted from Corporal to Sergeant, nine were promoted to Staff Sergeant, and one was promoted to Corporal.
2Lt William A Barrow was reassigned to the squadron from group operations during the month. Replacement pilots joined the squadron as follows: 2Lts Lloyd G. Zahn, Jesse Mountjoy and Frank Boryczka.
Missions flown by the squadron’s pilots during the month were: Mostyn, 16; Kinne, 11; Chapman, 2; Gardiner, 11; Wheeler, 10; Blackburn, 17; Piche, 9; Peterson, 8: Dooney, 8; Lipscomb, 8; Stampley, 7; Dumars, 7; Collins, 7; McDonald, 8; Massey, 11; Weir, 7; Downey, 9; Cole, 6; Barrow, 7; Bender, 12; Doyle, 9; Sanford, 9; Huff, 7; Wilk, 10; Dawn, 3; Wood, 1; Stout, 17; MacKay, 8; Woirol, 10; Wymbs, 7; Kedrock, 8; Zahn, 1; Mountjoy, 1.
On a fighter sweep over France, Lt. Barrow’s aircraft incurred a runaway propeller, causing his immediate return to England. In the course of the 99-mile return trip, an air controller in England directed Barrow back to base, through a number of radio transmissions culminating in the controller’s “Good show, White Two”. Many pilots heard this transmission and “Good Show, White Two” became part of the jargon, denoting approval, often derisively.
May, 1944 saw a number of personnel changes and promotions. Captain Paul E. Gardiner, Squadron Commander, was promoted to Major and 1Lt Robert M Blackburn was promoted to Captain.
Captain Richard C Bender was transferred to Group to fill a vacancy in Group Operations when Captain Gardiner became 509th Squadron Commander. Lt. E.J. Wilk was appointed Flight Commander, replacing Captain Bender.
Lts. William N Downey and Warren S Woirol were appointed Deputy Flight Commanders.
Replacement pilots joining the squadron in May were: 2Lts John H Nielsen, Joseph J O’Neil, Eugene F Gray, Thomas W. O’Donnell, Leonard J Schallehn, and Oscar E Theis. Captain Walter H Kuenning came to the squadron from IX TAC and became Personnel Equipment Officer.
During the month General Quesada presented the Air Medal to: Capt Robert M Blackburn and Lieutenants Tom Collins, Ed Wilk, Wayne Stout, Bill Downey, Billy Doyle, Bob Lipscomb, Roland Peterson, Joe Piche, Tom Sanford and Warren Woirol.
Dive bomb, escort and fighter sweeps provided an abundance of combat flying and flak-crippled aircraft made the war realistic enough, but no enemy aircraft were engaged. In order to inflict damage on the Luftwaffe, the squadron sought out and strafed enemy airdromes during return to base from dive-bombing missions.
On May 10, flights led by Captain Blackburn and Lt Collins strafed the Cambrai-Epinoy airdrome with results as follows: Captain Blackburn and Lt Joe Piche each destroyed a Me-109; Lt Art Barrow destroyed a Ju-88; Lts Tom Collins, Hugh D. McDonald and Bill Downey each damaged Ju-88s; and Lieutenant Charles Dooney wiped out a gun emplacement and crew.
A train strafing mission on the Brest Peninsula resulted in destruction of six trains and damage to several oil tankers and two marshalling yards.
Dive-bombing and escort of medium bombers on missions, apparently intended to interdict a potential invasion area, occupied much of the squadron’s attention in May. On two successive missions, Lt Johnny Weir returned to base with incredible damage to his aircraft.
Training missions during the month were held to a minimum to permit restoration of aircraft to operational condition. The only training missions were to break in newly arrived pilots at dive bombing and formation flying.
When the movie “A Guy Named Joe” was made, much of it was filmed at Drew Field while the original cadre of the 509th was there and furnished, with their planes and equipment, much of the setting for the production. Skip-bombing of a target by Actress Irene Dunne caused considerable merriment among the pilots viewing the film in England many months later. This gave rise to the saying, “Just like Irene done” after the unit’s pilots performed skip-bombing jobs.
Gained during the month was a public relations officer for the group. He was Joshua Logan, a movie and theatre producer and director. He became a great favorite with the officers at their parties because of his song parodies, some of them composed with help by squadron members, notably, Jack Nielsen.
Some of the best-remembered parodies were: “I came here to talk for Joe. He didn’t make it back, you know”; “Honeybucket Joe”; and “Thanks for the memories of that little glass of slime that they called ‘Gin and Lime’”.
One parody, of “Pistol Packin’ Mama”, had innumerable verses with the refrain, “Set that monster down, boys, set that monster down; Republic’s streamlined crowbar, set that monster down”. Nearly every pilot in the 509th authored a verse or was the subject of one.
“I think that I shall never see
The day I get my DFC.
I know that I shall never rest
Until they pin it on my breast.
Vandy’s got one, also Ot
Even Kinne, but I’ve not.
On all 8th pilots you will see
The ETO and DFC
But in the 9th Air Medals thrive.
Hell, I’ve got cluster fifty-five.
It must be Ninth AF’s policy.
Oh, what the hell’s a DFC?”
(This parody, sung to the tune of “Trees” became the Pilot’s Lament in the 405th Group. Generals Hoyt S. Vandenberg and Otto P. Weyland, not to mention Major Kinne, made the grade. Eventually, a few lesser lights got the DFC, but they sang this parody a long time.)