|
Ernest T. Cragg
Ernest Thorpe Cragg (January 19, 1922 – March 9, 2006) was a major general in the United States Air Force. Biography Pre World War II Ernest T. Cragg was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He spent his youth in the Greenwich/ Cos Cob area of Connecticut, graduating from Greenwich High School in 1939. He subsequently attended the Stanton Preparatory Academy in Cornwall New York to complete work needed for enrollment in the United States Military Academy. World War II On July 1, 1940, then Cadet Cragg entered what became the first of the World War II accelerated 3-year West Point classes, completing basic flight training by graduation on June 1, 1943. He received advanced flight training at Craig Field and Matagorda Island. After training, he was assigned to the 401st fighter bomber squadron, 370th fighter group, which joined the 9th Air Force in England in early 1944. He served the squadron as pilot, flight commander and assistant operations officer. The unit began comb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, Mount Vernon had a population of 73,893, making it the eighth most populous city in the state (2010). Mount Vernon has two major sections. South-side Mount Vernon is more urban while north-side Mount Vernon is more residential. Mount Vernon's downtown business district is on the city's south side, which features the City Hall, Mount Vernon's main post office, Mount Vernon Public Library, office buildings, and other municipal establishments. History The Mount Vernon area was first settled in 1664 by families from Connecticut as part of the Eastchester (town), New York, Town of Eastchester. Mount Vernon became a Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Village, village in 1853, and a Adminis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanton Preparatory Academy
Stanton Preparatory Academy was founded in 1925 to prepare young men for entrance to the United States Military Academy at West Point and the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. The school was located in Cornwall, New York, five miles from West Point. The school was founded and led by Lieutenant Colonel Hubert G. Stanton (born September 14, 1897 – died September 15, 1955). It followed in the tradition established by the National Preparatory Academy. That institution was owned and led by LT Charles Braden from 1890 until his death in 1919. In the late 1920s, some sources refer to it as the "Stanton Loomis Academy." Stanton was a 1911 graduate of West Point. He was the president of the class of 1911. Commissioned as an officer in the coastal artillery, he was an instructor in the Department of Mathematics at the Academy between 1911 and 1914 and returned in 1917 as an assistant professor remaining as a member of the faculty until 1925. The 1938 edition of the ''Handbook of P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on D-Day was far from ideal, and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours; a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day that meant only a few days each month were d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward "Porky" Cragg
Edward "Porky" Cragg (September 8, 1919 – missing in action December 26, 1943 – finding of death January 16, 1946) was a triple ace (15 kills) and a major in the United States Army Air Forces. Biography Early life Edward Cragg was born at Mount Vernon, New York, on September 8, 1919. He spent his youth in the Greenwich / Cos Cob area of Connecticut, graduating from Greenwich High School in the class of 1936. In September 1937, he enrolled in the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance at New York University, New York. He was working towards a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. In September 1940, he withdrew from the university to enlist. World War II He enlisted as a flying cadet on November 30, 1940. He received his elementary training at Albany, Georgia, his basic training at Gunter Field, Alabama, from February to April 1941, and his advanced flying training at the Air Corps Advanced Flying School, Craig Field, Selma, Alabama. He was appointed a second lieutenant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every major war, though with steadily declining frequency. Since then, longer-range weapons have made dogfighting largely obsolete. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat maneuvering (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requiring the use of individual basic fighter maneuvers (BFM) to attack or evade one or more opponents. This differs from aerial warfare, which deals with the strategy involved in planning and executing various missions. Etymology The term ''dogfight'' has been used for centuries to describe a melee: a fierce, fast-paced close quarters battle between two or more opponents. The term gained popularity during World War II, although its origin in air combat can be traced to the latter years of World War I. One of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kindelberger of North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. The Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from another company, North American Aviation proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed, and first flew on 26 October. The Mustang was designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance in its earlier variants. The aircraft was first flown operationally by the RAF as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twin-boom design with a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Along with its use as a general fighter, the P-38 was used in various aerial combat roles, including as a highly effective fighter-bomber, a night fighter, and a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks. The P-38 was also used as a bomber-pathfinder, guiding streams of medium and heavy bombers, or even other P-38s equipped with bombs, to their targets."P-38 Lightning" National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved 21 Janu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
9th Air Force
The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint Department of Defense combatant command responsible for U.S. security interests in 27 nations that stretch from the Horn of Africa through the Persian Gulf region, into Central Asia. Activated as 9th Air Force on 8 April 1942, the command fought in World War II both in the Western Desert Campaign in Egypt and Libya and as the tactical fighter component of the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, engaging enemy forces in France, the Low Countries and in Nazi Germany. During the Cold War, it was one of two Numbered Air Forces of Tactical Air Command. Co-designated as United States Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) on 1 January 1983, on 2009 as part of a complicated transfer of lineage, the lineage and history of the Ninth Air Forc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
370th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group
The 370th Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to United States Air Forces Central, which may activate or inactivate it at any time. The unit was last stationed in Iraq, and was likely inactivated in 2011 as part of the United States pullout of forces. History Pre World War II The 370th Air Expeditionary Wing was originally constituted as the 1st Transport Group in 1933. As a Regular Army Inactive unit, it was assigned reserve personnel in early 1934 only for training purposes. From February to May 1934, the group was provisionally organized at Columbus, Ohio. In 1937, the group was consolidated with the 10th Observation Group, also constituted in 1933 but never activated. The consolidated group was designated the 10th Transport Group and activated on 20 May 1937. Its original squadrons were the 1st, 2d,Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 17–18 3d,Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 25 and 4th Transport Squadrons.Maurer, ''Combat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
401st Fighter Squadron
The 401st Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 370th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force, stationed at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945. History Established in mid-1943 at Westover Field, Massachusetts, equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts. Trained under I Fighter Command in New England, being deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), and assigned to Ninth Air Force in England. Its ETO fuselage code was "9D". Was converted from P-47s to P-38 Lightnings upon arrival in the ETO. From British airfields the squadron flew sweeps over Occupied France, attacking radar installations and flak towers, and escorted bombers that attacked bridges and marshalling yards in France as the Allies prepared for the invasion of the Continent. The group provided cover for Allied forces that crossed the Channel on 6 June 1944, and flew armed reconnaissance missions over the Cotentin Peninsula until the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matagorda Island AFB
Matagorda Island Air Force Base () is a closed military airfield on the north end of Matagorda Island, northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas. It was closed by the United States Air Force in 1975. History World War II The original airfield was built in 1942 as Matagorda Island General Bombing and Gunnery Range. It supported the USAAF Gulf Coast Training Center pilot training in the Southeast United States. The airfield originally had three runways, with a large "L"-shaped concrete parking apron. It was under the control of Foster Field, Victoria, Texas, as a sub-base. The range had four squadrons (856th, 857th, 858th, 859th) Single-Engine Gunnery Squadrons assigned, flying the North American T-6 Texan, under the control of the 62d Single-Engined Flying Training Group, 79th Flying Training Wing. Aircraft from other training schools also used the airfield. The range was supported by the Matagorda Peninsula Army Airfield, a separate facility north of the range. During the wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Craig Air Force Base
Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama, was a U.S. Air Force undergraduate pilot training (UPT) installation that closed in 1977. Today the facility is a civilian airport known as Craig Field Airport and Industrial Complex (ICAO: KSEM; FAA: SEM). History World War II Originally built by the U.S. Army Air Force in 1940 to accommodate the growing number of flight trainees before World War II, Craig Field was one of the first training fields to offer single-engine training. Its first graduating class of 1941, the 39 cadets of Class 41D, completed the training course seven months before the United States' entry into World War II. The naming of the base was important to the nearby city of Selma, and several names were considered. The name finally chosen was to honor 1st Lt Bruce Kilpatrick Craig, who was killed when his B-24 crashed in June 1941. He was born in Selma and was initially commissioned as an officer in the Infantry Reserve prior to transferring to the Army Air Force a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
