|
Robert K. Morgan
Robert Knight Morgan (July 31, 1918 – May 15, 2004) was a colonel and a Command Pilot in the United States Air Force from Asheville, North Carolina. During World War II, while a captain in the United States Army Air Forces, Morgan was a bomber pilot with the 8th Air Force in the European theater and the aircraft commander of the famous B-17 Flying Fortress, '' Memphis Belle'', flying 25 missions. After completing his European tour, Morgan flew another 26 combat missions in the B-29 Superfortress against Japan in the Pacific Theater. Biography Morgan attended the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and entered the Army Air Corps in 1940. He earned his pilot wings and was commissioned a second lieutenant on December 12, 1941, then after advanced training at Walla Walla Army Air Base, Washington, was assigned to the 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group (RAF Bassingbourn approximately 3 mi (5 km) north of Royston), as a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot. Morgan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dauntless Dotty
''Dauntless Dotty'' is the nickname of a Boeing B-29-40-BW Superfortress during the Second World War that led the first B-29 raid on Tokyo on 24 November 1944, the first bombing attack of the Japanese capital since the Doolittle Raid on 18 April 1942. Combat history The B-29 that became ''Dauntless Dotty'' is a block 40 airframe, manufactured by Boeing at the Wichita, Kansas plant which was built specifically for Superfortress production, and was the twenty-second of a hundred block 40-BWs constructed. It was assigned Army Air Forces serial number ''42-24592'', and Boeing-Wichita constructors number (c/n) 4253. The future ''Dotty'' was assigned to the 497th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy), with three assigned squadrons, at Pratt Army Air Field, Kansas, in the spring of 1944. The 497th was deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) in September 1944, being assigned to the XXI Bomber Command 73d Bombardment Wing in the Northern Mariana Islands, and stationed at Isely Fie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Command Pilot
U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight",The standard by which flight status has been defined in law, executive orders, and regulations since 1913. either aerially or in space, in performance of their duties. USAF aeronautical badges, commonly referred to as "wings" from their shape and their historical legacy, are awarded by the Air Force in recognition of degrees of achievement and experience. Officers earning these badges and maintaining their requirements are classified as rated officers and receive additional pay and allowances. The first U.S. military aviator ratings were awarded in 1912, and the issuance of badges for recognition of the award began in 1913. The division of ratings into multiple skill levels and categories began in 1914 and expanded during World War I. With minor variations in numbers and titles of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Bassingbourn
Royal Air Force Bassingbourn or more simply RAF Bassingbourn is a former Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, station located in Cambridgeshire approximately north of Royston, Hertfordshire, Royston, Hertfordshire and south west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. During the Second World War it served first as an RAF station and then as a bomber airfield of the Eighth Air Force, of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). It remains the home of the Tower Museum Bassingbourn. Origin and development Construction RAF Bassingbourn was constructed by John Laing Group, John Laing & Son between 1937 and 1939 in the parishes of Wendy, Cambridgeshire, Wendy and Bassingbourn (village), Bassingbourn immediately to the west of the A14 road (Great Britain), A14 (now the A1198 road, A1198) road. The site selected was low ground between several tributaries of the River Cam. The area had been long cleared of forest and tended to be swampy and unstable, and because the boggy ground ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
91st Bomb Group
The 91st Bomb Group (Heavy) was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. Classified as a heavy bombardment group, the 91st operated B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft and was known unofficially as "The Ragged Irregulars" or as "Wray's Ragged Irregulars", after the commander who took the group to England. During its service in World War II the unit consisted of the 322nd, 323rd, 324th, and 401st Bomb Squadrons. The 91st Bomb Group is most noted as the unit in which the bomber '' Memphis Belle'' flew, and for having suffered the greatest number of losses of any heavy bomb group in World War II. The 91st Bomb Group conducted 340 bombing missions with the Eighth Air Force over Europe, operating out of RAF Bassingbourn. Inactivated at the end of the war, the group was brought back in 1947 as a reconnaissance group of the United States Air Force, and then had its lineage and honors bestowed on like-numbered wings of the Strategic Air Command, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walla Walla Regional Airport
Walla Walla Regional Airport is a public airport in Walla Walla County, Washington, in the western United States. It is northeast of central Walla Walla, and is owned by the Port of Walla Walla. History World War II The airport was the location of the U.S. Army Air Forces' Walla Walla Army Air Base in World War II. The War Department announced it would be spending more than $7.5 million to construct an Army Air Corps training airfield adjacent to the existing airfield at Walla Walla. With the old municipal airport as a nucleus, it commenced development of the Walla Walla Army Air Base, which ultimately comprised of land. Over 300 buildings were constructed and equipped to house, feed, and train approximately 6,000 personnel. The 91st Bomb Group was the first Army Air Forces outfit to utilize the Walla Walla base. The 91st had initially trained in Florida, and upon arrival trained in B-17 Flying Fortress four-engine bombers. The 91st went on to distinguish itself in combat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1986. In the colonial forces, which closely followed the practices of the British military, the rank of second lieutenant began to replace ranks such as ensign and cornet from 1871. New appointments to the rank of second lieutenant ceased in the regular army in 1986. Immediately prior to this change, the rank had been effectively reserved for new graduates from the Officer Cadet School, Portsea which closed in 1985. (Graduates of the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and the Royal Military College, Duntroon (RMC-D) are commissioned as lieutenants.). The rank of second lieutenant is only appointed to officers in special appointments such as training institutions, university regiments and while under probation during training. Trai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical rift developed between more traditional ground-based army personnel and those who felt that aircraft were being underutilized and that air operations were being stifled for political reasons unrelated to their effectiveness. The USAAC was renamed from the earlier United States Army Air Service on 2 July 1926, and was part of the larger United States Army. The Air Corps became the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 20 June 1941, giving it greater autonomy from the Army's middle-level command structure. During World War II, although not an administrative echelon, the Air Corps (AC) remained as one of the combat arms of the Army until 1947, when it was legally abolished by legislation establishing the Department of the Air Force. The Air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universities by numerous organizations and scholars. While the university dates its founding to 1740, it was created by Benjamin Franklin and other Philadelphia citizens in 1749. It is a member of the Ivy League. The university has four undergraduate schools as well as twelve graduate and professional schools. Schools enrolling undergraduates include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Wharton School, and the School of Nursing. Among its highly ranked graduate schools are its law school, whose first professor wrote the first draft of the United States Constitution, its medical school, the first in North America, and Wharton, the first collegiate business school. Penn's endowment is US$20.7 billio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wharton School
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Generally considered to be one of the most prestigious business schools in the world, the Wharton School is the world's oldest collegiate business school, having been established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton. The Wharton School awards the Bachelor of Science with a school-specific economics major, with concentrations in over 18 disciplines in Wharton's academic departments. The degree is a general business degree focused on core business skills. At the graduate level, the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program can be pursued standalone or offers dual studies leading to a joint degree from other schools (e.g., law, engineering, government). Similarly, in addition to its tracks in accounting, finance, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Superfortress was designed for high-altitude strategic bombing, but also excelled in low-altitude night incendiary bombing, and in dropping naval mines to blockade Japan. B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in combat. One of the largest aircraft of World War II, the B-29 was designed with state-of-the-art technology, which included a pressurized cabin, dual-wheeled tricycle landing gear, and an analog computer-controlled fire-control system that allowed one gunner and a fire-control officer to direct four remote machine gun turrets. The $3 billion cost of design and production (equivalent to $ billion today), far exceeding the $1.9 b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memphis Belle (B-17)
The ''Memphis Belle'' is a Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress used during the Second World War that inspired the making of two motion pictures: a 1944 documentary film, '' Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress'' and the 1990 Hollywood feature film, '' Memphis Belle''. It was one of the first United States Army Air Forces B-17 heavy bombers to complete 25 combat missions, after which the aircrew returned with the bomber to the United States to sell war bonds. In 2005 restoration began on the ''Memphis Belle'' at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio where, since May 2018, it has been on display. The B-17 used in the 1990 feature film is housed at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, New York. Crew The crew for the ''Memphis Belle'' was as follows: * Pilot: Captain Robert K. Morgan * Co-pilot: Captain James A. Verinis * Navigator: Captain Charles B. Leighton * Bombardier: Captain Vincent B. Evans * The First Engineer/Top ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater of Operations, United States Army, European Theater of Operations and dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during World War II. It is the List of most-produced aircraft, third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88. It was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft. In a USAAC competition, Boeing, Boeing's prototype Model 299/XB-17 outperformed two other entries but crashed, losing the initial 200-bomber contract to the Douglas B-18 Bolo. Still, the Air Corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation, then introduced it into service in 1938. The B-17 evolved through numerous Boei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
