The North Carolina Pre-Flight Cloudbusters represented the U.S. Navy pre-flight school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

seasons of

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

and

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

during World War II. The North Carolina Pre-Flight School was established on February 1, 1942, by the Secretary of the Navy and opened that April. The football team was later organized and competed against other military teams in addition to major college teams of the period. During their three years in existence, the Cloudbusters compiled an overall record of sixteen wins, eight losses and three ties (16–8–3). North Carolina Pre-Flight was coached by one of Notre Dame's former " Four Horsemen" and Fordham head coach

Jim Crowley James Harold "Sleepy Jim" Crowley (September 10, 1902 – January 15, 1986) was an American football player and coach. He gained fame as one-fourth of the University of Notre Dame's legendary "Four Horsemen (American football), Four Horsemen" bac ...

in 1942 and went 8–2–1. The Cloudbusters were coached by former Baylor head coach Frank Kimbrough in 1943 and went 2–4–1. In 1944, they were led by

Glenn Killinger William Glenn Killinger (September 13, 1898July 25, 1988) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated Harrisburg Technical High School and then ...

and went 6–2–1. The Cloudbusters were also known for having both future

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

inductees Johnny Vaught and

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

serve as assistant coaches in 1942 and 1944 respectively. Vaught went on to coach at Ole Miss, and while there won the 1960 national championship and compiled an overall record of 190 wins, 61 losses and 12 ties (190–61–12). Bryant went on to coach at Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama, and during his career won the

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and 1979 national championships and compiled an overall record of 323 wins, 85 losses and 17 ties (323–85–17).

1942 season

The 1942 Cloudbusters squad was led by former Fordham head coach

. Members of Crowley's staff included: Charles R. Soleau as backs coach, Ed Sosky as ends coach, and George McGaughey, N. J. Pierce and Johnny Vaught as line coaches. The squad finished the season with an overall record of eight wins, two losses and one tie (8–2–1). After the Cloudbusters opened the season with a 13–2 victory over Catawba, they traveled to Boston and shutout

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

13–0 before 7,000 fans. After a tie against Georgia Pre-Flight and a victory against NC State, the Cloudbusters lost their first game of the season against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

7–6. Following their loss against the Eagles, they ran for 272 yards in a 34–0 victory over Temple before 20,000 fans at Philadelphia. The Cloudbusters would then only allow seven points over the next four games leading to their season finale against Crowley's former school, Fordham. Before 24,500 fans at Yankee Stadium, the Cadets were upset 6–0 in a defensive struggle with the only points of the game coming on a

Steve Filipowicz Stephen Charles "Flip" Filipowicz (June 28, 1921 – February 21, 1975) was a professional American football and baseball player. Filipowicz and Olympic great Jim Thorpe share the distinction of being the only two men to have played for the Ne ...

touchdown run in the first half. Games against both Colgate and Iowa Pre-Flight included in the original schedule were canceled by the end of the season.

1943 season

The 1943 Cloudbusters squad was led by former Baylor head coach Frank Kimbrough. The squad finished the season with an overall record of two wins, four losses and one tie (2–4–1). The Cadets opened their 1943 season with a pair of shutout losses. The first was a 31–0 loss to Navy before 12,231 at Thompson Stadium in

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, and the second was a 42–0 loss to Duke in Durham. The Cloudbusters rebounded with a victory over Camp Davis only to lose their next two contests. The squad then finished the season with a tie against Camp Lejeune and a 21–7 victory over NC State. The game against Virginia Tech at Victory Stadium in Roanoke, Virginia included in the original schedule was canceled by the end of the season.

1944 season

The 1944 Cloudbusters squad was led by head coach

. Members of Killinger's staff included: Glenn Presnell as backs coach,

John Roning John Olaf Roning (December 2, 1910 – October 3, 2001) was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. After he played end at the University of Minnesota from 1932 to 1934, Roning entered the coaching ranks. After a f ...

as ends coach, and

as line coach. The squad finished the season with an overall record of six wins, two losses and one tie (6–2–1). The cadets opened the season with a 27–14 victory over

Cherry Point MCAS Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and ...

, and the next week upset national championship favorite Navy before 10,000 fans at

. In the victory over the Midshipmen, Otto Graham threw a

lateral pass In gridiron football, a lateral pass or lateral (officially backward pass in American football and onside pass in Canadian football) occurs when the ball carrier throws the football to a teammate in a direction parallel to or away from the oppon ...

to Frank Aschenbrenner who ran it 55-yards for the game-winning score. The next week, the squad defeated Duke 13–6 for a second consecutive upset. As a result of these upsets, the Cloudbusters earned the No. 2 ranking in the first AP Poll of the 1944 season. After being held to a tie against Virginia, the Cloudbusters rebounded with a 3–0 victory over after Buell St. John connected on a short

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

with only seven seconds remaining in the game. After a victory over, the cadets suffered their first loss of the season in a 49–20 loss against Bainbridge NTS. The Cloudbusters responded the following week with a 33–18 victory over Georgia Pre-Flight, with Graham throwing for three touchdowns and running for one in the contest. The cadets then finished the season with a loss against Camp Peary.

1945 season

The 1945 Cloudbusters squad was to have been led by head coach

. However, Bryant never served as the head coach at Carolina after the Navy dropped the football program there in August 1945. From the Cloudbusters, Bryant took the head coaching position with Maryland, and fourteen players he coached at the Pre-Flight School enrolled to play for him at Maryland after they were discharged from the service.

References

{{World War II service football teams navbox