Joseph Charles "Big Joe" McCarthy, (31 August 1919 – 6 September 1998) was an American aviator who served with the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
in
Bomber Command
Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He is best known as the commander and pilot of
Lancaster AJ-T ("T-Tommy") in
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special "bouncing bombs" developed by ...
, the "Dambuster" raid of 1943.
Early life
McCarthy was born in
St. James, New York, a town on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
east of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and grew up in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. As a teenager, he worked as a lifeguard at
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
and learned to fly. In May 1941, months before the United States would enter the war, McCarthy joined the Royal Canadian Air Force.
World War II
McCarthy was best known for flying with
No. 617 Squadron RAF
Number 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron, originally based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and currently based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. It is commonly known as "''The Dambusters''", for its actions during Operation Chastise ag ...
, including the Dams Raid in 1943. By the time of the raid he had already taken part in thirty bombing sorties over Germany, including three over Berlin. McCarthy and his crew flew with the second wave of Lancasters, but he had to take a spare aircraft after his failed. T-Tommy was the only aircraft of the second wave to attack a target – the
Sorpe Dam
The Sorpe Dam (german: Sorpetalsperre) is a dam on the Sorpe river, near the small town of Sundern in the district of Hochsauerland in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Together with the Biggesee, the Möhne Reservoir, and the Verse reservoir ...
, which had to be attacked with an
Upkeep bomb directly without it bouncing. Despite the bomb hitting the target, the dam was not breached.
He was awarded a
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1943 for service with
No. 97 Squadron RAF
No. 97 (Straits Settlements) Squadron, was a Royal Air Force squadron formed on 1 December 1917 at Waddington, Lincolnshire.
World War I
The squadron formed on 1 December 1917 at RAF Waddington, and was initially a training unit.Melinski ''Ai ...
, a
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...
in the same year for the dams raid, and a
Bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
to the DFC in 1944.
He was mentioned but not portrayed in the 1955 film ''
The Dam Busters'', which focuses mostly on the first wave that breached the Möhne and Eder dams.
McCarthy is also fondly mentioned throughout
Johnny Johnson's autobiography ''The Last Dambuster''.
Later life
In November 1944, some 18 months after his participation in Operation Chastise, McCarthy was reassigned to the
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...
at
Farnborough Airfield
Farnborough Airport (previously called: TAG Farnborough Airport, RAE Farnborough, ICAO Code EGLF) is an operational business/executive general aviation airport in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England. The airport covers about 8% of Rush ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Upon the conclusion of World War II, he remained in Farnborough and served with the Foreign Aircraft Flight for several more months, testing and evaluating several dozen ex-
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
aircraft types including the
Arado Ar 232
The Arado Ar 232 ''Tausendfüßler'' (German: "Millipede"), sometimes also called '' Tatzelwurm'', was a cargo aircraft, designed and built in small numbers by the German firm Arado Flugzeugwerke during World War II. The design introduced, or bro ...
,
Dornier Do 335
The Dornier Do 335 ''Pfeil'' ("Arrow") was a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The two-seater trainer version was called ''Ameisenbär'' ("anteater"). The ''Pfeil''s performance was predicted to be better than other ...
,
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...
and
Fw 200 Condor, and the
Heinkel He 219
The Heinkel He 219 ''Uhu'' (" Eagle-Owl") is a night fighter that served with the German Luftwaffe in the later stages of World War II. A relatively sophisticated design, the He 219 possessed a variety of innovations, including Lichtenstein S ...
. His first experience of a jet aircraft also took place at Farnborough, where he flight-tested a prototype
Mk.4 Gloster Meteor.
After departing the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
at the end of 1945, McCarthy returned to Canada and obtained his Canadian citizenship the following year.
Through the remainder of the 1940s and 50s, he served as base executive officer at a
North American F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...
-equipped
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
base in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, commanded the RCAF's
Test and Development Establishment at the
RCAF Aerodrome in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, and became Wing Commander Flying at the
No. 4 Flying Training School in
Penhold
Penhold is a town in central Alberta, Canada. Penhold is surrounded by Red Deer County, south of Red Deer at the junction of Highway 2A and Highway 42. It is located north of Calgary, east of the Red Deer River.
History
Originally, Penhold ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. He then flew the
Lockheed P-2 Neptune
The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and ...
as Commanding Officer of the
No. 407 Maritime Reconnaissance Squadron in
Comox, British Columbia
Comox () is a town on the southern coast of the Comox Peninsula in the Strait of Georgia on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Thousands of years ago, the warm dry summers, mild winters, fertile soil, and abundant sea life ...
.
From 1961, he spent 14 months as Chief of Air Operations for the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
in the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
. In 1963, he started a three-year stint in planning and policy for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
's Commander-in-Chief, US Atlantic Fleet at
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hamp ...
, and from 1966 to 1968 concluded his RCAF career as Base Operations Officer for two squadrons flying the
Canadair CP-107 Argus
The Canadair CP-107 Argus (company designation CL-28) is a maritime patrol aircraft designed and manufactured by Canadair for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). In its early years, the Argus was reputedly the finest anti-submarine patrol bombe ...
from
CFB Greenwood
Canadian Forces Base Greenwood , or CFB Greenwood, is a Canadian Forces Base located east of Greenwood, Nova Scotia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the ...
in
Greenwood, Nova Scotia
Greenwood is a village located in the western part of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Kings County in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.
History
Greenwood was a small hamlet south of the Dominion Atlantic Railway's Kingston, Nova Scotia, Kingston S ...
.
After leaving Canada for the US in 1969, McCarthy settled in
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
and worked in real estate there through 1986. In retirement, he lectured at
Maxwell Air Force Base's Air War College
The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, space, and cyberspace in joint operation ...
in
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
.
On 6 September 1998, McCarthy died at his home in the Thoroughgood neighborhood of Virginia Beach.
References
External links
Bomber Command Museum of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Joseph Charles
1919 births
1998 deaths
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
British World War II pilots
British World War II bomber pilots
Royal Canadian Air Force officers
People from Long Island
Military personnel from New York (state)