John Dave Landers (23 August 1920 – 12 September 1989) was a colonel in the United States Army Air Forces. He flew with the

9th Fighter Squadron 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...

in the Pacific commanded the

357th Fighter Group The 357th Fighter Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. The 357th operated P-51 Mustang aircraft as part of the U.S. Eighth Air Force and its members were known unofficially as the Yoxfor ...

and the

78th Fighter Group The 78th Fighter Group (78 FG) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 78th Fighter Wing, at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 February 1961. During World War II the group was an Eighth ...

during World War II.

Early life

Landers was born on August 23, 1920 in Wilson, Oklahoma to Obadiah Ray Landers and Mamie Legal Martin Landers. By 1938, he had relocated to Johnson County, Texas and was employed by the Lone Star Gas Company.

Military career

With World War II ongoing, Landers entered the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Army Air Corps on April 25, 1941, and was commissioned a

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 ...

and awarded his pilot wings at Stockton Field, California, on December 12, 1941, just five days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

World War II

By January 1942, Landers was posted to the

of the

49th Fighter Group The 49th Fighter Group was a fighter aircraft unit of the Fifth Air Force that was located in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II. Activation and training The group was constituted as 49th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 20 November 194 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, flying the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. He named his P-40, “Texas Longhorn”. With only 10 flying hours, he embarked on his first combat missions over the Pacific.

Pacific theater

During his second sortie that, Landers would get his first kill. His flight of 12 aircraft were dispatched to intercept an enemy flight near Darwin, Australia. Soon into the flight, his P-40 began to experience engine problems and Landers began to fall behind his formation. P-40e-7fs-March1942

He spotted a flight of seven Japanese bombers with fighter escort 2000 feet below him and decided to dive in on them. With one of the bombers in target, he pulled the trigger and claimed his first victory. With his aircraft damaged by the escorting A6M Zero fighters, he managed to catch up with his flight to shoot down a second bomber of the engagement. With 6 kills to his credit and now a flying ace, Landers was shot down over Papua New Guinea, but managed to escape from the jungle with help from some of the local population. He was returned to the US in January 1943 and assigned a training role, but he missed combat. So he applied for an active duty posting and, after completing

Lockheed 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 twi ...

conversion training.

European theater

Landers was assigned to the 38th Fighter Squadron of the 55th Fighter Group at

RAF Wormingford Royal Air Force Station Wormingford (or RAF Wormingford) is a former Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, station located northwest of Colchester, Essex, England. During World War I Wormingford was a landing ground designated for use by ...

in April 1944. Landers continued to score aerial victories against

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, ...

s and Messerschmitt Me 410s over France and Germany, first in the P-38 and then in the

North American P-51D Mustang Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts. Allison-engined Mustangs NA ...

after the 55th FG converted in July 1944. Mustang P-51 Big Beautiful Doll 2 (5927448704)

Promoted from

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, he took command of the 38th FS. During this time, he flew on what is regarded as the longest fighter escort mission. His flight accompanied heavy bombers on a 1,600-mile sortie over Poland and spent approximately 7 hours in flight. While with the 38th FS, he destroyed an additional two enemy aircraft and damaged one in aerial combat. Newly promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, Landers was temporarily assigned as commanding officer of the

between October and December 1944 at

RAF Leiston Royal Air Force Leiston or more simply RAF Leiston is a former Royal Air Force station located northwest of Leiston and south of Theberton, Suffolk, England. History USAAF use Originally intended as a fighter station for RAF Fighter Com ...

. Landers also destroyed one enemy aircraft while flying with the 357th. He returned to the U.S. in December 1944 and returned to Europe in February 1945. In February 1945, Landers took command of the

at RAF Duxford. He was credited with destroying another 3.5 enemy aircraft in the air, including a shared victory over a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. From July 1945 until the war's end, he commanded the

361st Fighter Group The 127th Operations Group is a unit of the Michigan Air National Guard. It is stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and 1s one of two flying groups assigned to the 127th Wing. The group operates Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt ...

until his return to the U.S. in October 1945. Landers left active duty in December 1945. During the war, Landers was credited with destroying 14.5 and damaging 1 enemy aircraft in aerial combat and destroying 20 more on the ground while strafing enemy airfields. He flew several P-38 Lightning and

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 ...

aircraft that were named "Big Beautiful Doll."

Later life

After the war, he worked in construction management for many years. Landers moved to Granbury, Texas in 1979. In one of his last public appearances, he gave a presentation before a meeting of the Granbury Radio Control Airplane Club and talked about some of his experiences in 1988. Landers died on September 12, 1989 at the age of 69.

Awards and decorations

His awards include:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landers, John D. 1920 births 1989 deaths United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II American World War II flying aces Military personnel from Oklahoma Aviators from Oklahoma Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Shot-down aviators Recipients of the Air Medal