Jeffrey Ethell (1947–1997) was an American

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

who wrote extensively on aviation and

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

matters. He was killed on June 6, 1997, when the restored

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 tw ...

he was flying crashed at

Tillamook, Oregon The city of Tillamook is the county seat of Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the southeast end of Tillamook Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 5,231 at the 2020 census. History The city is named for the ...

, while preparing for an

airshow An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show ...

to honor his father. Starting at a young age, Ethell published technical studies of WWII-era aircraft and eventually authored 60 books and over 1,000 magazine articles covering all aspects of aviation. He soloed at 18 and logged over 4,800 hours in over 210 types of aircraft, including most of the

warbird A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight, or th ...

s of the allied and Axis sides from WWII. His works on color photography of the World War II era brought to life an era which too many thought had only been filmed in black and white. While attending college in Tennessee in the 1960s, Ethell received research grants from the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and went on to guest lecture at colleges and academic institutes. His co-authored study of the first American daylight attack on

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

has often been compared to the works of

Cornelius Ryan Cornelius Ryan (5 June 1920 – 23 November 1974) was an Irish-American journalist and author known mainly for writing popular military history. He was especially known for his histories of World War II events: '' The Longest Day: 6 June 1944 D- ...

and

Stephen Ambrose Stephen Edward Ambrose (January 10, 1936 – October 13, 2002) was an American historian, most noted for his biographies of U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a longtime professor of history at the University of New O ...

in presenting a balanced account of one of the most pivotal events of World War II, the first daylight deep penetration raid against the capital of Nazi Germany. He was featured in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

''Nova'' documentary "Top Gun Over Russia" about the

military aircraft A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat: * Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equi ...

of the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, and appeared as an expert commentator on numerous documentaries. His extensive collection of World War II colour photographs was made available online after his death.

FlyPast A flypast is a ceremonial or honorific flight by an aircraft or group of aircraft. The term flypast is used in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. In the United States, the terms flyover and flyby are used. Flypasts are often tied in wi ...

, Number 304, November 2006

References

External links

List of books and magazine articles by Jeffrey EthellNTSB Accident Report
* ttp://jeffreyethell.com A website set up in memory of Jeffery Ethell 1947 births 1997 deaths Accidental deaths in Oregon American aviation writers American male non-fiction writers Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1997 {{aviation-bio-stub