Ray Shuey Wetmore (September 30, 1923 – February 14, 1951) was a quadruple ace of

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

over Europe during World War II. He was credited with 21.25 victories in aerial combat. He was killed in an accidental crash of an F-86 at or near

Otis Air Force Base Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (''The Walking Dead''), in the Image Comics ...

Early life

Born in

Kerman, California Kerman (formerly Collis) is a city at the intersection of State Route 180 and State Route 145 in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 13,544 at the 2010 census. Kerman is located west of Fresno, at an elevation of 220 ...

, Wetmore enlisted in the

U.S. 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 ri ...

as an armament specialist on November 24, 1941, entered the Aviation Cadet Program on July 3, 1942, and was commissioned a 2d Lt and awarded his pilot wings on March 20, 1943.

Military career

World War II

Upon commissioning in March 1943 he joined the new 359th Fighter Group which was sent to England in October that year. Flying with the

370th Fighter Squadron The 370th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. The squadron was activated in early 1943 and assigned to the 359th Fighter Group. After training in the United States, it deployed to England and participated in c ...

, in February and March 1944 Wetmore scored his first 4.25 victories flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. After retraining to fly a

North American 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 ...

, Wetmore achieved the title of ace, shooting down two Bf 109s on May 19, 1944. He flew an aircraft bearing the legend "Daddy's Girl". There were several planes with this title in the

359th Fighter Group The 359th Fighter Group was a United States Army Air Force fighter unit that was active during World War II. Following organization and training in the United States, the group deployed to the European Theater of Operations, operating from RAF ...

at that time. All of Wetmore's fighters – a

P-47 The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber ...

D, a

P-51 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 ...

B and a

D – bore this name. By the end of May 1944, the number of Wetmore's victories had reached 8.25. In a little over a year of military activities, Wetmore had shot down 15 enemy aircraft and been promoted to the rank of captain. The two tours of duty that Wetmore served made him a witness to the downfall of the

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 ...

. On November 27, 1944, Wetmore and Lieutenant Р. York engaged in a skirmish with almost a hundred Bf.109 fighters to the north of Munster. As Wetmore himself said later: "To defend ourselves, we had to attack." Three Messerschmitts were shot down in the battle. The Americans escaped the battle without losses. Wetmore's next success was on January 14, 1945, when he shot down four

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, t ...

s in one day not far from the Dümmer lake airfield. His wingman took down a fifth enemy plane. In total on that day, the entire 359th Fighter Group recorded 4.5 victories. Wetmore achieved his last victory on March 15, 1945, near

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...

, destroying an Ме-163 rocket fighter. While he was chasing the Me 163, the air speed indicator on Wetmore's P-51D showed 600 miles per hour. In total, Wetmore completed around 142 combat flights throughout World War II. His final score was 21.25 destroyed, one damaged in aerial combat and 2.33 ground victories. It is the highest score in the

and eighth best of all American flying aces in the

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

. On

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

, he was a 21-year-old major.

Post war

After the war, Wetmore served with the

1st Fighter Group 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: *1 (number), a number, a numeral *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986) *AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyr ...

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...

from December 1945 to November 1946. After attending Officer's Electronics School, he was assigned as Operations Officer with the 37th Fighter Squadron of

14th Fighter Group 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 * 014 Construction Unit * Divi Divi Air Flight 014 * Pirna 014 The Pirna 014 was an axial turbojet designed in East Germany (or the GDR) in the mid- to late 1950s by former Junkers engineers, who were repatriat ...

Dow Air Force Base Bangor Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base. Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field, the airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army just before World War II and renamed Godfrey Army Airfield and later Dow Ar ...

, from October 1947 to March 1949. Wetmore was next assigned to

1st Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern; 1 AF-AFNORTH) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission is the air defense of the Conti ...

, where he served from March 1949 to December 1950. His final assignment was as Commander of the

59th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 59th Quartermaster Company is a bulk petroleum company designed to provide semi-portable storage for of fuel and to provide distribution of fuel to military units within a specified geographic area while deployed overseas. Its secondary missi ...

of 33rd Fighter-Interceptor Group at

Death

As a major, Wetmore commanded the

, Massachusetts. On February 14, 1951, Wetmore took off from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in an

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 Sov ...

on a trip to Otis. When he was on his final approach, his plane suddenly shot up skyward, and then turned towards the ground where it crashed. Wetmore was killed instantly. He was reported to have said that he could not slow the plane or eject. He was also reported to have said to the tower that, "I'm going to go up and bring it down in Wakeby Lake, so I don't hit any houses." When he died, he left a widow and four children.

Aerial victory credits

::::SOURCES: ''Air Force Historical Study 85: USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II''

Awards and decorations

His military decorations include:

Distinguished Service Cross citation (1st award)

:Wetmore, Ray :Captain (Air Corps), U.S. Army Air Forces :370th Fighter Squadron, 359th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force :Date of Action: November 2, 1944 :Citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Captain (Air Corps) Ray Shuey Wetmore, United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-51 Fighter Airplane in the 370th Fighter Squadron, 359th Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force, in aerial combat against enemy forces on 2 November 1944, during a bomber escort mission over Germany. Upon leaving the target, Captain Wetmore spotted thirty Me-109's which he immediately led his section of six airplanes to engage. He overtook the enemy and by the vigor and daring of his attack broke up the Me-109 formation. Scoring hits on one enemy airplane, he pursued it alone through the undercast to complete its destruction. Alone under the overcast, he then engaged from fifteen to twenty more Me-109's, refusing to break off the action in the face of repeated passes by the enemy pilots although only two of his guns were firing. Despite the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy, his cool courage and superb skill as a combat pilot resulted in the destruction of another enemy fighter, and the remaining Me-109's then dispersed. Captain Wetmore's resolute determination to attack and destroy the enemy in the face of every hazard and his eagerness to force combat against heavy odds have been an inspiration to his fellow flyers and reflect highest credit upon himself, the 8th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

Distinguished Service Cross citation (2nd award)

:Wetmore, Ray :Captain (Air Corps), U.S. Army Air Forces :370th Fighter Squadron, 359th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force :Date of Action: November 27, 1944 :Citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Service Cross to Captain (Air Corps) Ray Shuey Wetmore, United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-51 Fighter Airplane in the 370th Fighter Squadron, 359th Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force, in aerial combat against enemy forces on 27 November 1944, during an air mission over Germany. On this date, Captain Wetmore was leader of a flight of four P-51 fighter aircraft on a fighter sweep mission over north central Germany. During the mission he sighted three formations of enemy aircraft, totaling more than 200 FW 190's and Me-109's. With total disregard for his own personal safety, Major Wetmore tracked the hostile fighters, radioing their positions, altitude and course to his nearby fighter group. Supporting fighters failed to arrive, and Major Wetmore, ignoring the fact of the overwhelming odds of 200 to 2, chose to attack three of the enemy aircraft in the air. The action of Major Wetmore on this occasion was a clear demonstration of the willful selection of the more hazardous of two acceptable and honorable courses of action, since his withdrawal from the combat under such overwhelmingly unfavorable circumstances would certainly have been acceptable. Captain Wetmore's unquestionable valor in aerial combat is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 8th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

In popular culture

His P-51D-10 flown during World War II is featured in ''

War Thunder ''War Thunder'' is a free-to-play vehicular combat multiplayer video game developed and published by Gaijin Entertainment. Announced in 2011, it was first released in November 2012 as an open beta with a worldwide release in January 2013; it had ...

'' as a premium aircraft.

Notes

*Dr. Frank Olynyk (1995). ''Stars & Bars: A Tribute to the American Fighter Ace 1920–1973. Grub Street, London. *Lt. John F. McAlevey (March, 1971. ''Encounter at Remagen: U.S. Air Ace's Brush with Death'', Veterans of Foreign Wars Magazine, pp. 26–27,32)

References

External links

* *http://www.johnfmcalevey.com/ww2/remagen.htm *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l075YAuuqek *http://www.midwestaero.com/articles/daddysgirl.pdf *http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=23141 *https://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/359th-fighter-group-1943-1945/me-163-encounter-report-15-march-1945/154403034622430 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wetmore, Ray Shuey 1923 births 1951 deaths Accidental deaths in Massachusetts American World War II flying aces Aviators from California Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) United States Air Force officers United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1951 Military personnel from California