Wayne K. Blickenstaff (June 25, 1920 – December 23, 2011) was a highly decorated United States Army Air Forces

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 ...

. He was a flying ace credited with 10 aerial victories, including five in a single day, for which he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

during World War II.

Early life

Wayne K. Blickenstaff was born on June 25, 1920, in Pomona, California. After graduating from Pomona High School, he attended Woodbury Business College in Los Angeles, California.

World War II

Blickenstaff enlisted in the Army Air Forces on January 28, 1942. He subsequently earned his flying wings and was commissioned as a

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. Lieutenant Blickenstaff was assigned to the

350th Fighter Squadron 35 or XXXV may refer to: * 35 (number), the natural number following 34 and preceding 36 * one of the years 35 BC, AD 35, 1935, 2035 * ''XXXV'' (album), a 2002 album by Fairport Convention * ''35xxxv'', a 2015 album by One Ok Rock * "35" (song), ...

353rd Fighter Group The 353rd Fighter Group, nicknamed the Slybird Group, was a fighter group of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. The group was stationed in England and comprised the 350th, 351st, and 352nd Fighter Squadrons. It pioneered th ...

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

at RAF Metfield in

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. He would fly a total of 133 combat missions during the war. On December 1, 1943, he damaged a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

over France. The squadron moved to RAF Raydon in Suffolk the following April. Blickenstaff was also promoted to

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and damaged another Bf 109 that month. He is believed to have later downed another over Germany on June 30, 1944. He was promoted to

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 ...

in August.

Ace status

Major Blickenstaff finally scored his first official victory on November 27, 1944. Blickenstaff was leading his squadron to

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an enemy supply depot in Germany. While near Brunswick, over 200 enemy planes attacked the American formations. Blickenstaff managed to shoot down four Fw 190s despite the cowling of his own

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 ...

being hit by enemy fire. Since some of the oil lines in his plane were hit, Blickenstaff was forced to land at Denain Airfield in

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. For his actions that day, Major Blickenstaff was awarded the

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. On February 22, 1945, Major Blickenstaff claimed his fifth victory of the war. While near Berlin, his squadron encountered four Me 262 jets. Blickenstaff and his flight dropped their extra fuel tanks in an effort to gain speed and chased one jet for about seven minutes. Unable to catch the jet and nearing Soviet lines, his flight broke off the chase. While returning, Blickenstaff spotted another Me 262 flying below him. Gaining speed in a dive, he was able to score numerous hits on the jet, forcing the pilot to bail out. With this victory, Blickenstaff distinguished himself as a flying ace, and one of the few American pilots credited with a jet kill. Blickenstaff was promoted to

on March 7, 1945.

Ace in a day status

On March 24, Lieutenant Colonel Blickenstaff was leading his squadron on a patrol near Kassel, Germany, when they encountered approximately 15 Bf 109s providing top cover for a similar number of Fw 190s several thousand feet below them. Blickenstaff quickly dove and got behind one Fw 190 and shot it down. Blickenstaff then fired at an Bf 109, getting several direct hits. He observed the canopy come off, but the plane crashed before the pilot had a chance to bail out. While looking around for more targets, Lieutenant Colonel Blickenstaff observed a fellow P-51 pilot shoot down an Fw 190, which crashed into a tree line. Blickenstaff then saw a Bf 109 coming from his rear, but he was able to out-turn the aircraft and place several hits on it, causing it to crash into some trees. At this point, Blickenstaff observed another pilot, Major

Robert A. Elder Robert Alexander Elder (July 10, 1918 – November 26, 1994) was a United States Air Force colonel. During World War II, he became a flying ace credited with five aerial victories, all of which occurred on the same date. Early life and care ...

, shoot down two Fw 190s as another enemy plane was on his tail. The Fw 190 on Elder's tail broke off and Blickenstaff opened fire on the plane. Although only one of his guns fired, Blickenstaff was still able to shoot the Fw 190 down. Blickenstaff then spotted another Fw 190 and called for another pilot to shoot it down. When no one responded, Blickenstaff managed to shoot it down with his one machine gun that was still operating. Blickenstaff claimed three Fw 190s and two Bf 109s in 30 minutes, making him an ace in a day. Additionally, Major Elder also shot down five enemy planes. This was the only time in the history of Eighth Air Force when two pilots from the same unit destroyed five or more enemy aircraft in the same engagement. The squadron downed a total of 29 German aircraft, losing five of their own. Blickenstaff was awarded the

for his actions that day. These were his final victories of the war, bringing his total number to 10.

Post-war

When the war ended, Blickenstaff was discharged from Army Air Forces as a lieutenant colonel. He attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and became an artist/illustrator. He had three children from his first marriage and one child and three step-children from his second marriage. He retired in 1989. Wayne K. Blickenstaff died on December 23, 2011, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Summary of enemy aircraft damaged/destroyed

::All information on enemy aircraft damaged and destroyed is from ''Stars and Bars''.