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World War II
| The honor of being the first USAAC squadron equipped with the Bell
P-39 Airacobra belongs to the 39th Pursuit Squadron, Selfridge Field, Michigan,
1941. |
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Lt. Charles W. King
with his P-39 "Cobra" 1941 |
|
Lt. Ralph C. Carey,
Pope Field, SC 1941 |
|
Sgt. Otto E. Neumann, Crew Chief
Pope Field, SC 1941 |
| The first Lockheed P-38 Lightnings in combat in the Southwest Pacific
belonged to the 39th Fighter Squadron. Scoring against the enemy
ran their score of kills up and over 100 by May of 1943. Their destinctive
"sharks' mouth" painted Lightnings reflect their confidence. |
|
Aces of the 39th Squadron, 1943
front - "Sully" O'Sullivan, Tommy Lynch, Ken Sparks
back - Dick Suehr, "Shady" Lane, Stan Andrews |
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Thomas J. Lynch, an agressive combat pilot, tactician and squadron
leader |
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Tommy Lynch, a rising star of the Pacific War. Score 10 and rising |
| Bob Faurot has the honor of downing the first Zero with a P-38 - without
firing a shot. A Zero taking off to intercept from the Lae, New Guinea
air strip flew through the concussion of Bob's 500 pound bomb blast and
"pan caked" into the ocean just beyond. Bob didn't hesitate collecting
the Air Medal promised by General Kenney for the first P-38 kill. |
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Capt. Robert L. Faurot, a
dedicated and fearless pace setter. |
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Bob Faurot moved his top hatted skull motif from his P-39 lucky #13
to his P-38 # 16. |
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Tommy Lynch, commander of the 39th Squadron at age 21. |
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Lunch break for ground crew, 14 Mile Drome, Port Moresby, New Guinea |
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Lt. William B. Rogers, Jug Pilot |
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Cpl. Roy Seher, Crew Chief, age 19 |
| The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a rugged bird, but very short on
range. Being equipped with "the Jug" in December 1943 effectively
took the 39th Squadron out of the war until, with Charles Lindbergh's help,
it's range was greatly extended. |
 |
Capt. Lee Grosshuesch, 39th Sqdn. Commander. Three Japs downed
over Formosa. January 1945 |
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Bombing up "Preacher's Passion" for the next mission.
Luzon, PI January 1945 |
 |
Team work. Preacher's Passion piloted by Bill Rogers and crewed
by Roy Seher. Gusap, New Guinea 1944. |
Pending - North American P-51 era from Clark Field, Luzon, PI to
Okinawa to Japan.
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