Viewing page 9 of 9

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

PHOTOCOPIED September 27, 2002, NASM PRESERVATION COPY

^[[1943]]

Page 16   The Journal and Guide  SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1943

BELIEVE 332ND FLYERS OFF TO COMBAT ZONE SOON

Colonel Davis is Commander Of New Unit

Will Use Better Type of Flying Ship, is Hinted

By ERNEST E. JOHNSON
WASHINGTON, D. C. - (ANP)
-The departure of the first all colored fighter group of the Army Air Forces, the 332nd Fighter Group, for a combat area is imminent. An informed source in the War Department has revealed that the date of departure and the destination have been set.

This is the group for which Lt. Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., returned from the North African theatre of operations to assume command. They are stationed at Selfridge Field, Mich.

And when that glorious day arrives, 84 pilots and a flock of enlisted men and their officers who make up the ground crew, will be on their way to put into practice the training for which the government has spent roughly $4,000.000.

TO USE FINER SHIPS
Further, it is authentically learned, when they arrive at their destination, they will get into the cockpits of a flying ship of superior capabilities, which the Army force has said very little about to date.

Throughout their training both at Tuskegee and at Selfridge Field, the men have been flying P-40s made by Curtiss-Wright, and P-38s, made by Bell Aircraft. Of the former, Col. Davis had said upon his return from Sicily that all they could do was to "turn, turn, turn."

A fighter group is comprised of three squadrons. Each squadron normally is commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and the group itself by a full colonel. It is not unlikely that young Davis may be raised in rank before the group departs.

NAVIGATORS, BOMBARDIERS
Meanwhile, the War Department has officially announced that 12 pilots from Tuskegee and Selfridge have been ordered to report to Mather Field, Calif., by November 15 to begin their training in the handling of B-25 bombers.

Already a group has arrived at Hondo Army Air Field, Texas, where they are undergoing training as navigators and bombardiers.

The War Department bureau of public relations explained that navigators and bombardiers will now perform dual functions. They will all learn navigating first and then bombarding techniques.

The reason for this change in practice, it was said, was because of the loss of effectiveness of a bomber should either of the two skilled men become disabled in the course of a mission.  


Transcription Notes:
P-40: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_P-40_Warhawk