WIX Archives
Re: Don Gentiles Logbook - Shangri-La -Long!
Posted by Tom on Sun Nov 18, 2001 11:46:31 AM
In reply top Don Gentiles Logbook - Shangri-La -Long! posted by Tony on Sat Nov 17, 2001 02:08:45 PM
: The following is copyright Wade Meyers, via the IPMS site
:
: Tony :0)
:
: Wade Meyers
: Don Gentile's 1944 logbook, Part One
: Sat Jan 13 18:06:47 2001
:
:
: Don Gentile's 1944 Logbook:
: An Explication
:
: by Wade Meyers
: ? Copyright 2001
:
:
: To all 4th Fighter Group (WWII) buffs, I hope the followin
: g information on Don Gentile will prove useful and interes
: ting. In the mid-1980s, while working at the 8th Air Force
: Museum at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana (Barksdale has been th
: e Headquarters of 8AF since 1975 and the 2nd Bomb Wing sin
: ce 1963 - the 2nd is the oldest Wing in the Air Force - an
: d the museum there headed by Buck Rigg is a gold mine of 8
: AF, Barksdale, and 2nd BW history and memorabilia), I had
: the privilege of corresponding with Don's son, then-Major
: Joseph Gentile, USAF (an F-16 Instructor Pilot!), and Don'
: s widow, Isabella. Both were very nice, helpful, and most
: cordial. Kind of gave me an insight into what a class guy
: Don must have been. They both said they didn't have much l
: eft of Don's items since most of his uniforms, etc. had be
: en donated to the USAF Museum and the Ohio Aviation Histor
: ical Society. As an aside, I once had the opportunity to v
: iew the contents of Don's storage locker at the USAF Museu
: m - a rare privilege indeed. This box contained Don's effe
: cts that were not on exhibit. It was filled with a ton of
: stuff, including A-14 oxygen masks and (P-51!) flight inst
: ruments. As I held the instruments in my hands, I had a sn
: eaking suspicion that some of these were from Shangri-La .
: . . they had to be - why else would he have saved them? B
: ut I digress . . .
:
: One of Joe's possessions was his dad's WWII logbook - what
: a treasure! Joe was kind enough to photocopy most of it f
: or me. He skipped some months in 1942 and 1943, but the en
: tries for 1944 are complete. I will reproduce these entrie
: s for you here, along with my own comments and observation
: s. I think you will find some "new" information presented,
: which, if nothing else, goes to show how much we still ha
: ve to learn - and it's evidently only going to be primary
: historical data such as this that sorts things out. Thanks
: in part to writer, modeler, and fellow serious 4FG buff T
: homas M. Cleaver. Tom's extensive research while writing h
: is screenplay, "Little Friends," revealed among other thin
: gs that Don was very meticulous about having kill marks pa
: inted on his airplane shortly after they occurred - usuall
: y just after the debriefing where witness confirmation wou
: ld occur. This fact helps us more accurately date photos o
: f Gentile's P-51B-5-NA 43-6913 "Shangri-La" - what few we'
: ve seen. In the text below, I have numbered each kill as h
: e wrote it in his logbook, which matches the order in whic
: h they were painted on his airplanes. "Official" confirmat
: ion usually occurred several days afterward, according to
: the Hall book, "1000 Destroyed."
:
: Don's victory tally has been the subject of a little contr
: oversy for many years now. There's the official score, and
: then there's the unofficial score. Gentile claimed, and w
: as officially awarded at the time, 30 kills: 23 air and 7
: ground. As we all know, this matches the final tally of 30
: crosses painted on Shangri-La on April 13, 1944, the day
: he flew his last combat mission. However, his scores were
: revised downward after the war to (sources differ) around
: 21.80 air and 6.0 ground. Why did this happen? Well, the a
: nswer is simple: Don shared several of his victories with
: others. This is a matter of record. However, what's very i
: mportant to note is that in his logbook, and on his airpla
: nes, the shared victories were counted/painted as "full" k
: ills. That's how we get to the unofficial 30 kill total. I
: 'm not going to try and guess why this was condoned by Don
: , his commander Col. Don Blakeslee, VIII Fighter Command's
: Victory Confirmation Board, and the international press.
: Oh, and I'm not saying this practice was necessarily *wron
: g*. For the correct perspective, we have to place ourselve
: s in their minds back then. Maybe VIII Fighter Command and
: the publicity troops saw shared kills as full kills to he
: lp the publicity engine. Lord knows they needed it back th
: en. They also harped on the teamwork exhibited between Gen
: tile and Godfrey, which was crucial to their individual su
: ccesses, as a means of encouraging other pilots to do the
: same. Maybe not a bad thing all around.
:
: The downward revision takes into account the shared kills,
: and rightfully so in my opinion. As you know, Don was not
: the only ace to have his totals adjusted after careful re
: view of the evidence. The exact fraction can be debated by
: the experts, but that's not my concern here. My goal with
: this little article is to go back in time and present Don
: 's 1944 logbook day by day as Don wrote it, noting victori
: es as he goes along, which, as far as I can tell, match th
: e sequence of victories painted on his airplanes.
:
: OK, here we go - with my editorials in [ ] brackets after
: the date commented on. I have not differentiated much betw
: een Air and Ground kills. As you may know, back then 8AF g
: ave equal credit to both, which was what they should have
: done if they wanted pilots to "waste" ammunition on ground
: targets. Accordingly, both types were painted on most 8AF
: aircraft as "kills". This was the case with Gentile.
:
:
: DATE.....A/C-CODE.....NOTES.....FLIGHT TIME.....MISC.
:
: Jan 2 P-47/T Low flying 1:10
: Jan 4 P-47/T Escort to Munster 2:55
: Jan 5 P-47/U Tours airdrome, France 3:05 1 FW190
:
: [kill #4]
:
: Jan 7 P-47/T Mons-Hirson-LeTougret 2:50
: Jan 9 P-47/T Air Test 0:35
: Jan 10 P-47/T Practice dive-bombing 1:00
: Jan 11 P-47/T Diepholz 1:55
: Jan 14 P-47/T Free Lance - Calais area 2:10 2 FW190
:
: [Kills #5 and #6. Don became an ace on this mission. Later
: , on Jan 17, Don was awarded an OLC to his DFC.]
:
: Jan 20 P-47/U P-38 Affiliation 1:20
: Jan 21 P-47/U Free Lance - Calais Area 3:05
: Jan 21 P-47/U Gravesend to Debden 0:15
: Jan 23 P-47/T P-38 Affiliation 1:15
: Jan 24 P-47/T Ramrod - Malmedy Area 3:00
: Jan 27 P-47/T Local Formation 0:50
: Jan 30 P-47/T Sweep - Brunswick 2:50
: Jan 31 P-47/T Dive Bombing-Gilze-Rijen 2:05
:
: [Summary of time as of the end of Jan 1944: Total Operatio
: nal Time - 228:05; Total Operational Sorties - 153; Total
: P-47 Time - 247:30. Note: Don had been 336 FS "B" Flight C
: ommander as of late 1943.]
:
: Feb 2 P-47/T Free Lance - Lille 2:25
: Feb 3 P-47/T Ramrod - Emden 1:05 Returned - Radio U/S
: Feb 4 P-47/T Ramrod - Frankfort [sic] 2:45
: Feb 5 P-47/T Free Lance - Lille, Paris 2:50
: Feb 6 P-47/T Ramrod - Beauvais 2:50
: Feb 8 P-47/T Ramrod - St. Vith Area 2:50
: Feb 9 P-51/G-4G Experimental Testing 0:35
:
: [Don's first P-51 flight.]
:
: Feb 10 P-51/G-4G Experimental Testing 1:05
: Feb 11 P-51/G-4G Experimental Testing 0:45
: Feb 12 P-51/G-4G Experimental Testing 1:40
: Feb 13 P-51/G-4G Experimental Testing 0:40
:
: [Don's logbook doesn't have a "Takeoff - Landing Location"
: column like we have today. The Speer book says that Feb 1
: 3th was the day Blakeslee landed with the first P-51s *ass
: igned* to the 4FG, and the Fry book says the 14th was the
: day. Without doing further research, I think that Don and
: possibly some of the other flight commanders went somewher
: e else *beforehand* (on or about Feb 9) to check out "thor
: oughly" in the P-51B - which would make sense as the fligh
: t commanders would be expected to "shepherd" the pilots in
: their Flights. Maybe it was Leiston - This would explain
: his complete absence from operations at Debden during the
: period Feb 9 to Feb 13. Likewise, I would assume that if t
: he P-51 "G-4G" (he probably meant "G4-G", which was a 357F
: G squadron code) was, for a short while, the ONLY P-51 at
: Debden, then Don would have flown some of the regular comb
: at missions from Feb 9 to Feb 13 - so Don initially checki
: ng out at Debden doesn't make sense to me. I conclude, the
: refore, that Don and likely some other flight leaders went
: to another location to get good check-outs prior to the m
: ass of 4FG pilots being exposed to the new fighter. We all
: know the story of how the pilots all learned to fly the f
: ighters in about 30 minutes, then "on the way to the targe
: ts," which may be true in some cases, but I now believe, b
: ased on Don's logbook entries, that some or all of the Fli
: ght Commanders were checked out beforehand. Don Blakeslee
: was a smart commander, and this would have been the pruden
: t thing to do.]
:
: Feb 15 P-47/T Dive Bombing - Chievres 2:20
: Feb 19 P-47/T Squadron Balboa 0:15
:
: ["Balboa", or "Balbo" was a big squadron formation - why?
: Practice, I suppose.]
:
: Feb 20 P-47/T Ramrod - Leipzeig 3:30
: Feb 21 P-47/T Air Test 0:15
: Feb 21 P-47/T Ramrod - Brunswick 3:20
: Feb 22 P-47/T Ramrod - SW Germany 3:00
: Feb 23 P-47/L Local 0:20
: Feb 24 P-47/T Ramrod - Schweinfurt 2:50 1 FW190 (Probable)
:
: Feb 25 P-47/T Ramrod - Stutgart [sic] 3:05 1 FW190
:
: [Kill no. 7 . . . last P-47 flight for Don, at least in th
: e UK.]
:
: Feb 28 P-51/P Local Formation 0:15
:
: ["P" subsequently assigned to Godfrey]
:
: Feb 28 P-51/P Local Formation 0:45
:
: [same day, same plane]
:
: Feb 28 P-51/F Free Lance - Compiegne 0:40 Returned, wing t
: ank u/s
: Feb 29 P-51/R Ramrod - Brunswick 4:20
:
: [Summary for Feb 1944: Total operational time - 264:10; To
: tal operational sorties - 165; Total P-47 time - 281:10; T
: otal P-51 time - 11:00. Don also signed his own logbook th
: is time as the "Officer in Charge of the Squadron" verifyi
: ng the times given for February 1944. Don is not listed as
: ever being 336 commander, but, as Fry points out, actual
: circumstances of command often varied from the official li
: sting. This is confirmed by Tom Cleaver's research. During
: this period, Jim Goodson was 336 CO, but was sometimes aw
: ay in Italy to educate 15AF Mustang groups while they brok
: e in their P-51s. Goodson was vying for a command slot, ma
: ybe with the 4th after "Col. Don" left, and getting leader
: ship time with other groups was a good education. As it wa
: s, Goodson was shot down in mid-1944 and never got the cha
: nce to lead the group. "Claib" Kinnard and others finally
: succeeded Blakeslee in the fall. If Don's logbook is an ex
: ample, all 4FG pilots' logs were signed each month by the
: pilot's flight commander and "O. C. Sqdn".]
:
:
:
: Mar 1 P-51/W Local 0:55
: Mar 1 P-51/Q Local 1:30
: Mar 2 P-51/T Target Support - Frankfort 4:15
:
: [First flight in P-51 VF-T, which became "Shangri-La". Whe
: n exactly the artwork was applied has been lost to time -
: anybody out there?]
:
: Mar 3 P-51/W Target Support - Hamburg 7:00 2 FW190
:
: [Kills #8 and #9. 1 DO217 damaged also on this mission. Lo
: ngest mission listed. On return, Don landed at Hurn airdro
: me on the English coast as he was almost out of gas and co
: uldn't make Debden.]
:
: Mar 3 P-51/W Hurn to Debden 0:40
:
: [Same day return flight to Debden after refueling]
:
: Mar 5 P-51/T Target Support - Bordeaux 1:35 Returned - eng
: ine rough
:
: [When you examine these entries, it seems VF-T, like a lot
: of the other ETO P-51s at this time, had a relatively tro
: ublesome engine - look how often he flew other "kites".]
:
: Mar 6 P-51/OS-M Steeple Morden to Debden 0:15
: Mar 6 P-51/OS-M Target Support - Berlin 1:10 Returned - en
: gine cut out
:
: [Don was driven or flown (AT-6 or UC-64) to Steeple-Morden
: early today or late last night to pick up P-51B OS-M due
: to VF-T's engine troubles - and lack of spare aircraft . .
: . he then flew OS-M back to Debden for this Mar 6 mission
: , but, as we see, he wasn't having much luck since he had
: to abort. Whether he landed back at S-M to return the kite
: , or returned to Debden is not clear. This confirms what t
: he books say about the new P-51s being "temperamental thor
: oughbreds". The 4 FG had the same teething problems when t
: he P-47s were new. The Mustang engine ills were somewhat c
: ured by replacing the American spark plugs with British on
: es. Sources say that the plugs (24 of them per engine!) we
: re also pulled, cleaned, and re-gapped after every long mi
: ssion due to the high Lead (anti-detonation) compound adde
: d to raise the octane rating of the inferior British fuel
: used.]
:
: Mar 7 P-51/T Air Test 1:30
:
: [This would be "slow timing" VF-T's engine after maintenan
: ce.]
:
: Mar 8 P-51/T Target Support - Berlin 5:20 4 ME109
:
: [Kills #10, #11, #12, and #13. A big day! This day is seen
: as the start of the very public "ace race" between Gentil
: e and Beeson to see who will be first to break Eddie Ricke
: nbacker's WW1 score of 26. Beeson, the serious and studiou
: s ace if there ever was one, was subsequently shot down an
: d made a POW on April 5.]
:
: Mar 9 P-51/T Target Support - Berlin 1:55 Returned - engin
: e rough
:
: [The period 13-15 March saw all ETO P-51s grounded. They h
: ad been troublesome beasts with rough engines, oil leaks,
: and wing tank feed problems. All wing bolts were replaced
: at this time due to several Mustangs having "shed a wing"
: in the recent past. If I remember correctly, that was late
: r traced to faulty main gear uplocks, which allowed one ge
: ar to shift downwards slightly into the slipstream when G'
: s were pulled, causing an asymmetric problem leading to wi
: ng failure. Also, on March 15 the group's Mustangs receive
: d their famous red noses per VIII Fighter Command order.]
:
: Mar16 P-51/T Target Support - Munich 1:50 Returned - engin
: e rough
: Mar17 P-51/T Weather Test 0:30
: Mar17 P-51/T Formation Flying 1:35
: Mar18 P-51/T Target Support - Munich 5:20 1 FW190
:
: [Kill #14. Also last flight in "T" for a little while.]
:
: Mar20 P-51/N Target Support - Frankfort 3:00 Early return
: w/ Goodson.
:
: [Escort "service" for Jim Goodson back to Debden]
:
: Mar22 P-51/N Target Support - Berlin 5:15
: Mar23 P-51/N Target Support - Brunswick 3:30 2 ME109s
:
: [Kills #15 and #16]
:
: Mar24 P-51/N Target Support - Schw'furt 5:00
: Mar27 P-51/N Bomber Escort -Bordeaux 5:25 2 ME110s
:
: [Kills #17 and #18]
:
: Mar28 P-51/N Target Support - Chateaudun 3:20
: Mar29 P-51/N Target Support - Brunswick 4:25 2 FW190 & 1 M
: E109
:
: [kills #19, #20, and #21]
:
: Mar30 P-51/T Slow Time 1:15
:
: [Flying Shangri-La again!]
:
: Mar31 P-51/T Slow Time 0:25
:
: [Summary for March: Total operational time - 314:25; Total
: operational sorties - 176; Total P-47 time - 281:10; Tota
: l P-51 time - 76:20.]
:
:
: Apr 1 P-51/N Ludwigshaven - Mannheim 5:25 1 ME109
:
: [Kill #22. The famous series of photos of Don and sometime
: s with Johnny Godfrey in and around Shangri-La (note: alwa
: ys with a 21-victory scroll) must have been taken during t
: he period March 30, when he got VF-T "back from the shop"
: to April 1, when he scored Kill #22. Some photos in this s
: eries show a half red and white spinner, and some show a f
: ull red spinner. The half red/white spinner was painted th
: at way for easier aerial recognition in the air between Do
: n and Johnny. I believe the victory crosses and half red/w
: hite spinner was painted based on the following time line
: - most is my own conjecture based on available data:
:
: *************************
: Mar 15: 4 FG receives red noses, but VF-T's spinner left w
: hite on forward half at Don's request. The 8AF group color
: nose markings were a new thing at this time, and Don prob
: ably thought he could get away with his "unique" nose colo
: r arrangement.
: Mar 16-18: VF-T flown with red/wht nose, and 13 crosses on
: the scroll.
: Mar 18: Kill #14 scored, applied to VF-T, but airplane "do
: wned" for maintenance.
: Mar 20-29: VF-N flown by Gentile in place of VF-T; his sco
: re goes up to 21 during this time.
: Mar 30: Don "slow times" VF-T after maintenance. 21 kills
: now painted on scoreboard. Last kills put on either in the
: hangar or by Don's crew chief after she got back to her d
: ispersal on the 29th or early on the 30th. Series of photo
: s of Don and Johnny together near nose of Shangri-La proba
: bly taken today after the slow time flight. Half red/white
: nose and spinner prominent in these photos - as is the 21
: -kill scoreboard. About this time, Blakeslee orders full r
: ed spinner painted on Shangri-La before next mission she w
: ill participate in - to match rest of group noses. Full re
: d nose painted on tonight.
: Mar 31: Another day of slow time for the engine. Photos of
: Don alone in/near Shangri-La taken after this flight - so
: me shots of Don on wing with armorers also taken today.
: Apr 1: Kill #22 scored. However, Don was flying VF-N today
: when he got this kill . . . he flew "N" a lot, didn't he?
: Why he was flying it today I don't know; maybe something
: to do with the plugs being cleaned/gapped in VF-T - a time
: consuming chore. "N" was another B Flight kite parked clo
: se to VF-T in photos, so that makes sense. . The 22nd kill
: was painted on Shangri
:
:
: Apr 1: Kill #22 scored. However, Don was flying VF-N today
: when he got this kill . . . he flew "N" a lot, didn't he?
: Why he was flying it today I don't know; maybe something
: to do with the plugs being cleaned/gapped in VF-T - a time
: consuming chore. "N" was another B Flight kite parked clo
: se to VF-T in photos, so that makes sense. . The 22nd kill
: was painted on Shangri-La (with her shiny new full red no
: se!) soon afterwards. Still with me? You must love this st
: uff!
:
: Apr 4-13: Kills 23-30 scored. Except for the April 13 cras
: h photos, I've seen no photos of Shangri-La from this peri
: od. We do know that the victory banner was extended to acc
: ommodate the additional kills. Also, at some time VF-T's f
: ull red spinner peeled badly probably due to weather (the
: red they used was from local British stocks and has been r
: eported as a low-pigment cheap type paint) and repainted f
: ull red again. Apr 13 crash shows full red nose with no pe
: eling. A photo in the Wolfert book shows Don and Johnny wa
: lking away from VF-T with a badly peeled post full red spi
: nner.]
:
: *************************
:
: Apr 4 P-51/T Air Test 0:30
: Apr 5 P-51/N Fighter Sweep - Strafing 4:45 *
:
: [* 3 JU88, ? JU88, and another ? JU88 on this mission. The
: se are the only "split" kills Don acknowledges in his logb
: ook. Nevertheless, these were counted as 5 "full" aircraft
: destroyed - bringing him up to 27 kills. I would think th
: at on this date the victory scroll on the left side of the
: cockpit was enlarged to a full two rows. Notice how Don s
: waps out VF-T and VF-N for these last missions . . . could
: this be from the time involved in pulling, cleaning, and
: re-gapping 24 plugs per engine? ]
:
: Apr 8 P-51/T Free Lance - Brunswick 4:05 3 FW190
:
: [Last 3 kills (all aerial by the way) . . . total of 30 cr
: osses now applied to Shangri-La.]
:
: Apr10 P-51/N Air Test 0:30
:
: [Gentile and Blakeslee awarded the DSC by Gen. Eisenhower
: in a ceremony at Debden on April 11.]
:
: Apr13 P-51/T Target Support - Schweinfurt 4:55
:
:
: Final Summary for April 1944, and Don's *combat* career: T
: otal operational time - 333:35; Total operational sorties
: - 184; Total P-47 time - 281:10; Total P-51 time - 96:30.
:
: Don had a grand total of 3036:10 hours of flight time as o
: f April 13, 1944. This is a heck of a lot more than your a
: verage WWII pilot plucked off the streets and run through
: the USAAF training mill. As most of you know, Don did a lo
: t (and I do mean a LOT) of civilian flying in Piqua, Ohio
: before he went overseas with the RAF and the Eagles - ah,
: the days when civilian flying was fun, "relatively" cheap(
: er), and we didn't have all those darn regs!]
:
: References:
:
: 1. Don Gentile's wartime logbook.
: 2. Escort To Berlin, by Garry Fry and Jeff Ethell.
: 3. The Debden Warbirds, by 4FG pilot Frank Speer.
: 4. Thomas M. Cleaver's interviews with many 4FG alumni.
: 5. 1000 Destroyed, by Grover C. Hall, Jr.
: 6. One Man Air Force (1944), by Ira Wolfert.
:
: Miscellaneous Notes:
:
: 1. Some photos of Gentile and Godfrey in front of Shangri-
: La in today's reference books imply that Debden didn't hav
: e PSP parking spots - not true - PSP was very prominent at
: Debden as numerous photos clearly show.
: 2. The Shangri-La crash was filmed, according to witness G
: rover C. Hall, Jr., Group PRO and historian. Where is this
: film?! The only motion picture film I've seen of Don Gent
: ile was in a Discovery Channel piece long ago. Shows Don a
: nd Johnny talking on Shangri-La. Only lasts about 25 secon
: ds or so. I'll bet there's enough film of those two to mak
: e a two-hour documentary! Come on, independent producers a
: nd directors - quit using the same old stock footage we're
: all seen 100 times! Yeah, I know you'll have to dig for i
: t - so start digging!
: 3. Don makes no mention of the April 13 crash in his logbo
: ok. He only wrote, "Left England for the good old U. S. A.
: " directly under the April 13 entry.
: 4. It's interesting to note that Don only scored 4 victori
: es while flying Shangri-La, and he only flew this airplane
: a total of 14 times!
:
:
:
:
Good job there bookworm Tony, this has given me itchy feet again.
Tom ;)