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New page: '''Neel Kearby''' was a P-47 pilot in the Pacific Theater of World War II, and the commanding officer of the 348th Fighter Group. Before his death in combat in 1944, he scored 22 aeri...
'''Neel Kearby''' was a P-47 pilot in the Pacific Theater of [[World War II]], and the commanding officer of the 348th Fighter Group. Before his death in combat in 1944, he scored 22 aerial victories and won the [[Medal of Honor]], one of only three USAAF fighter pilots (and the only P-47 pilot) in the Pacific Theater to do so.
Before Neel Kearby, a native of [[Texas]], joined the war with the 348th FG, he was assigned to the [[Panama Canal]] Zone, flying patrols in P-39 fighters. He was one of the first pilots of the group to be checked out in the P-47 Thunderbolt, and was immediately impressed with it, convinced that the large and powerful fighter was superior to any [[Axis]] plane. He, along with the rest of the fighter group, arrived in [[Australia]] in June 1943. The P-38 Lightning had been the premier Allied fighter in the area for close to a year, and the Lightning pilots looked down on the stubby, heavy Thunderbolt. The story goes that Kearby himself proved the P-47’s fighting prowess in a mock dogfight with a P-38. Operationally, however, the P-47s were still handicapped by their relatively short range, though this was alleviated partially by new external tanks.
Kearby opened his score on September 4, 1943 with a G4M “Betty” bomber and a [[Nakajima Ki-43|Ki-43]] “Oscar”, and followed this up ten days later by shooting down another twin-engined bomber, a Ki-46 “Dinah”. On September 23, he was promoted to full colonel, but October 11 turned out to be Kearby’s biggest day ever. Kearby led 4 P-47s on a fighter sweep over the Japanese base at Wewak, [[New Guinea]], and ran into 40 Japanese Army fighters. The ensuing combat lasted close to an hour, and when it was over, Colonel Kearby had shot down six fighters (four Oscars and two Ki-61 “Tonys”). Two other pilots had downed three Tonys between them for a total of nine Japanese fighters splashed without so much as a scratch on any of the Thunderbolts. This made Kearby the first P-47 ace of the Pacific Theater, and set a record for most victories in a single mission (This record would be broken a year later by Navy ace [[David McCampbell]]). Upon hearing of this one-sided victory, General George Kenney, head of American Army air forces in the Pacific, recommended Neel Kearby for the Congressional Medal of Honor, which was presented to him by General [[Douglas MacArthur]] himself in January of 1944. It was the first time in World War II that the MOH had been awarded to an Army Air Corps fighter pilot.
By this time, Kearby had become one of the top scoring pilots in the theater, having downed a Ki-21 bomber and a [[Mitsubishi Zero|Zero]] on January 3 for his 18th and 19th victories. He was kicked upstairs to desk duty at Fighter Command Headquarters for the theater, partly to keep him out of combat. Kenney was well aware of the good publicity of the exploits of a top-scoring ace, but he was equally aware of the bad publicity if that ace got himself killed. Kearby was highly unsatisfied with his new duty, and took every opportunity to fly again. Kenney allowed this, but kept him restricted to two combat flights per week or less (emphasis on the “or less”) and further told him that if he scored a kill on one of these flights, he was to immediately break off and leave the action. Kearby scored a double on January 9, raising his score to 21 and tying him for the lead with P-38 pilot [[Richard Bong]]. The magic number was 26 victories, the score of the top American ace of [[World War I]], Eddie Rickenbacker. The first Army Air Corps pilot to break the record would assure his place in the history books. On February 15, Bong scored his 22nd victory, a Tony, making Kearby even more eager to return to the fight. On March 5, Bong scored again, and 24 hours later, Kearby was in the air.
Kearby led two other veteran pilots on another fighter sweep near Wewak. There are two different versions of what happened next. One version is that they came across three bombers (identified at the time as G3M “Nells” but more likely Ki-48 “Lilys”). Each pilot flamed one, but an [[Nakajima Ki-43|Oscar]] came in behind Kearby and shot him down with a long burst to the cockpit. One of Kearby’s wingmen, William D. Dunham, downed the Oscar, but the damage was done.<ref>Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces of the Pacific and CBI, by John Stanaway, Osprey Publishing, 1999</ref> The other version is that they ran into fifteen Japanese aircraft, and attacked. Kearby immediately downed one, and contrary to General Kenney’s order, went back to get another, but was jumped by three Zeros and shot down.<ref>Aces, by William Yenne, Berkeley Books, 2000</ref> Both stories agree on the important details, however: on March 6, 1944, Colonel Neal Kearby was shot down and killed after scoring his 22nd victory. His score remained the highest of any P-47 pilot in the Pacific Theater.
==References==
<references/>
==Links==
*[http://www.homeofheroes.com/wings/part2/11_kearby.html Neel Kearby] at Wings of Valor
*[http://www.acepilots.com/usaaf_kearby.html Neel Kearby, Giant in a Jug] at AcePilots.com
==Further Reading==
*Kearby’s Thunderbolts: The 348th Fighter Group in World War II, by John Stanaway, Schiffer Publishing, 1977
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kearby, Neel}}
[[Category:Aviation]]
[[Category:Military Personnel]]
[[Category:World War II]]
Before Neel Kearby, a native of [[Texas]], joined the war with the 348th FG, he was assigned to the [[Panama Canal]] Zone, flying patrols in P-39 fighters. He was one of the first pilots of the group to be checked out in the P-47 Thunderbolt, and was immediately impressed with it, convinced that the large and powerful fighter was superior to any [[Axis]] plane. He, along with the rest of the fighter group, arrived in [[Australia]] in June 1943. The P-38 Lightning had been the premier Allied fighter in the area for close to a year, and the Lightning pilots looked down on the stubby, heavy Thunderbolt. The story goes that Kearby himself proved the P-47’s fighting prowess in a mock dogfight with a P-38. Operationally, however, the P-47s were still handicapped by their relatively short range, though this was alleviated partially by new external tanks.
Kearby opened his score on September 4, 1943 with a G4M “Betty” bomber and a [[Nakajima Ki-43|Ki-43]] “Oscar”, and followed this up ten days later by shooting down another twin-engined bomber, a Ki-46 “Dinah”. On September 23, he was promoted to full colonel, but October 11 turned out to be Kearby’s biggest day ever. Kearby led 4 P-47s on a fighter sweep over the Japanese base at Wewak, [[New Guinea]], and ran into 40 Japanese Army fighters. The ensuing combat lasted close to an hour, and when it was over, Colonel Kearby had shot down six fighters (four Oscars and two Ki-61 “Tonys”). Two other pilots had downed three Tonys between them for a total of nine Japanese fighters splashed without so much as a scratch on any of the Thunderbolts. This made Kearby the first P-47 ace of the Pacific Theater, and set a record for most victories in a single mission (This record would be broken a year later by Navy ace [[David McCampbell]]). Upon hearing of this one-sided victory, General George Kenney, head of American Army air forces in the Pacific, recommended Neel Kearby for the Congressional Medal of Honor, which was presented to him by General [[Douglas MacArthur]] himself in January of 1944. It was the first time in World War II that the MOH had been awarded to an Army Air Corps fighter pilot.
By this time, Kearby had become one of the top scoring pilots in the theater, having downed a Ki-21 bomber and a [[Mitsubishi Zero|Zero]] on January 3 for his 18th and 19th victories. He was kicked upstairs to desk duty at Fighter Command Headquarters for the theater, partly to keep him out of combat. Kenney was well aware of the good publicity of the exploits of a top-scoring ace, but he was equally aware of the bad publicity if that ace got himself killed. Kearby was highly unsatisfied with his new duty, and took every opportunity to fly again. Kenney allowed this, but kept him restricted to two combat flights per week or less (emphasis on the “or less”) and further told him that if he scored a kill on one of these flights, he was to immediately break off and leave the action. Kearby scored a double on January 9, raising his score to 21 and tying him for the lead with P-38 pilot [[Richard Bong]]. The magic number was 26 victories, the score of the top American ace of [[World War I]], Eddie Rickenbacker. The first Army Air Corps pilot to break the record would assure his place in the history books. On February 15, Bong scored his 22nd victory, a Tony, making Kearby even more eager to return to the fight. On March 5, Bong scored again, and 24 hours later, Kearby was in the air.
Kearby led two other veteran pilots on another fighter sweep near Wewak. There are two different versions of what happened next. One version is that they came across three bombers (identified at the time as G3M “Nells” but more likely Ki-48 “Lilys”). Each pilot flamed one, but an [[Nakajima Ki-43|Oscar]] came in behind Kearby and shot him down with a long burst to the cockpit. One of Kearby’s wingmen, William D. Dunham, downed the Oscar, but the damage was done.<ref>Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces of the Pacific and CBI, by John Stanaway, Osprey Publishing, 1999</ref> The other version is that they ran into fifteen Japanese aircraft, and attacked. Kearby immediately downed one, and contrary to General Kenney’s order, went back to get another, but was jumped by three Zeros and shot down.<ref>Aces, by William Yenne, Berkeley Books, 2000</ref> Both stories agree on the important details, however: on March 6, 1944, Colonel Neal Kearby was shot down and killed after scoring his 22nd victory. His score remained the highest of any P-47 pilot in the Pacific Theater.
==References==
<references/>
==Links==
*[http://www.homeofheroes.com/wings/part2/11_kearby.html Neel Kearby] at Wings of Valor
*[http://www.acepilots.com/usaaf_kearby.html Neel Kearby, Giant in a Jug] at AcePilots.com
==Further Reading==
*Kearby’s Thunderbolts: The 348th Fighter Group in World War II, by John Stanaway, Schiffer Publishing, 1977
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kearby, Neel}}
[[Category:Aviation]]
[[Category:Military Personnel]]
[[Category:World War II]]