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Robb Satterfield
ROBB SATTERFIELD, LT. COL.
born in Lufkin, Texas, on 23 October, 1924.
Graduated high school in Austin, Texas.
Attended University of Texas for 11/2 years.
Ambition - Air Corps fighter pilot.
Entered USAAF in Dec. 1942. Trained at
Thunderbird No.1, Arizona; and Lancaster,
Calif. Graduated Class 44C at Williams Field,
Ariz. Instructed in AT-6s at Williams. Fighter
training at Brownsville, Texas. Ferried
P-39,40,47,51 and 63 till 1946. Assigned 92nd F.S., 81st F.G.,7th AF at Wheeler Field,
Hawaii, till 1949, flying P-47Ns. Assigned to 77th FBS, 20th FBG till May,
1955, flying F-84s. Graduated USAF Fighter Weapons Instructor School in 1949.
Helped develop fighter nuclear weapons
delivery with F-84E. Had two tours in England and 4 Atlantic crossings to RAF Manston in 1950 and RAF Wethersfield in 1952.
Was Operations Officer of the 51Oth FBS,
405th FBW, at Langley in F-84Fs. Graduated USAF Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards in 1956.
Was Chief, AF Flight Acceptance, Republic Aviation Corp., till June, 1961, flying F-84Fs and F-105s. Then Chief, Flight Test
Maintenance at Brookley AFB till July,
1965, flying F-105, F-102 and F-86H.
Retired from USAF 31 July 1965 as lieutenant colonel.
Flew Lear Jets with EJA. Moved to Midland, Texas, in December, 1965, and flew
NAA Sabreliner to date.
Am part owner of a P-51D "Miss Torque"
and a Messerschmitt Me-108. Married Jean
Wilson in Modesto, Calif., on 31 July 1949.
Have two children, Marilyn and Larry.
Total flying hours ~ 17,800. In the P-47, 680 in D,G,and N. Did not get into
combat. One Air Medal for a couple of F-105 saves.
Had a P-47 prop run away with three
pistons thru the cylinder heads. Dead-sticked
thru a low overcast. One brake line cut so into
the boonies. No damage ~ Republic built 'em tough!
Had oxygen failure at 30,000. P-47 recovered at 1500 feet and I woke up at 20,000. Jim Duncan may never forgive me for
leading him into Haleakala Crater. Getting
out was harder. Jim brought out lots of twigs
and leaves.
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Pilot Name
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Biography Summary
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John Abbotts
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P-47 transition followed at Pocatello, Idaho and Greenville, Texas after which he was assigned to the 56th Fighter Group in England. When the news of his arrival reached Berlin, Hitler retired to his bunker with his cyanide capsule and revolver. Eva found the news equally depressing.
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Asa A. Adair
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He returned to the States in August of 1944 after participating in the invasion "D" Day. He flew P-63's, P-51's, F-80's, T-33's, F-84's, T-38's, P-47's in numerous assignments during the following twenty years in in, Japan, U.S.A. and Europe before retiring after twenty-six years of Active Duty.
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Edward B. Addison
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The 507th Fighter Group, equipped with P-47N's, won the Presidential Unit Citation for destroying 32 Japanese aircraft in the air on one mission to Seoul, Korea. The average flying time for raids to Korea and Japan would be 7 to 9 hours flying time. In a total of 31 months, the 507th not only provided top cover for B-29's, but also
dive-bombed, napalm-bombed and flew low-level on strafing missions.
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Levon B. Agha-Zarian
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It is rumored that he, took his primary training on a flying rug. He flew Spits, briefly, in England, but as the, war moved to the East, he was sent to India as a Sgt. Pilot and first saw action from Ceylon, flying the Curtiss P.36, the Brewster Buffalo, and the Hurricane. At this point he might have opted for the rug! This was at the time of the fall of Singapore and the sinking of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse.
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George N. Ahles
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Posted to A-20 light bomber squadron Barksdale Field, Louisiana. . Group moved to Hunter Air Base Savannah, Georgia. Qualified for Pilot training November 1940. Entered Aviation Cadets January 1942. Presented wings November 1942 class of 42-J. Married Mary Louise while in Advanced Pilot Training at Craig AFB, Selma, Alabama, September 1942.
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Roy J. Aldritt
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Shortly after the group moved to France he ran into some unseen flak and was forced to make a nylon descent behind the lines; some evasion and a lot of luck had him back with his unit
in 24 hours.
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Eugene J. Amaral
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After graduation from Stonington High School he enlisted as an Aviation Cadet in December 1942 and was called to active duty in March, 1943. He received his wings and commission at Spence Field, Georgia as a member of the Class of 43-C.
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Talmadge L. Ambrose
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Flew 84 missions thru VE Day, was downed by 22mm ground fire over Siefried Line. He destroyed 11 enemy aircraft, 9 known confirmed in air and on
ground, including 4 FW 190-D's in one afternoon over Hanover, Germany, April 8, 1945. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross,
Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, 17 man, Oak Leaf Clusters, Good Conduct Medal, Pacific Theatre and European Theatre Meda1s with 5 Battle
Stars and Unit Citation Medal.
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John C. Anderson
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After P-47 transition he was assigned to the 406th Fighter Group, 512th Fighter Squadron. (E.T
.0.) He flew 56 missions through January, 1945 destroying supply routes, bridges, and railroads; he also flew close support missions with the ground forces, with attacks on tanks, artillery and enemy positions.
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William Anderson
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It was not always flak,two ME-109's beat the hell out of me one day. The central controller called me and said "Basher-Red Leader do you have contact Bandits," I replied, "I sure do, I'll bring them over the field in 3 minutes, they're chasing me home." Got all the usual medals including two Belgium and two French but one I'm most proud of is the Silver Star -it is the greatest.
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