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P47 Pilots Biographies, Last Name Starting With "D"
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Pilot Name
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Biography Summary
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Walter T. Donovan
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The 405th suffered the very last loss of the
war. On May 8th, 1945, the day the war
ended, during an extremely low altitude demonstration flight over a P.O.W. camp, one of its planes crashed in Lake Traun. One of the
last hostile acts by American forces in World
War II took place over the air base at Kitzingen, Germany. Just before dusk, on the same date, a German aircraft buzzed the tower
seeking emergency landing procedures. The
celebrants on the ground, not understanding
this action by an enemy aircraft, opened fire
with every weapon available from side arms
to anti-aircraft. It was only after a miraculous
landing that the hostiles learned that the pilot
was their own Walter T. Donovan bringing in
his trophy of World War II.
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George J. Dorval
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Fretful the war would
be over before he saw action proved needless
The 57th's pilots were mightily engaged in
Italy cutting enemy supply lines, attacking
bridges, railroads, trucks, and fortifications
stalling U.S. ground forces. An intermission
"rest leave" for Dorval included ferrying
P-47's across N. Africa and over to Italy
involving work with play.
Pre-dawn darkness and radio problems
invasion day of S. France, found Dorval
flying a solo mission. Not knowing a scattered
squadron had returned piecemeal to base and
hoping to overtake someone, he went on
alone and destroyed the coastal artillery target.
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Ken W. Dougherty
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Flew on the first
combat mission flown by P-47 on April 17,
1943. Participated in the first bomber escort
mission, first escort mission over Germany,
first P-47 dive bombing mission. His 84th
and last combat mission was the first daylight
bombing raid on Berlin. Credited with 3
ME-109s destroyed and one ME-109 probably destroyed.
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Glenn A. Dow
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Transferred to
346th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter
Group, 12thAir Force, Pisa, Italy in January
1945 where his twin brother, Major Hugh D.
Dow was C.O., 347th Fighter Squadron. The
350th was committed to cutting off supplies
from Germany to Italy through the Brenner
Pass. He flew 51 missions in the P-47D
through VE Day, destroying supply routes,
ammunition depots, bridges, railroads and
motorized transport, close support attacks
with the 5th Army on tanks and artillery
using 500# bombs, rockets, fire bombs and
8.50 cal. machine guns.
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Hugh D. Dow
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I had flown 247 missions (about half
offensive/half defensive) had been "holed"
on 15 sorties, destroyed a stack of men and
machines, and scored a couple of ME-I09
kills, but the only significant statistic for me
was that I had survived. It is difficult to
comprehend the magnitude of the fury, some
35 years removed from the battles, but my
records indicate that almost one or every
three pilots who entered combat with the
350th ended up on a casualty list: KIA,
Killed, Wounded, POW or behind the lines
Evader.
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Donald A. Dreifke
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On 8 May 1945 (VE Day) at Regensburg,
Germany, he and a fellow POW were the first
to accept the surrender of the crew of a JV 87
Stuka that flew in to surrender to the Americans.
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Urban L. Drew
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He flew 319 hours of
combat in 76 missions with the "Yellowjackets" and received the Distinguished Flying
Cross plus cluster and the Air Medal plus
thirteen clusters, and the ETO Battle Ribbon
with three battle stars. He was credited with
the following victories. 6 - (Air) (3-Me-109's, 1-He.111, 2.Me-262's); 1 - (Air)
(Me-109, damaged); 1 - (Ground) (Ju-52,
destroyed); 1 - (Water) shared destroyed,
only German BV-238 VI six engine flying
Boat; 11 - Locomotives, destroyed; 7 -
Locomotives, damaged; 4 - Barges,
destroyed, water.
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Lyle H. Duba
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Took P-40 training at Sarasota,
Fla. and joined the 57th Fighter Group,
65th Squadron in Sicily in August, 1943.
The 57th was re-equipped with P-47s in Dec.
1943 and pioneered in the adaptation of the
high-altitude P-47 ad a low-level strafing and
dive-bombing aircraft.
Was awarded the Distinguished Flying
Cross and the Air Medal with six Oak Leaf
Clusters. After 129 combat missions over
Sicily, Italy and Yugoslavia returned to the
ZOI with rank of Captain in August of 1944
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James Edward Duffy,Jr
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WWII FIGHTER ACE!
Jim Duffy joined Army Reserves in 1941, commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant after graduating from flight school at Moultrie Field, GA on Jan 14, 1943. He joined the 354FS/355th FG in spring, 1943 and sailed with group to England in July, 1943.
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Clifford E. Dugan
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R.T.U. moved to Majors Field Greenville,
Texas, P-47 training completed at this base.
Gunnery, Galveston, Texas. Assigned 377th
Fighter Squadron, 362nd Fighter Group,
Ninth Air Force. During combat flew two
escort missions, the rest being close support
for Patton's Third Army. The usual dive
bombing, rockets, and strafing of airports,
trains, and any other targets the controllers
found for us or we found for ourselves
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