Edward J Hitt

Military

20 missions as a wing crew pilot in B-17, lead pilot school and 10 missions as lead pilot. 5 or more missions as command pilot B-17.



Flew P-51 in 3rd Scout Force from January 1945 thru May 1945. Maybe 15-18 missions. "They wanted an instrument pilot that could go into the weather and fly through it and stay there. They wanted an older guy that was a good instrument pilot. I was much older than most of them. There was a few of them (pilots) 19 years old. 20, 21 was common. But few like me – old bald headed guys 27yrs old."



DFC w/ OLC/ AM w/ 8 OLC/ PH

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 96th Bomb Group.

96th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

44-63204

  • Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
  • Nicknames: And Jeff
  • Unit: 3rd Scouting Force 55th Fighter Group 343rd Fighter Squadron 862nd Bomb Squadron

Places

Lieutenant-Colonel Elwyn G. Righetti of the 338th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group stands beside his P-51 Mustang, "Katydid". Print signed 'Best of everything your big loud Elwyn', 1944-1945.

Wormingford

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Bures / RAF Wormingford / RFC Wormingford / USAAF Station 159 / Wormingford Landing Ground

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

San Antonio, Texas 23 June 1918

Died

12 August 2011

Buried

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Revisions

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

Quote from interview with Jack Hitt, shared by Peter Randall of littlefriends.co.uk

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list / WWW.55th.org / self; Snetterton Falcons, pg 187