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Military
Col. John R. "Killer" Kane
Col. John R. Kane was awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor for his leadership and courage during Operation Tidal Wave over Ploesti, Romania. John Kane flew as Group Leader for his 98th Bomb Group, Col. Leon Johnson's 44th Bombing Group, and Col. Jack Wood's 389th Bomb Group, all of whom attacked and bombed their assigned targets. For the mission, Col. John Kane and his copilot, Lt. John S. Young from Texas, flew Kane's B-24D, the 'Hail Columbia', named by Kane for Columbia University and successfully bombed their target, code named "White IV", the Astra Romano Refinery complex. Lt Young was awarded the Silver Star and an Oak Leaf Cluster for his Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in the mission, August 1, 1943.
Lt. Harold Korger and Col. John R. Kane 1943
Col. John R. Kane was the command pilot of his chosen B-24 for the Ploesti Bombing mission, 'Hail Columbia'. Just before the mission, Kane reassigned Lt. John Young to be his copilot in 'Hail Columbia' along with most of Young's crew form Young's B-24, the 'Kickapoo', thereby saving Lt. Young's and all of his regular crew's lives when 'Kickapoo''s engines failed on the early morning takeoff for Ploesti, and crashed in flames, killing it's pilot's and all crewmembers except two, who survived, though badly burned. August 1, 1943.
B-24D 'Hail Columbia' After Crash Landing at Nicosia, Cyprus - Aug 1, 1943 - Lt. Korger - Lt. Whalen and crew the next morning
'Hail Columbia' Crash on Cyprus Island - Center Photo Between #3 and #4 Engines - Col. John Kane with Lt. John Young
Newspaper articles - Ploesti
Col. John R. Kane Group Leader and Pilot of the 'Hail Columbia' with his copilot Lt. John S. Young on the mission to bomb Ploesti, August 1, 1943
John Riley Kane (January 5, 1907 – May 29, 1996) was a colonel in the United States Army Air Corps and later the United States Air Force. He received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II, for his leadership, courage, and heroism for leading the 98th, the 44th, and the 389th Bombardment Groups in Operation Tidal Wave, the low altitude attack on the oil refineries at Ploesti in 1943, all of whom successfully bombed their assigned targets, including Kane's target, the Astra Romano Refinery at Ploesti Rumania, on Aug. 1, 1943
A native of Texas, Kane joined the Army Air Corps after graduating from Baylor University. In WWII in July 1942, he was sent to the Mediterranean Theater of War where he flew 43 combat missions against shipping in the Mediterranean Sea and over Italian ports for a total of 250 combat hours in Africa, the Middle East, and, later, Europe.
In North Africa, Kane commanded the 98th Bombardment Group, a B-24 Liberator unit nicknamed the "Pyramiders". His daring flying operations caused German intelligence reports to dub him "Killer Kane."
Kane earned the Silver Star during a mission when his plane became separated from the formation and was attacked from the rear by an enemy fighter. Although the tail and top turrets of his bomber became inoperative, he successfully outmaneuvered the pursuing ME-110 through eight different attacks. The fighter eventually exhausted its ammunition and was forced to break off the attack without causing any appreciable damage to Kane's aircraft.
Kane chose his friend, Lt. John S. Young, a fellow Texan from Dallas, to be his copilot on Kane's lead aircraft for the Ploesti mission, 'Hail Columbia' and also Young's crew from Young's personal B-24, the 'KICKAPOO'. This last minute change proved very fortunate for Lt. Young and his regular crew when, subsequently, 'KICKAPOO' lost it's #4 engine on takeoff for the mission and crashed, killing it's two replacement pilots, Lt. Robert Nespor, Lt. John Riley, and all but two of it's replacement crew. After the war, Col. Kane commanded a series of airfields in the U.S. and served another year and a half in North Africa before his retirement.
Military | Lieutenant General | B-24 Command Pilot - Squadron Commander - Commanding Officer | 376th Bomb Group
Keith Karl Compton (December 9, 1915 – June 15, 2004) was an American Air Force Lieutenant General who was Vice Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command. He flew as Command Pilot with Gen. Uzal Ent on Operation Tidal Wave in the B-24D, 'Teggie Ann'...
Military | Major General | Commanding General | 376th Bomb Group
Uzal Girard Ent was an American Army Air Force officer who served as the commander of the 9th Air Force and subsequently the 2nd Air Force during World War II. He flew as mission commander on the Aug 1, 1943, Ploesti oil refinery raid...
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24D Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
First Lieutenant Gilbert B. Hadley was a B-24D Liberator bomber pilot with the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, "The Pyramiders", from Texas, and the 344th Bombing Squadron, based at Cairo, Egypt, Tobruk, and Benghazi, Libya, in the Mediterranean...
Military | Colonel | Bombardier Navigator | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Harold Korger was a bombardier in the 344th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force. He flew on the famous mission, Operation Tidal Wave, Aug 1, 1943, to knock out the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. ...
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
1st Lt. Robert James Nespor was a B-24D command bomber pilot in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bombardment Group, "The Pyramiders", and the 330th Bombing Squadron. For the huge mission to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, on ...
Military | Major | Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Robert Sternfels was a B-24D command bomber pilot in WWII in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bombing Group, the Pyramiders, and the 345th Bombing Squadron, who flew the famous B-24D bomber, 'The Sandman' on the mission Operation Tidal Wave to bomb the...
Military | Colonel | Pilot | 93rd Bomb Group
In 1941, Stewart was a 24 year-old, U.S. Army Air Force cadet at the University of Utah. "We were pulling guns around with horses as a plane flew overhead. Jack Adamson, who had been my mission companion, said to me, `There's a war coming.' Later that...
Military | Major | Navigator / Nose Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
Norman Whalen joined the Army Air Corps in 1941. After graduating from Navigator School in Monroe, Louisiana, he received his commission as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to the 9th Air force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron...
Military | Major | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lieutenant John S. Young from Dallas, Texas, called "Big John" or "Johnny" by his friends and crewmen, was a B-24D Liberator bomber pilot with the 9th Air Force, 98th Bomb Group and the 344th Bombing Squadron, based at Cairo, Egypt, Tobruk, and...
Established as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomb squadron and trained by Third Air Force. Deployed to Egypt in June 1942 over South Atlantic Transport Route transiting from Morrison Field, Florida though the Caribbean to Brazil; performed trans-Atlantic...
Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942.
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B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, named 'Hadley's Harem' was Lt. Gilbert Hadley's personal airplane and the one he flew on the mission to destroy Hitler's oil refineries at Ploesti Romania in 1943.
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B-24 Liberator
This aircraft originally served in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bomb Squadron as 'HAIL COLUMBIA'. It was 344th's CO Col. John R. Kane's personal aircraft until Kane became the 98th Bomb Group CO and turned it over to Herman ...
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57 B...
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Born | McGregor, TX, USA | 5 January 1907 |
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January 5, 1907. McGregor, Texas, USA. |
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| Operation Tidal Wave | Ploiești, Romania | 1 August 1943 |
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He was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading the 98th in Operation Tidal Wave, a low-altitude attack on oil refineries in Ploieşti, Romania. |
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| Died | Veteran's Administration Nursing Home, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA | 29 May 1996 |
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May 29, 1996. Veterans Administration nursing home, Pennsylvania, USA. |
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| Buried | ||
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Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, USA. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 04 June 2020 18:46:55 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Black Sunday ~ Michael Hill ---- John S. Young, Jr. ~ personal archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 December 2018 03:17:14 | Kickapoo | Changes to role |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 December 2018 03:15:49 | Kickapoo | Changes to role, biography, person associations, unit associations and place associations |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 August 2018 16:11:24 | Emily | Changes to role, biography, events and unit associations |
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Minor edits to biography text and events |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 March 2018 08:25:13 | Kickapoo | Changes to unit associations |
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Operation Tidal Wave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 March 2018 08:07:16 | Kickapoo | Changes to middlename and media associations |
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Operation Tidal Wave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 February 2018 09:59:27 | Kickapoo | Changes to role and biography |
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U.S. Air Force Archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 February 2018 09:54:59 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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United States Air Force Archive |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 February 2018 09:35:08 | Kickapoo | Changes to awards |
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Operation Tidal Wave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 April 2015 16:39:34 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nickname, nationality, highest rank, role, biography, events, unit associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
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