Joseph Houston Bennett
MilitaryBorn 25-Nov-18. Joe Bennett hailed from Morton, Texas. Educated at Abilene Christian College and Eastern New Mexico University, prior to enlisting in the USAAC 25-Apr-41. Commissioned 2nd Lt and awarded his wings at Stockton Field, California 31-Dec-41.
Initially assigned to 54th FG flying P-39’s he was transferred to 356th FS, 360th FG Mar-43 at Groton Field, Connecticut flying P-47’s and thereafter to Goxhill, England by Aug/Sep-43. Transferred to 61st FS, 56th FG Nov-43 where he had his first victory, a Me-110 on 20-Dec-44. On 8-Mar-44, in an encounter with 100-150 Luftwaffe fighters, he downed two Me-109s and an Fw-190 to become an "Ace". Transferred to 336th FS, 4th FG Apr-44. On 15-Apr-44 he had a midair collision in P-51B 42-106686 and baled out into the North Sea with a broken shoulder. He was soon picked up by a Walrus seaplane and returned to base. Off Op’s for a month. On 25-May-44 he destroyed two Me-109s and two Fw-190s. He was then rammed by a frustrated Luftwaffe pilot, namely Oberfahnrich Hubert Heckman in a Me109 which severed his tail section, and he baled out over Botenheim, Germany from P-51 43-6572 spending time in a German hospital before being transferred to Stalag Luft VIIa prison camp as a POW for the remainder of the war. MACR 5720.
Part of the army of occupation, he was promoted to Major prior to leaving active duty in January 1946. Credited 8 1/2 enemy aircraft kills.
Awards: DFC (2 OLC), AM (3 OLC), PH (OLC), POW, EAME (4 Bronze stars), OCC.
Post war: Took up farming in West Texas. After 10 years he moved to Clifton, Texas, and operated a resort on Lake Whitney. After 20 years with the US Army Corps of Engineers he retired in 1980.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Ann III Lois
- Unit: 352nd Fighter Group 4th Fighter Group 328th Fighter Squadron 336th Fighter Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
- Unit: 467th Bomb Group 56th Fighter Group 61st Fighter Squadron 789th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
- Unit: 406th Fighter Group 56th Fighter Group 513th Fighter Squadron 61st Fighter Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Unit: 4th Fighter Group 336th Fighter Squadron
Missions
- Date: 25 May 1944
- Date: 15 May 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Memorial
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Marlow, OK, USA | 25 November 1918 | |
Enlisted |
Oklahoma, USA | 26 April 1941 | Enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program of the US Army Air Forces on April 26, 1941. |
Other Commissioned/Awarded wings |
Field Ave, Stockton, CA 95203, USA | 12 December 1941 | Commissioned a 2nd Lt and awarded his pilot wings at Stockton Field, California, on December 12, 1941 |
Other Ditched in Channel |
English Channel | 15 May 1944 | Forced to ditch in the Channel after mid-air collision on way home to Debden; picked up by ASR launch. Off Ops for a month. |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Moosburg, Germany | 25 May 1944 | Spent time in a German hospital before being transferred to Stalag 7A in Moosburg, Bavaria, until his camp was liberated. |
Other Mid air collision |
Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Botenheim, Fuchsienstraße 7, 74336 Brackenheim, Germany | 25 May 1944 | During an engagement with a gaggle of German fighters, his aircraft was rammed by an ME-109 piloted by Lt. Hubert Heckman over Botenheim, Germany. Bennett was able to bail out of the stricken fighter P-51 #436572, spending time in a German hospital before being transferred to a prison camp. (MACR 5720). |
Other E/A Destroyed |
Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Botenheim, Fuchsienstraße 7, 74336 Brackenheim, Germany | 25 May 1944 | Destroyed 2 x Bf109's over Botenheim, Germany. |
Died |
Dallas, TX, USA | 15 August 2000 | Died - 15 August 2000 Dallas, TX. |
Morton, Texas, USA | |||
Other Promoted |
Promoted to Major/retired. | ||
Other Promotion |
Martlesham Heath, Martlesham, Ipswich, UK | Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. | |
Other Promotion |
Martlesham Heath, Martlesham, Ipswich, UK | Promoted to Captain. | |
Based |
Assigned to 360FS, 356FG, 8AF USAAF. Groton, CT - Mitchel Field, NY - Grenier Field, NH. | ||
Based |
Martlesham Heath | Transferred to 61FS, 56FG, 8AF USAAF. | |
Based |
Debden | 25 May 1944 | Transferred to 336FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. |
Buried |
Dallas, TX, USA | Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery Dallas Dallas County Texas USA |
Revisions
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia ;
- www.56thfightergroup.co.uk/personnel.htm
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit History;
- 'Eighty-One Aces of the 4th Fighter Group' by Frank Speer.;
- Personal research & 'Eighty-One Aces of the 4th Fighter Group' by Frank Speer.;
-
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 5720 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database