James Potter Phillips
Military
Pilot
416th BG - 668th BS - 9th AF
Object Number - UPL 48595 - James Potter Phillips Pilot 416th BG - 668th BS - 9th AF
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: A-26 Invader
- Unit: 416th Bomb Group
- Aircraft Type: A-26 Invader
- Unit: 416th Bomb Group 669th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: A-26 Invader
- Unit: 416th Bomb Group 668th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: A-26 Invader
- Nicknames: Carrot Top
- Unit: 416th Bomb Group 668th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: A-26 Invader
- Unit: 416th Bomb Group 668th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Melun, Alsace
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Pyongyang, Korea | 2 January 1921 | Born to American citizens who were serving as Christian missionaries in Korea |
| Wheaton, Illinois | 16 February 1942 | 221 North Scott Street Student at Wheaton College | |
|
Other Commissioned 2LT and received wings |
Stockton AAF, California | 30 October 1942 | |
|
Other First 416th BG Combat Mission |
Wiesbaden, Germany | 19 February 1945 | |
|
Other Fourth Combat Mission |
Norvenich, Germany | 25 February 1945 | My fourth mission turned out to be a real eye-opener. On this flight, “moderate flak” meant something quite different! I don’t recall the target, but the conditions were entirely new. First of all, the target was partially obscured, so we did not drop our bombs on the first run. Secondly, this flak was real! Very black bursts hit all around us and I could hear the “whump, whump, whump” of the airbursts. My mouth became absolutely, totally dry. I felt that I needed much more than the 1-½ inches of armor plate under my seat. The second run at the target was just terrifying. I felt that I didn’t dare to breathe. Only the intense concentration needed to maintain position and get the bombs away kept me on an even keel. Intense relief followed as we made a sharp, diving turn away from the target. So this was why the veteran pilots always looked so haggard after a mission – this was what they expected on every mission! |
|
Other Final 416th BG Combat Mission |
Stod, Czech Republic | 1 May 1945 | This raid was a particularly big deal. We knew that other groups were over the target ahead of us. This became quite obvious while we were still about 40 miles away. We had climbed to 10,000 feet. Even at this distance we could see a black pillar of dense smoke billowing up to about 8,000 feet. As we passed the I.P. and turned on our bombing run, we could see (again, only out of our peripheral vision), a column of bright red fire rising up to about 4,000 feet. It seemed like getting a brief glance into hell! There was no anti-aircraft fire. We were able to add our load of bombs to the disaster below and just skim the top of the rising black column. (We were told later that the smoke rose finally to above 20,000 feet.) The target was completely destroyed. Leaving the area, the group quickly re-formed and we headed west. |
|
Died |
Magalia, California | 6 July 2008 | |
|
Buried |
Dixon, California | 10 July 2008 | Sacramento Valley National Cemetery Dixon, Solano County, California, USA Plot SECTION 11 SITE 148 |
