May 18 2024
The famous American pilot and ace, Clarence Emil “Bud” Anderson, passed away on Friday, May 17th. He was 102 years old. Born on January 13, 1922, in Oakland, United States, “Bud” Anderson served as a fighter pilot during World War II with the 357th Fighter Group and ended the war with a total of 16.25 …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2024/05/18/clarence-bud-anderson-has-passed-away/
Jan 18 2022
Charles Edward McGee, born on December 7, 1919, passed away in his sleep on Sunday the 16th of January 2022, aged 102. A member of the famous Tuskegee Airmen, he was deployed in February 1944 with the 302nd Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group, which was then based in Italy. Flying the P-39 Airacobra, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2022/01/18/brigadier-charles-mcgee-one-of-the-last-surviving-tuskegee-airmen-passes-away-at-102/
Dec 08 2020
World-famous test pilot Charles “Chuck” Yeager died on Monday the 7th of December at a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 97 years old. A World War II P-51 Mustang ace and test pilot, Yeager made international headlines when he became the first man to break the sound barrier on 14 October 1947, flying a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/12/08/brigadier-general-charles-e-chuck-yeager-%e2%80%a0/
Nov 21 2020
Sergent-chef René Billotet, born on 18 April 1925 in Dôle (France) and last survivor of the Royal Air Force’s No 342 (Free French) Squadron passed away at his home aged 95. Better known in France as the Groupe de Bombardement Lorraine, the squadron played an essential and unusual role during the D-Day landings. On the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/11/21/rene-billotet-last-survivor-of-no-342-free-french-squadron-has-passed-away/
Oct 29 2020
Joseph “Jeff” Moureau, the last Belgian pilot to have fought with a Belgian squadron in the Royal Air Force, has passed away at age 99, according to the Belgian air component. “With sadness, the Belgian air component says farewell to the last Belgian Spitfire fighter pilot in World War II”, the Belgian Air Component wrote …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/10/29/joseph-jeff-moureau-the-last-belgian-pilot-to-fight-on-d-day-has-passed-away/
May 09 2020
William Terence Montague Clark, DFM, AE, better known as Terry Clark, passed away on 7 May 2020 at the age of 101, just a few hours before the 75th anniversary of VE-Day. Born on April 11, 1919 , Terry Clark flew as navigator and radar operator in the Royal Air Force from 1938 to 1945. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/05/09/terry-clark-one-of-the-two-last-battle-of-britain-airmen-has-passed-away/
Apr 20 2020
Jerzy Główczewski, who is reported to have been the last surviving Polish fighter pilot of World War II, passed away in New York on 13 April 2020 aged 97. Główczewski was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1922 and fled the country after the 1939 German and Soviet invasions. After pilot training, he was assigned to …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/04/20/jerzy-glowczewski-last-surviving-polish-fighter-pilot-of-world-war-ii-has-passed-away/
Feb 09 2020
Frank Losonsky, the last known survivor of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the “Flying Tigers”, passed away on 6 February 2020, aged 99. Having served two years in the US Army Air Corps, Losonsky became a crew chief with the 3rd Squadron of the Flying Tigers in 1941. After the group was disbanded …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/02/09/frank-losonsky-last-surviving-member-of-the-flying-tigers-%e2%80%a0/
Jan 31 2020
Wing Commander Paul Caswell Powe Farnes, the last surviving ace of the Battle of Britain, passed away on 28 January 2020 aged 101. His death takes place only a few weeks after that of Maurice Mounsdon, and there are now only two surviving Royal Air Force pilots of the Battle of Britain: F/L William Clark …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/01/31/w-c-paul-farnes-last-surviving-battle-of-britain-ace-has-passed-away/
Dec 13 2019
Flight Lieutenant Maurice Mounsdon, one of the last surviving pilots to have fought during the Battle of Britain, passed away on December 6 at the age of 101. Born on 11 February 1918, Maurice “Mark” Mounsdon began his training on 24 August 1939 and was assigned to No 56 Squadron of the Royal Air Force …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2019/12/13/maurice-mounsdon-one-of-the-last-surviving-pilots-of-the-battle-of-britain-has-passed-away/
Sep 29 2019
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Buttelmann, the youngest ace of the Korean War, passed away on September 16, 2019. Henry Buttelmann was born in Corona, New York on 26 June 1929. Entering the Air Force pilot training program in 1952, he graduated and went through advanced gunnery training before being sent to Korea in December of that year …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2019/09/29/henry-buttelmann-the-youngest-korean-war-ace-has-passed-away/
Sep 01 2019
Squadron Leader John Hart DFC, one of the last four surviving Battle of Britain veterans according to Metro News, passed away on 18 June 2019. Born in 1916, Hart was a Canadian pilot in the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1938 to 1946. He flew Lysanders in the RAF Army Cooperation Command, Spitfires in the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2019/09/01/s-l-john-hart-one-of-the-last-surviving-battle-of-britain-pilots-has-passed-away/
Aug 06 2019
Iouri Maksaïev, one of the last Normandie-Niémen veterans, passed away on August 3, 2019. Born in 1926, he trained as a mechanic and served in the famous franco-soviet fighter regiment equipped with Yakolev Yak-3 fighters and deployed on the Eastern Front. After the war, he remained in the armed forces until 1951 and then worked …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2019/08/06/iouri-maksaiev-one-of-the-last-normandie-niemen-veterans-has-passed-away/
Apr 11 2019
Lieutenant Colonel Richard “Dick” E. Cole, Jimmy Doolittle’s copilot and last surviving member of the Doolittle raid on Tokyo on 18 April 1942, passed away on 9 April 2019. Born in 1915, he enlisted as aviation cadet in 1940. He was one of the 80 crew members selected to take part in the famous raid …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2019/04/11/lt-col-richard-dick-cole-last-surviving-member-of-the-doolittle-raid-has-passed-away/
Dec 05 2018
The CAF French Wing is proud to present the latest issue of its documentary series, History and Duty of Remembrance. In this episode, Stéphane Duchemin receives Henri Ecochard, Free French and Piper L-4 pilot. Henri Ecochard was 16 when war was declared in 1939 and 17 when, a year later, he joined the Free French forces …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/12/05/henri-ecochard-free-french-piper-l-4-grasshopper-pilot/
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