B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Good morning Gentlemen,

who was the B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills ?

Cheers,

Michael

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

...I believe it was Felix Hardison, the pilot of Suzy-Q, whose gunners claimed 26 Japanese aircraft destroyed. Did he ever fly another aircraft in combat or did another pilot ever fly a mssion
in Suzy-Q ?

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Hardison flew several other B-17s in 1942 from Australia with the 93BS.
41-2640 Tojos Physic
41-2665 Lulu
41-24391 Hoomalimali
41-24384 Snoopy
41-24458 San Antonio Rose
41-2643 -

The 93rd Indian head insignia was painted on in Hawaii on the return to USA.


"Claims to fame" Birdsall / Freeman
Nick

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Good evening Nick,

and did he also fly combat missions in these planes ?

Best greetings from Switzerland,

Michael

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

He flew missions in all these....
41-2640 4 July.
41-2665 30 July.
41-2643 7 August.
41-24391 26 August.
41-24384 29 August.
41-24458 in Sept. ( dates not known).
The 26 Rising Suns were painted on the rear access door, and the name was on both sides. The squadron insignia included a "93" and 3 Iron Crosses.

This is a close-up of the lettering behind the badge. I think you can read them.
"HOEVET FIELD" near the bottom is Mareeba airfield, Australia.



https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/for...56-b17-suzy-q/


Regards
Nick

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Good evening Nick,

thanks for the dates. If the USAAF had credited heavy bomber pilots with the kills of their crews, Felix Hardison would have been among the top 10 US all-time-scorers. Or did any other pilot ever fly Suzy-Q in combat ?

Best greetings from Switzerland, sincerely,

Michael

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Sorry Michael, I don't know but her first mission was Feb. 9 flown by Lt. Hillhouse from Java; she arrived on the 7th and Hardison flew her on the 12th. In March the 93rd. retired to Australia. As far as I know all 26 were credited to the Hardison crew (?).

If bomber pilots ever had their "own" aircraft this was Hardison's especially as she was named for his wife Priscilla.
The only other "Suzy Q" I can think of was a B24D 41-23817 (44BG), Col. Leon Johnson won the CMH in her at Ploesti.


Regards
Nick

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Good afternoon Nick,

there was also a B-26 of that name:
https://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-26/40-1391.html

Why was the B-17 named after Hardison's wife when her name was Priscilla?
The song made famous by Creedence Clearwater Revival is originally by Dale Hawkins from 1957:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AtV7NTIt9g

Cheers,

Michael

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Hi Michael. The "Suzy-Q" was a dance step from the 1930s, included in novelty dances like the Jitterbug or Lindy Hop; Hardin Armstrong (2nd wife of Louis) performed it in the 1936 song "Doin' the Suzie Q" (note spelling).
Hope this helps
Nick
Thanks for the link.

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Hello Nick,

never heard about that Lady or the song before:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1iOUQ_YIYQ
I wonder if this particular song was really the inspiration for all those bomber names, because White people in these days rarely listened to Black music, did they ?

Cheers,

Michael

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Hi Michael. The planes' names were based on the dance rather than the song so evidently their wives were enthusiasts; other names came from musical comedies featuring black artists like "Cabin in the Sky" 1943 (Lena Horne, Duke Ellington).
Many white GIs listened to black music, "Jezebel" by the Golden Gate Quartet (1941) was popular and several planes were named that ( it was also a Bette Davis film though).
I believe the quartet were the first black artists to perform at the White House (ironic name?).


Just remembered another "Susie Q" ( the other spelling) one of the B-17Es transferred to the Middle East from Tenth AF in India in June 1942; serials were replaced by white plane numbers. She was probably one assigned to XII AFSC in Algeria later (from block 41-9011--245). There is a nice photo of the left side in Dana Bell's "Air Force Colors" Vol.2.
She is right at the beginning of this film, due for salvage...................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5N2APKJtrg

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Last year I saw the Elvis movie at the cinema. It displayed impressingly his pivotal role in making genuinely black music acceptable/irrestible for white listeners. I assume in the pre-Elvis era the whites were rather reserved towards black music, not mainly because of the black skin color but rather because of the inherent sensualism of the songs. It required the gigantic charisma of Elvis to bridge that gap. Is it known what B-17 crews listened to in their spare time ?

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

The most popular music was swing / jazz as personified by bands like Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman but the Afro-American "sweet, swing and jive" was found at parties and dances where the Lindy Hop and Jitterbug were taught to British girls at US airfields in England. I believe the No.1 song at the time was the Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", but they were white.

I've met many Eighth airmen over the years (mostly fighter groups) and none seem to have had a problem with black music; but they were a long way from home.


This web site covers the period , the majority "white" but some black bands.
https://www.historyonthenet.com/auth...sic/index.html


Nick

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Nick

There wasn't a single white jazz artist who didn't listen to "black" music.
If anyone claimed he didn't.....he was lying..... :)
Also the inter-racial had already begun, lots of black musicians played in white bands before the war.

My own favourite from the late 1930s was Charlie Christian who started up the electric guitar!
Legend!!

Also think the Duke broke a lot of ice during the 1930s.
Never researched the subject since colour don't mean a thing to me unless we talk about camouflage.... :)

Cheers
Stig

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Good morning Gentlemen,

the other day I heard that the Ford Mustang (despite featuring a horse logo) was named not after the animal but after the aircraft.
May it be that one of the named warplanes served as inspiration for Dale Hawkins' song "SuzyQ" ?

Have a nice Tuesday,

Michael

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Michael. I doubt that Hawkins would have known about the planes' names but he grew up in the 1940s and would be familiar with the dance moves; one or two sources say the name refers to the record label owner Stan Lewis' daughter Susan.


Nick

Re: B-17 pilot whose crew was credited with the most aerial kills
 

Hello Nick,

and the Q was added just because it sounds good and offers lots of possible rhymes ?

Have a good weekend,

Michael