Charles Older 1944-45

[keith A]

I was looking for stuff on this pilot and found a quote that he stated he'd shot down four Ki-84 in his last combat.

"Charles Older pointed out in describing his final combat of the war in which he shot down four Ki-84s over Hankow and was in turn nearly a victim of a Ki-43 flown by an experienced JAAF ace, the airplane could still provide a nasty surprise." One of his victims may have been Wakamatsu of the 85th Sentai (an ace with eighteen victories including nine P-51, and at least four P-40, together with a B-25).

He does claim four "Oscars" in the period July-December 1944 but his last combat was in January when he shot down a "Sonia" attack bomber and what is reported as a "Betty" and a "Tess" around Tachang. Which I believe is a mistake, in that JNAF and JAAF rarely flew from the same airfield and that he shot down two "Tabby" transport aircraft.

K

[KM1957]

According to Frank Olynyk's Stars and Bars, Older made no claims against Ki 84's. While with the 23rd Fighter Group, he claimed single Ki 43's on July 28 and December 18, 1944, two Ki 43's and a Lily on December 19, then his final three destroyed claims were on January 17, 1945, a Sonia east of Tachang A/D, and a Betty and a Tess both northeast of Tachang.

Kent