Maj Joe Wesley Dickerson 1914-2010 USAAF

[kaki3152]

I'm trying to find out the units in which he served in WWII. He was a famous MD in Texas.

[FrankieS]

during his Europe stint he (0-681619) should have been


12 Air force
350 FG
346 FS

[kaki3152]

Thank you very much.

[kaki3152]

Frankie, thanks again for the help. I verified his serial number (O-681619) after I found him in the USAF retirement list.
In the P-38 book by Martin Caidin, (where he first came to my attention), he mentions flying over Rabaul before serving in the ETO.
The 350th FG was mostly based with P-47s in the later half of the conflict, but used a few P-38s in earlier combats. Do you have any link to his service in the 346th FS? Thanks again.

[FrankieS]

hi, kaki,


no, sorry, all i have is page 23 and 24 of this:


https://www.archiviostoricofederighi...definitivo.pdf



MISSING IN ACTION n° 5369 Pilot: 1st Lt. James T. Jr. Madderra (Serial Number 0-793645) Unit: 347th Fighter Squadron - 350th Fighter Group - 12th Air force Base: Ghisonaccia (Corsica) Aircraft: Bell P-39N-1 - AAF Serial Number 42- 18382 Engine: Allison V-1710 (12 cylinders of about 28000 cm3) - AAF serial Number 42-96209 Weapons installed: 4 machine guns cal 0.30inc (Serial number: 30 90903, 30 149455, 30 142365, 30 142343); 2 machine guns cal 0.50inc (Serial Number 50 417724, 50 417777); 1 37 mm gun (serial Number 2182) Date: 20 April 1944 Mission type: dive bombing Livorno coast. Weather conditions: foggy, clouds at 3000 feet (about 900 meters), visibility 15 miles. Last known position of missing aircraft: 1.5 miles northwest of Livorno. Cause of the event: enemy flak Witnesses to the event: • 2nd Lt. Joe W. Dickerson (SN 0-681619), saw the plane go down • 2nd Lt. Edward M.Jr Ayres (SN 0-810617), saw the plane go down Date of the report: April 22, 1944 Report writer: Captain Operations Officer L. Hart Jr. Wilbur Report of 2nd Lt. Joe W. Dickerson On April 20, 1944, I was on a dive bombing mission. Lt. Maddera was number one in the “Dilute Purple,” the leader of the formation. I was number five, the last man in the Purple section. We headed for the bomb drop toward the shore and came under heavy attack from 20mm and 40mm flak guns, big stuff. I had just started to move away from the target when Lt. Madderra called that the oil pressure was zero, shortly afterward black smoke began to come out of his engine. Lt. Madderra was about a mile off the coast when he began to climb in a circle. He did two 360 degrees and at the end of the second I saw his door fly off from about 1000 feet. At about 900 feet he jumped and his parachute opened immediately. I began to circle the area and saw him enter the water. After a few seconds I saw Lt. Madderra flailing in the water, and after about two minutes I saw him climb into his dinghy. I climbed to 300 feet and called out a MAYDAY on Channel “D” but no one responded. So I returned to Borgo Airport and landed with my fuel almost at the limit. Lt. Madderra's position when I last saw him was just under a mile northwest of Livorno.




good luck !


Frankie