Paul J Trudeau
MilitaryThis is aircraft 42-75670 YJ-W "Hairless Joe" piloted on a transition and instrument training flight by 2nd Lt Paul J. Trudeau on 15th March 1944. Lt Joseph E. Wood was the assigned pilot and was responsible for the name but had been previously killed in action 22nd February 1944. Lt Trudeau reported on the accident at Metfield:
I made a normal landing and started to roll within the first third of the field. Having noticed that another plane had pulled onto the runway, preparing to take off, I pulled up my flaps and increased my rolling speed in order to clear the runway as quickly as possible. I saw the checkered flags beside the runway , which indicate the last 1000 feet, but I did not realize my excessive speed. When I saw the end of the runway nearing I applied both brakes simultaneously and the tail started up. I released the brakes but the tail continued to rise until the propellor [sic] contacted the ground and the airplane came to a stop resting on its nose. Roger Freeman Collection
USAAF Crash report
353rd FG Records
Assigned to 351st Fighter Squadron, 353rd Fighter Group on 11 February 1944.
Transferred to 5th Emergency Rescue Squadron on 26 May 1944.
Transferred to 555th Fighter Training Squadron, 496th Fighter Training Group on 18 January 1945.
Transferred to Headquarters of the 496th FTG on 23 January 1945.
On April 22 1944 he was hit during combat and bailed out into the North Sea close to the enemy shore and was to spend 18 hours freezing in a dinghy before being picked up by an Air Sea Rescue Walrus. A newspaper article reported the event.
Transferred back to the 5th Emergency Rescue Squadron on 16 February 1945.
Transferred to 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group on 13 May 1945.
RTD
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Air base
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
- Nicknames: Man Made Monster
- Unit: 353rd Fighter Group 334th Fighter Squadron
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other End Tour of Duty (ETD) |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 13 May 1945 | ETD with 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group. |
Pittsfield, MA, USA |
Revisions
Combined two records. Now includes information from the following source:
Combat Chronology / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia