Flew 37 combat missions, mostly as a lead crew pilot or air commander. Was made Squadron Commander of 614th BS in December 1944.



On Leipzig Mission 20 Feb 1944, Pilot Alvah Chapman was attacked by a swarm of Me 109's near the target. The A/C lost #3 engine, crankshaft broke, and the prop looked as though it would go flying off at any minute. A blade on the No. 4 prop was torn off, and the throttle controls rendered useless. The brakes and flaps also took a severe splintering.

Two ME-109s moved in for the kill, thinking the Fortress was now a dead duck. In an effort to throw them off the trail, Capt. Delwyn Silver, copilot and deputy group leader, ordered the plane put into a spiral earthward in an attempt to mislead the Jerry fighters into belief the Fortress was crashing.

The Germans clung to the pursuit, however, and tailed the damaged giant in its flight downward, blazing away with everything they had.



DFC w/ 2 OLC/ Air Medal w/ 5 OLC/ Croix de Guerre/ Presidential Unit Citation