Harold Elwood Comstock

Military
media-29806.jpeg UPL 29806 1Lt Harold Comstock 56th FG J Cook photo collection and archives

JCook Photo Collection & Archives

Object Number - UPL 29806 - 1Lt Harold Comstock 56th FG

CO 63rd FS 56th FG July 1944 - Jan. 1945

Flew 2 combat tours totalling 136 missions from April 1943 thru Jan. 1945.

6 kills air + 3 kills by strafing

CO 481st TFS and flew 132 combat missions over S. Vietnam.

Col. USAF retired

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Aircraft

A crashed P-47 Thunderbolt (UN-Y, serial number 41-6326) of the 56th Fighter Group, flown by Lieutenant Harold E Comstock, 3 March 1944. Official caption on image: "3396-4GIS-2-P47-Crash Landing." Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Comstock, 3/3/44.'

41-6326

  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Nicknames: Happy Warrior
  • Unit: 56th Fighter Group 63rd Fighter Squadron
A P-47 Thunderbolt (UN-Z, serial number 42-26413) of the 56th Fighter Group, flown by Colonel Hubert Zemke, strafes a marshalling yard near Paris, 16 July 1944. Handwritten caption on reverse: '42-26413, UN-Z. 16/7/44. Taken with oblique camera fixed in cockpit of Zemke a/c. A photo taken from a K-25 camera that hung on the armour plate of the Group Leader's P-47. Shows the strafing of a small marshalling yard S.E. of Paris on 16 July 1944. Two locomotives plus a number of R.R. cars set on fire by strafin

42-26413

  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Nicknames: Happy Warrior / Oregon's Britannia
  • Unit: 56th Fighter Group 63rd Fighter Squadron

42-75870

  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Unit: 56th Fighter Group 63rd Fighter Squadron

44-19757

  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Unit: 56th Fighter Group 63rd Fighter Squadron

44-20455

  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Unit: 56th Fighter Group 63rd Fighter Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Fresno, CA, USA 20 December 1920 Son of Clinton E and Leona Millie [Daw] Comstock.

Enlisted

Fresno, CA, USA 6 November 1941

Other

Promoted

Halesworth, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19, UK 12 March 1944 Promoted from 1Lt to Captain

Other

End Tour of Duty (ETD) (1)

Halesworth, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19, UK 19 April 1944 Ended first tour of duty

Other

2nd tour of duty

Boxted, Colchester, Essex, UK 11 July 1944 Commenced 2nd tour of duty

Other

Reassigned

Boxted, Colchester, Essex, UK 22 July 1944 Took command of 63rd Fighter Squadron.

Other

Promoted

Boxted, Colchester, Essex, UK 17 September 1944 Promoted from Captain to Major

Other

End Tour of Duty (ETD) (2)

Boxted, Colchester, Essex, UK 10 January 1945 Ended second tour of duty

Died

Clovis, CA, USA 3 April 2009

Buried

Fresno Memorial Gardens, 175 S Cornelia Ave, Fresno, CA 93706, USA 19 April 2009 Fresno Memorial Gardens Fresno, Fresno County, CA

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

https://www.fold3.com/image/312802087?terms=Harold%20E%20Comstock
https://www.fold3.com/record/93335629-harold-e-comstock
https://www.fold3.com/image/312802087?terms=Harold%20E%20Comstock
https://www.fold3.com/record/84925852-harold-e-comstock
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35899371/harold-elwood-comstock

Date
Contributorfugari
Changes
Sources

JCook Photo Collection & Archives

Date
ContributorPyker
Changes
Sources

Corrected typo on 2nd tour start date.

Date
ContributorPyker
Changes
Sources

Updated nickname and added to biography. From own and Ted Damick data files. Hometown was Fresno California but unable to add dates.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

AccidentReports.com, 8th AF Losses / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list

Harold Elwood Comstock: Gallery (9 items)

A group of pilots from the 56th Fighter Group. Left to right they are: Richard H. Allison of the 61st Fighter Squadron, Lieutenant Harold E. Comstock of the 63rd Fighter Squadron, three unknown pilots, Lieutenant-Colonel Hubert "Hub" Zemke, Major Donald M. Goodfleisch of the 63rd FS and Lieutenant Conway C. Saux of the 62nd FS. 1943. Printed caption attached to print: 'The "Thunderbolt". The new American Fighter P-47, known as the 'Thunderbolt' is designed as a high altitude fast fighter, now in quantity

Object number: FRE 219 - A group of pilots from the 56th Fighter Group...

Pilots of the 56th Fighter Group celebrate 800 victories and the second anniversary of their arrival in England at a party on 6 January 1945 at Boxted air base. Left to right the pilots are: Major James R. Carter, Lieutenant-Colonel Donovan F. Smith, Lieutenant Harold E. Comstock, Lieutenant-Colonel David C. Schilling, Major Lucian A. Dade and Lieutenant-Colonel Leslie C. Smith.

Object number: FRE 225 - Pilots of the 56th Fighter Group celebrate 800...

A crashed P-47 Thunderbolt (UN-Y, serial number 41-6326) of the 56th Fighter Group, flown by Lieutenant Harold E Comstock, 3 March 1944. Official caption on image: "3396-4GIS-2-P47-Crash Landing." Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Comstock, 3/3/44.'

Object number: FRE 2717 - A crashed P-47 Thunderbolt (UN-Y, serial number 41...

Object number: UPL 20640 - View of P-47C 41-6326 showing the fuselage broken...

Object number: UPL 20641 - View of the port side of P-47C 41-6326 following...

Object number: UPL 20642 - Detail of artwork on P-47C 41-6326 UN-Y "Happy...

Object number: UPL 29806 - 1Lt Harold Comstock 56th FG

Object number: UPL 29807 - Lt Col Harold Comstock CO 481st TFS

Object number: UPL 34382 - A 63rd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group P-47D...