Joseph Houston Bennett

Military
media-18860.jpeg UPL 18860 Capt Joseph H Bennett 336th FS, 4th FG, 8th AF USAAF.

Object Number - UPL 18860 - Capt Joseph H Bennett 336th FS, 4th FG, 8th AF USAAF.

Born 25-Nov-18. Joe Bennett hailed from Morton, Texas. Educated at Abilene Christian College and Eastern New Mexico University, prior to enlisting in the USAAC 25-Apr-41. Commissioned 2nd Lt and awarded his wings at Stockton Field, California 31-Dec-41.

Initially assigned to 54th FG flying P-39’s he was transferred to 356th FS, 360th FG Mar-43 at Groton Field, Connecticut flying P-47’s and thereafter to Goxhill, England by Aug/Sep-43. Transferred to 61st FS, 56th FG Nov-43 where he had his first victory, a Me-110 on 20-Dec-44. On 8-Mar-44, in an encounter with 100-150 Luftwaffe fighters, he downed two Me-109s and an Fw-190 to become an "Ace". Transferred to 336th FS, 4th FG Apr-44. On 15-Apr-44 he had a midair collision in P-51B 42-106686 and baled out into the North Sea with a broken shoulder. He was soon picked up by a Walrus seaplane and returned to base. Off Op’s for a month. On 25-May-44 he destroyed two Me-109s and two Fw-190s. He was then rammed by a frustrated Luftwaffe pilot, namely Oberfahnrich Hubert Heckman in a Me109 which severed his tail section, and he baled out over Botenheim, Germany from P-51 43-6572 spending time in a German hospital before being transferred to Stalag Luft VIIa prison camp as a POW for the remainder of the war. MACR 5720.

Part of the army of occupation, he was promoted to Major prior to leaving active duty in January 1946. Credited 8 1/2 enemy aircraft kills.



Awards: DFC (2 OLC), AM (3 OLC), PH (OLC), POW, EAME (4 Bronze stars), OCC.



Post war: Took up farming in West Texas. After 10 years he moved to Clifton, Texas, and operated a resort on Lake Whitney. After 20 years with the US Army Corps of Engineers he retired in 1980.

Connections

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Units served with

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
  • Nicknames: Ann III Lois
  • Unit: 352nd Fighter Group 4th Fighter Group 328th Fighter Squadron 336th Fighter Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Unit: 467th Bomb Group 56th Fighter Group 61st Fighter Squadron 789th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Unit: 406th Fighter Group 56th Fighter Group 513th Fighter Squadron 61st Fighter Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
  • Unit: 4th Fighter Group 336th Fighter Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Marlow, OK, USA 25 November 1918

Enlisted

Oklahoma, USA 26 April 1941 Enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program of the US Army Air Forces on April 26, 1941.

Other

Commissioned/Awarded wings

Field Ave, Stockton, CA 95203, USA 12 December 1941 Commissioned a 2nd Lt and awarded his pilot wings at Stockton Field, California, on December 12, 1941

Other

Ditched in Channel

English Channel 15 May 1944 Forced to ditch in the Channel after mid-air collision on way home to Debden; picked up by ASR launch. Off Ops for a month.

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Moosburg, Germany 25 May 1944 Spent time in a German hospital before being transferred to Stalag 7A in Moosburg, Bavaria, until his camp was liberated.

Other

Mid air collision

Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Botenheim, Fuchsienstraße 7, 74336 Brackenheim, Germany 25 May 1944 During an engagement with a gaggle of German fighters, his aircraft was rammed by an ME-109 piloted by Lt. Hubert Heckman over Botenheim, Germany. Bennett was able to bail out of the stricken fighter P-51 #436572, spending time in a German hospital before being transferred to a prison camp. (MACR 5720).

Other

E/A Destroyed

Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Botenheim, Fuchsienstraße 7, 74336 Brackenheim, Germany 25 May 1944 Destroyed 2 x Bf109's over Botenheim, Germany.

Died

Dallas, TX, USA 15 August 2000 Died - 15 August 2000 Dallas, TX.
Morton, Texas, USA

Other

Promoted

Promoted to Major/retired.

Other

Promotion

Martlesham Heath, Martlesham, Ipswich, UK Promoted to 1st Lieutenant.

Other

Promotion

Martlesham Heath, Martlesham, Ipswich, UK Promoted to Captain.

Based

Assigned to 360FS, 356FG, 8AF USAAF. Groton, CT - Mitchel Field, NY - Grenier Field, NH.

Based

Martlesham Heath Transferred to 61FS, 56FG, 8AF USAAF.

Based

Debden 25 May 1944 Transferred to 336FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF.

Buried

Dallas, TX, USA Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery Dallas Dallas County Texas USA

Revisions

Date
Changes
Sources

Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia ;
- www.56thfightergroup.co.uk/personnel.htm

Date
Changes
Sources

Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit History;
- 'Eighty-One Aces of the 4th Fighter Group' by Frank Speer.;
- Personal research & 'Eighty-One Aces of the 4th Fighter Group' by Frank Speer.;
-

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 5720 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Joseph Houston Bennett: Gallery (2 items)