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A P-47 Thunderbolt (serial number 42-26637) nicknamed "Kokomo" of the 495th Fighter Training Group, flown by General William E Kepner. Image by Robert Astrella. Written on slide casing: ' Kepner's P-47 226637, Kokomo at Mount Farm.'
Group
The 495th Fighter Training Group, which operated in England from December 1943, trained P-47 Thunderbolt pilots. These pilots, who had received the basic training in the USA would be assigned to a training group to practise ETO operational procedures...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Photographic Supply
Staff Sergeant Robert Astrella was a keen photographer, he photographed the aircraft that visited Mount Farm, and like many airmen he used his leave to travel to historic sites around Britain. His colour photographs are a rich record of Britain at war ...
Military | Lieutenant General | Commanding General, 8th Air Force Fighter Command
From 1909 to 1913, Kepner served in the US Marine Corps. By 1916 he was a second lieutenant in the Indiana National Guard. After a short spell in the US cavalry, in 1917 he transferred to the infantry as a captain and commanded a company at the Battle...
P-47 Thunderbolt
Military site : airfield
Originally a grass airfield satellite for the RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Unit at nearby RAF Benson, Mount Farm was built in 1940-1941. It had three concrete runways, 49 dispersals (24 concrete pan type plus 25 PSP squares), and eight blister...
