An Ace, Lt. Col. Niven K. Cranfill of Temple, TX, served with HQ and the 368th, 369th, and 370th Fighter Squadrons, from April 1943 through 22 April 1945, flying 133 combat missions in two tours of duty with the 359th Fighter Group.

19 March 1945 mission: Capt. Wetmore leads an escort to the Halle area. Just east of Leipzig, Maj. Cranfill jumps three Me-262s, then notices ten more heading for the bombers. He directs his first attack against a 262 which is chasing a P-51 and he scores a few hits, driving the jet off. He then latches onto a second Me-262 and fires several bursts at it. The jet slips into a dive and explodes on the ground. With his kill, Cranfill becomes Ace number twelve for the Group. While on the initial bounce, Lt. Clifton Enoch, Cranfill's wingman, apparently fails to pull out of his dive and crashes with his plane.

Assigned to 370FS, 359FG, 8AF USAAF.
Transferred to 369, 359FG, 8AF USAAF.
Transferred to HQ Sqn, 359FG, 8AF USAAF.
Transferred to 368, 359FG, 8AF USAAF.
Completed 2 tours of duty.

Had 5 air kills and became an ace, Aug. 1944-April 1945, formerly HQ, 133 missions P-51D; according to unit history, Oct. 1943-Aug. 1944, to 368th FS from 369th FS, 370th FS and HQ, 133 total missions, 500+ hours, P-47D 42-74645, P-51B 42-106848 'Deviless 2nd, P-51D 44-13390 'Deviless 3rd'.

Awards: SS (OLC), DFC (OLC), AM (12OLC), LOM, WWII Victory, EAME, UN and Korean medal.

Service

Events

Event	Location	Date
Born	Bell County, TX, USA	23 July 1920
Son of Lesley Willard and Mary Thelma [Kendall] Cranfill.
Lived in	Temple, TX, USA	1941
Enlisted	San Antonio, TX 78234, USA	26 April 1941
Fort Sam Houston, Texas
Based	East Wretham	April 1943 – October 1943
Assigned to 370FS, 359FG, 8AF USAAF.
Promotion	Wretham, Thetford IP24, UK	19 May 1943
Promoted to Captain.
Based	East Wretham	October 1943 – 22 July 1944
Transferred to 369FS, 359FG, 8AF USAAF.
E/A Damaged	Lingen, Germany	30 January 1944
Me109 damaged Lingen 30-Jan-44. P-47 42-74645.
Promotion	Wretham, Thetford IP24, UK	1 March 1944
Promoted to Major.
Based	East Wretham	22 July 1944 – 12 August 1944
Transferred to HQ Sqn, 359FG, 8AF USAAF.
E/A probable [1/2]	Brunswick, Germany	5 August 1944
Me109 shared probable Brunswick 5-Aug-44 P-51D 42-106848.
Based	East Wretham	12 August 1944 – 27 August 1944
Transferred to 368FS, 359FG, 8AF USAAF.
E/A Destoyed	37574 Einbeck, Germany	16 August 1944
Me109 destroyed Einbeck 16-Aug-44. P-51D 44-13301.
End Tour of Duty (ETD) (1)		27 August 1944
Ended 1st Tour of Duty (ETD).
Based	East Wretham	10 November 1944 – 22 April 1945
Re-joined 368FS, 359FG, 8AF USAAF.
E/A Destoyed [3]	Merseburg, Germany	27 November 1944
2 x Me109, 1 x Fw190 destroyed Merseburg 27-Nov-44. P-51D 44-15100.
E/A Destroyed	Leipzig, Germany	19 March 1945
Me262 destroyed Leipzig 19-Mar-45. P-51D 44-15717.
E/A Damaged	Leipzig, Germany	19 March 1945
Me262 damaged Leipzig 19-Mar-45. P-51D 44-15717.
Promotion	Wretham, Thetford IP24, UK	26 March 1945
Promoted to Lt Colonel.
End Tour of Duty (ETD) (2)		22 April 1945
Ended 2nd Tour of Duty (ETD).
Died	San Antonio, TX, USA	7 August 2002
Buried	Bellwood Memorial Park Temple Bell County, TX	11 August 2002
Bellwood Memorial Park Temple Bell County, Texas