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Military
Commanding Officers of the 9th U.S. Air force at a base near Benghazi. Libya after the devastating raid on the Ploesti oil fields. Left to right Maj Gen Lewis Brereton, CG 9th AF; Brig Gen U. G. Ent, CG 9th Bomber Command; and Col K.K. Compton, CO of 376th BG. A/C is B-24 Liberator #4240664 'Teggie Ann'.
B-24 Liberator #4240664 #100 'Teggie Ann' 515th BS, 376th BG, 9th AF a participant of the 1st Aug Ploesti raid. Col Keith Compton, center and General Ent, right.
At an air base near Benghazi, Libya, Brig. Gen. U. G. Ent (left) C. G. of the 9th Air Force Bomber Command and Col. K. K. Compton (right) C. O. of the 376th Bomb Group, in front of Consolidated Liberator B-24 #4240664 'Teggie Ann' which carried General Ent on the Axis-cracking raid on Ploesti, Romania oil fields and refineries.
Keith Karl Compton, 93rd Bomb Group
The B-24D-20-CO, Liberator bomber, 'Ubangi Bag' - SN #41-24194 - 14th Air force - 308th Bomb Group - 374th Bomb Squadron. Col. K.K. Compton, left side photo. Lt. John S. Young, right side photo. Lt. Young and the airplane went on War Bond Tour 1943 - 44
B-24 42-73428 'Big Nig' 515BS, 376BG "Returning from the 376th Bomb Group's 200th mission on December 14,1943 to bomb the airfield at Athens Tatoi. Shown from L-R: Brig. Gen. Carlyle H. Ridenhour - 47th Bomb Wing Commander, Col. Keith K. Compton - 376th BG Commander, Capt. E. Lynn Hester - Bombardier, Unknown"
B-24 42-73428 'Big Nig' 515BS, 376BG "Brig. Gen. Carlyle H. Ridenhour congratulates crew chief Loyson Rankin on the performance of 'Big Nig' after returning from a mission as an observer. Col. Keith K. Compton stands behind Ridenhour."
Keith Karl Compton was an American Air Force Lieutenant General who was Vice Commander in Chief, in the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command. He flew as the Element Lead Aircraft's Command Pilot with Gen. Uzal Ent, the Ploesti Mission Commander, on Operation Tidal Wave in the B-24D, 'Teggie Ann' over the Ploesti oil refineries, August 1, 1943.
In North Africa, Col. Keith Compton had been the commander of the 409th Bombing Squadron, then operations officer for the 93rd Bomb Group in 1942. In 1943 he became commander of the 376th Bomb Group and led the Ploesti Raid with General Uzal Ent. He, then, served as Assistant to the Air Chief of Staff for Operations, 15th AAF in North Africa in March, 1944 and returned to the U.S. in July, 1944 as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Training, 2nd AAF, Colorado Springs, CO. His career as SAC's Chief of Staff, then AF Operations Deputy sitting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the Chief of Staff, US Air Force. Then, he was Vice Commander in Chief, SAC.
Although Compton was the Commander of the the Element Lead aircraft of both the 93rd and the 376th Bomb Groups for the critically important Ploesti mission, at his first Initial Point, he was ordered by the Mission Commander, General Uzal Ent, riding in 'Teggie Ann' Col. Compton's Element Lead airplane, to turn east toward Bucharest, instead of continuing north toward his assigned targets at Ploesti. Compton obeyed General Ent's order and refused to turn back north, even after radio calls from his following aircraft that he had made a wrong turn, and a warning from his own navigator, Harold Wickland, on the interphone, and continued east toward Bucharest, finally turning northeast, as he flew around Ploesti, but never attacked his mission targets. He finally dropped his bombs harmlessly over the hills northwest of the Ploesti refineries and flew home, almost completely undamaged. Several pilots from both the 93rd and the 376th Bomb Groups, after recovering from their shock at what they had seen their element leaders do, finally, acted on their own, against their own attack plan orders, and turned their bombers around and back to the northeast, toward Ploesti's oil refinery area, in order to attack targets of opportunity. For their unselfish acts of determination and bravery, a number of them were shot down and killed, KIA, or wounded, flying over the concentrated flak guns south of the refinery area, including, Col. Addison Baker, his copilot, Major John Jerstad, along with their entire crew on the B-24D, 'HELL'S WENCH', also Major John Palm, and a number of others, all of whom were determined to bomb targets of opportunity, rather than fail to carry out their mission orders, even though it had already been compromised by events beyond their control, including their Mission Commander and their Element Commander's failure to carry out their mission's combat orders.
Military | Colonel | B-24 Command Pilot | 376th Bomb Group
Norman Appold graduated from the Aviation Cadet Training Program in 1942, commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. After completing pilot training, he served as a B-24 pilot in the 376th Bomb Group Association, completing 63 missions.
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Military | Major General | Commanding General | 376th Bomb Group
Uzal Girard Ent was an American Army Air Force officer who served as the commander of the 9th Air Force and subsequently the 2nd Air Force during World War II. He flew as mission commander on the Aug 1, 1943, Ploesti oil refinery raid...
Military | Captain | Pilot | 376th Bomb Group
Assigned to 515BS, 376BG, 9AF USAAF. Pilot of B-24 42-40664 'Teggie Ann'. Shot down by enemy fighters over Italy 18-Aug-43, (10 POW), MACR 298.
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Military | Brigadier General | Pilot; Commanding Officer | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Superior leadership during the Ploesti raid 1 August 1943 in B-24 #41-23817 'Suzy Q. '
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Military | Colonel | Commanding Officer, Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
John Riley Kane (January 5, 1907 – May 29, 1996) was a colonel in the United States Army Air Corps and later the United States Air Force. He received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II, for his...
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 376th Bomb Group
B-24
Military | Colonel | B-24 Pilot | 93rd Bomb Group
In 1941, Stewart was a 24 year old, U.S. Army Air Force cadet at the University of Utah. He wrote, "We were pulling guns around with horses as a plane flew overhead. Jack Adamson, who had been my Morman mission companion, said to me, `There's a war...
Group
Constituted as 376th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 Oct 1942 and activated in Palestine on 31 Oct. Began combat immediately, using B-24 aircraft. Operated with Ninth AF from bases in the Middle East, Nov 1942-Sep 1943, and with Twelfth AF from Tunisia...
Group
Group
93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 1-March-1942 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. On 15-May-1942 the Group moved to Ft. Myers, Florida to continue advanced flight training and also to fly anti-submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico; they...
B-24 Liberator
Not to be mistaken for the B-24D # 41-11613, named, 'Florine JuJu' / '71 Liberandos' / '71 Teggie Ann' / '71 The Blue Streak'.
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B-24 Liberator
'WASH'S TUB' # 41-11636 was originally a Halpro aircraft #24, then, was transferred to the 98th Bomb Group before being sent to 376th Bomb Group. Flown by Lt. James Bock's crew on the low-level mission to Ploesti, Romania - August 1, 1943. During this...
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57 B...
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Saint Joseph, MO, USA | 9 December 1915 |
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1915 in St. Joseph, Missouri, USA. |
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| Promoted | February 1953 | |
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Vice Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command, Feb 1953. |
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| Retired | 1 August 1969 | |
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Retired 1st August, 1969. |
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| Died | San Antonio, TX, USA | 15 June 2004 |
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15th June, 2004, San Antonio, Texas, USA. |
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| Buried | Arlington National Cemetery | July 2004 |
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Arlington National Cemetery |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 22 April 2021 11:04:37 | Al_Skiff | Changes to service number and events |
| Sources | ||
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10928359/keith-karl-compton |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 April 2021 00:24:28 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Ploesti - An Anatomy Of A Disaster - Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Into the Fire - Duane Schultz |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 April 2021 00:13:06 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Ploesti - An Anatomy Of A Disaster - Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Into the Fire - Duane Schultz |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 August 2020 14:17:31 | decwriter | Changes to service number, highest rank and awards |
| Sources | ||
NARA files verified DSC for 1 August 1943 Ploesti low level mission, LOM w/1 oak leaf cluster, DFC w/1 oak leaf cluster. His file for the AM accounts for the initial Air Medal and 4 oak leaf clusters in World War II. His first Legion of Merit was issued during World War II and the 1st oak leaf cluster was issued in 1957. He wears the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal in his official biography photo as well. Of note, in his official photo, he does not wear campaign stars on the EAME Campaign Medal, so the campaigns are unknown without further research. He retired on 1 August 1969 as a Lieutenant General. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 13 August 2019 01:20:16 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
FindAGrave.com ---- Anatomy Of A Disaster - Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Into the Fire - Duane Schultz |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 13 August 2019 01:18:21 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
FindAGrave.com ---- Anatomy Of A Disaster - Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Into the Fire - Duane Schultz |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 November 2018 04:09:38 | Kickapoo | Changes to role, biography, person associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
Find A Grave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 December 2016 11:41:17 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to middlename, highest rank, role, biography, events and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from : Additional biographical details from http://www.findagrave.com |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 March 2015 10:03:36 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename |
| Sources | ||
USAAF Photo. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 March 2015 21:08:19 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nationality, highest rank, role, biography, events, unit associations, aircraft associations, mission associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
USAAF Photo. |
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