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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'.
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B-24 Liberator, 4240664, #100, "Teggie Ann " - 515th BS, 376th BG, 9th AF, with Gen. Ent, a participant of the Ploesti raid, Col. Keith Compton, center and General Ent, right. Aug 1, 1943
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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.
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Keith Karl Compton, 93rd Bomb Group
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The B-24-D-20-CO, Liberator bomber, Ubangi Bag - 41-24194 - in the 14th Air force - 308th Bomb Group - 374th Bomb Squadron. Col. K.K. Compton, left side photo. Lt. John S. Young, right side photo.
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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"
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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 leading both the 93rd and the 376th Bomb Groups for the critically important Ploesti mission, at the railroad junction at Targovste, short of his first Initial Point, he was ordered by the Mission Commander, General Uzal Ent, riding with him in Teggie Ann, Compton's Element Lead airplane, to turn south 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 desperate radio calls from the pilots of several of the following aircraft, and a warning from his own navigator, Harold Wickland, on their aircraft intercom, that he had made a disastrous wrong turn, he continued south toward Bucharest, finally turning back northeast, as he flew around Ploesti. But he and the planes following him never attacked their mission targets. Compton finally dropped his bombs harmlessly over the hills northwest of the Ploesti refineries and flew home to Benghazi, 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 Leader do, finally, acted on their own, against their own attack plan orders, and turned their bombers back to the north and west, toward Ploesti's oil refinery area, in order to, at the very least, bomb 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 their B-24D, Hell's Wench. Also Major John Palm, and a number of others, flew north and west into the heavy flak and refinery areas south of Ploesti, 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.
Compton’s formation made up of the 93rd, and the 376th Bomb Groups, had reached Rumania well ahead of Kane’s two groups. It descended to low level and made its planned turn to the south at Targoviste, miles short of the correct Identification Point (IP) approaching Ploesti. Col. Addison Baker, in, Hell's Wench, commanding the 93rd Bomb Group, following Compton, saw Ploesti to his left, and refused to follow Compton south. He turned his group, the 93rd Bomb Group, and led it toward it's targets at Ploesti. Baker, John Jerstad, and their entire crew were shot down and killed (KIA) before reaching their target. In the meantime, Compton had turned, almost reversing course, and flew back north and west toward Ploesti but never bombed any of his targets according to the attack plan, finally dropping his bombs harmlessly in the hills north of the city, and returned home with those who followed him, almost completely undamaged. Col. Compton and Gen. Ent, both received received Distinguished Service Cross medals for their actions over Ploesti. August 1, 1943.
Service
People
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Military | Colonel | B-24 Command Pilot | 376th Bomb Group
Norman C. 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, 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, Operation Tidal...
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Military | Captain | B-24D Command Pilot | 376th Bomb Group
Lt. Donaldson B. Hurd was assigned to the 9th Air Force, the 376th Bomb Group, and the 515th Bomb Squadron, in the Middle East. He was in Benghazi, Libya for the Ploesti mission. Lt. Hurd flew the B-24D, 42-40319, Dopey Goldberg, on Operation Tidal...
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Military | Brigadier General | B-24 Command Pilot - Commanding Officer 44th Bomb Group | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Col. Leon Johnson, the commander of the 44th Bomb Group from the 8th Air Force in Britain provided superior leadership in planning and training his pilots from the 8th Air force from the U.K. to employ very low altitude flying, before and during...
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Military | Colonel | B-24 Bomb Group Commanding Officer / B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
John Riley Kane was a colonel in the United States Army Air Corps and, later, in 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 leadership, courage, and...
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Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 376th Bomb Group
B-24
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Military | Major General | Command Pilot, Operations Officer, Commanding Officer, Observer | 389th Bomb Group
Lt. Col. Ramsay Potts flew 41 x combat missions in WWII, including deep penetrations from England to the Messerschmidt factory at Weiner Neustadt, Austria and German synthetic fuel plants. On 21-Nov-42, he was engaged by 5 x JU-88's over the Bay of...
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Military | Colonel | B-24 Pilot | 93rd Bomb Group
In 1941, Walter 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...
Show more
Units served with
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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...
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Group
The 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 1 Mar 42 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. On 15 May 42. the Group moved to Ft. Myers, Florida, to continue advanced flight training and also to fly antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico. They...
Aircraft
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B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, named, Teggie Ann, 42-40664, should not be mistaken for another of two other B-24Ds, two of three B-24Ds, 41-23754, and 41-11613, also named, Teggie Ann, that were in the 8th Air Force in the U.K in 1942-43. Later, 42-40664, Teggie Ann's,...
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B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, Liberator bomber, 41-11636, first named, Wash's Tub, was first flown by Martin Walsh and was originally Halpro aircraft, #24, first, in the Halverson Project in 1942 in the 9th Air Force. It was later transferred to the 8th Air Force, the...
Missions
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1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B-24D 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...
Events
Event |
Location |
Date |
Born |
Saint Joseph, MO, USA |
9 December 1915 |
1915 in St. Joseph, Missouri, USA.
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Promoted |
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February 1953 |
Vice Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command, Feb 1953.
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Retired |
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1 August 1969 |
Retired 1st August, 1969.
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Died |
San Antonio, TX, USA |
15 June 2004 |
15th June, 2004, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
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Buried |
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July 2004 |
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia
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