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Military
Col. John R. "Killer" Kane
Col. John R. Kane was awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor for his leadership and courage during Operation Tidal Wave over Ploesti, Romania. John Kane flew as Group Leader for his 98th Bomb Group, Col. Leon Johnson's 44th Bombing Group, and Col. Jack Wood's 389th Bomb Group, all of whom attacked and bombed their assigned targets. For the mission, Col. John Kane and his copilot, Lt. John S. Young from Texas, flew Kane's B-24D, the 'Hail Columbia', named by Kane for Columbia University and successfully bombed their target, code named "White IV", the Astra Romano Refinery complex. Lt Young was awarded the Silver Star and an Oak Leaf Cluster for his Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in the mission, August 1, 1943.
Lt. Harold Korger and Col. John R. Kane 1943
Col. John R. Kane was the command pilot of his chosen B-24 for the Ploesti Bombing mission, 'Hail Columbia'. Just before the mission, Kane reassigned Lt. John Young to be his copilot in 'Hail Columbia' along with most of Young's crew form Young's B-24, the 'Kickapoo', thereby saving Lt. Young's and all of his regular crew's lives when 'Kickapoo''s engines failed on the early morning takeoff for Ploesti, and crashed in flames, killing it's pilot's and all crewmembers except two, who survived, though badly burned. August 1, 1943.
'Hail Columbia' crashed and wrecked on Cyprus Island - Center Photo Between #3 and #4 Engines - Col. John Kane with Lt. John Young, center. Lt. Norman Whalen facing camera. Notice the men closely looking at the #4 engine, which is partly off it's mounts. It had taken a direct flak hit over White IV, which destroyed the engine. Aug 2, 1943
Newspaper articles - Ploesti
Col. John R. Kane Group Leader and Pilot of the 'Hail Columbia' with his copilot Lt. John S. Young on the mission to bomb Ploesti, August 1, 1943
B-24D - Col. John Riley "Killer" Kane - 9th Air force - 98th Bombardment Group - 344th Bombing Squadron Bomb Group, 1943. Col. Kane picked the B-24, 'Grumpy' to be his personal airplane, for the second time, and renamed it, 'Hail Columbia' to fly the Ploesti mission, as one of the five Group Leaders' aircraft. He picked Lt. John S. Young to be his copilot for the mission, Lt. Harold Korger to be his bombardier, and Lt. Norman Whalen to be his navigator. Col. Kane was awarded the Medal Of Honor for successfully leading his element of Bomb Groups to their targets and for successfully bombing his target, the Astra Romano refinery complex. The entire crew, all survived the mission. Col. Kane and Lt. Young flew their crippled bomber, 'Hail Columbia' to Nicosia, Cyprus, and crashed on landing, destroying Kane's beloved airplane. - John Young reported that, as they were surveying the damage to "Hail Columbia' the next morning, he saw tears in John Kane's eyes. Such was how many of the men felt about the airplanes that they felt had saved their lives. August 2, 1943.
Operation Tidal Wave - Last Briefing. - 1943
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 leadership, courage, and heroism for leading the 98th, the 44th, and the 389th Bombardment Groups in Operation Tidal Wave, the low altitude attack on the oil refineries at Ploesti in 1943, all of whom successfully bombed their assigned targets, including Kane's target, the Astra Romano Refinery at Ploesti Rumania, on Aug. 1, 1943
A native of Texas, Kane joined the Army Air Corps after graduating from Baylor University. In WWII in July 1942, he was sent to the Mediterranean Theater of War where he flew 43 combat missions against shipping in the Mediterranean Sea and over Italian ports for a total of 250 combat hours in Africa, the Middle East, and, later, Europe.
In North Africa, Kane commanded the 98th Bombardment Group, a B-24 Liberator unit nicknamed the "Pyramiders". His daring flying operations caused German intelligence reports to dub him "Killer Kane."
Kane earned the Silver Star during a mission when his plane became separated from the formation and was attacked from the rear by an enemy fighter. Although the tail and top turrets of his bomber became inoperative, he successfully outmaneuvered the pursuing ME-110 through eight different attacks. The fighter eventually exhausted its ammunition and was forced to break off the attack without causing any appreciable damage to Kane's aircraft.
Kane chose his friend, Lt. John S. Young, a fellow Texan from Dallas, to be his copilot on Kane's lead aircraft for the Ploesti mission, 'Hail Columbia' and also Young's crew from Young's personal B-24, the 'KICKAPOO'. This last minute change proved very fortunate for Lt. Young and his regular crew when, subsequently, 'KICKAPOO' lost it's #4 engine on takeoff for the mission and crashed, killing it's two replacement pilots, Lt. Robert Nespor, Lt. John Riley, and all but two of it's replacement crew. After the war, Col. Kane commanded a series of airfields in the U.S. and served another year and a half in North Africa before his retirement.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
SSgt. Neville C. Bensen took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943. He was a waist gunner in the Element Lead B-24D Liberator, # 41-11825, 'Hail Columbia', piloted by Col. John R. "Killer" Kane and Lt. John S. Young. He...
Military | Lieutenant General | B-24 Command Pilot - Squadron Commander - Commanding Officer | 376th Bomb Group
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...
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 | First Lieutenant | B-24D Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
First Lieutenant Gilbert Benny Hadley was a B-24D Liberator bomber pilot with the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, "The Pyramiders", and the 344th Bombing Squadron, from Texas, based at Cairo, Egypt, Tobruk, and Benghazi, Libya, in the Mediterranean...
Military | Second Lieutenant | B-24D Co-Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
2nd Lt. Ronald Lee Helder was a B-24 pilot in the 8th Air Force, the 389th Bomb Group, and the 564th Bombing Squadron in WWII. He flew as Co-pilot with his friend, Command Pilot Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes, in the B-24D Lt. Helder called, 'Ole Kickapoo',...
Military | First Lieutenant | Radio Operator | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Raymond B. Hubbard was assigned to the 9th Air force, the 98th Bombardment Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron in Libya, North Africa, 1943. He took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, flying as a Waist Gunner and...
Military | Second Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
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Military | Colonel | Bombardier Navigator | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Harold Korger was a bombardier in the 344th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force. He flew on the famous mission, Operation Tidal Wave, Aug 1, 1943, to knock out the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. ...
Military | Sergeant | Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, flying in B-24 Liberator 41-11825.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
Technical Sgt. Frederick A. Leard was a waist gunner assigned to the Element Lead B-24D Liberator bomber, named 'Hail Columbia', SN # 41-11825, flown by Col. John R. "Killer" Kane and Lt. John S. Young on Operation Tidal Wave, the large mission to...
Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942.
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Squadron
The 344th Bombing Squadron was first activated at MacDill Field, Florida as one of the original three squadrons assigned to the 98th Bombardment Group. The 344th soon moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana, where it began to train as a Consolidated B-24...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, named, 'Suzy Q', flown by Pilot Lt. Robert I. Brown and commanded by Col. Leon Johnson, led the 44th Bomb Group on the Aug 1, 1943 Ploesti raid and was the most famous ship of the 67th Squadron. The plane was lost on Aug 16, 1943 on a...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, named 'The Sandman' and flown by Lt. Robert Sternfels in the 9th Air force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 345th Bomb Squadron, flew on the famous mission to destroy the German held oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. Lt. Sternfels flew in...
B-24 Liberator
- Not to be confused with #42-40608, 'THE VULGAR VIRGIN' of the 8th Air Force - 93rd Bomb Group - 328th Bomb Squadron - It also flew on the Ploesti mission, piloted by Lt. Claude Turner - Interned Turkey Aug 1, 1943 - Lt. Turner escaped from the...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, named 'Hadley's Harem' was Lt. Gilbert Hadley's personal airplane and the one he flew on the mission to destroy Hitler's oil refineries at Ploesti Romania in 1943.
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B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator bomber, SN #41-11761, was first named, 'Sleepy', and, later, renamed, 'The Squaw'. It flew on the famous Ploesti bombing mission, returning to Cyprus, piloted by Lt. Royden L. Lebrecht. After Ploesti and and the completion of his ...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, 'Hail Columbia', # 41-11825, originally served in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron. It was, first, the 344th Squadron's CO, Col. John R. Kane's, personal aircraft until Kane became the 98th Bomb Group's...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator, SN # 41-11768, 'KICKAPOO', was piloted by Lt. John S. Young from Dallas, Texas as part of the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron, which arrived in North Africa in early 1943. This airplane was...
B-24 Liberator
# 42-40753 - B-24D 'OLE KICKAPOO' - A Consolidated B-24D bomber from the 389th Bombardment Group of the 8th Air Force, and the 564th Bomb Squadron from England, with it's Command Pilot, 2nd Lt. Lloyd Hughes, and his crew, who flew on "Operation Tidal...
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
Military site : airfield
Military site : airfield
Military site : airfield
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | McGregor, TX, USA | 5 January 1907 |
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January 5, 1907. McGregor, Texas, USA. |
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| Operation Tidal Wave | Ploiești, Romania | 1 August 1943 |
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He was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading the 98th in Operation Tidal Wave, a low-altitude attack on oil refineries in Ploieşti, Romania. |
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| Died | Veteran's Administration Nursing Home, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA | 29 May 1996 |
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May 29, 1996. Veterans Administration nursing home, Pennsylvania, USA. |
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| Buried | ||
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Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, USA. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 04 June 2020 18:46:55 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Black Sunday ~ Michael Hill ---- John S. Young, Jr. ~ personal archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 December 2018 03:17:14 | Kickapoo | Changes to role |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 December 2018 03:15:49 | Kickapoo | Changes to role, biography, person associations, unit associations and place associations |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 August 2018 16:11:24 | Emily | Changes to role, biography, events and unit associations |
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Minor edits to biography text and events |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 March 2018 08:25:13 | Kickapoo | Changes to unit associations |
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Operation Tidal Wave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 March 2018 08:07:16 | Kickapoo | Changes to middlename and media associations |
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Operation Tidal Wave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 February 2018 09:59:27 | Kickapoo | Changes to role and biography |
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U.S. Air Force Archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 February 2018 09:54:59 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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United States Air Force Archive |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 February 2018 09:35:08 | Kickapoo | Changes to awards |
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Operation Tidal Wave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 April 2015 16:39:34 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nickname, nationality, highest rank, role, biography, events, unit associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
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