Military
Col. John R. Kane was the group leader and command pilot of the B-24D he named, Hail Columbia, named by Kane for Columbia University, with his copilot, Lt. John S. Young, on the mission to bomb Ploesti, Romania. Col. Kane was awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor for his leadership and courage during the Ploesti mission, Operation Tidal Wave. 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. at Ploesti, including 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 Ploesti mission. 1 August, 1943.
Lt. Harold Korger and Col. John R. Kane 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
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 - General Brereton's last Tidal Wave briefing to the flying officers of the 98th Bomb Group. 1943
John Riley Kane 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 on Operation Tidal Wave, the low altitude attack on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. All of the bomb groups Kane led, successfully bombed their assigned targets, including Kane's target, the Astra Romano Refinery. 1-Aug-43
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 MTO, Mediterranean Theatre of Operations, 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, John Kane became the Group Commander of the 98th Bombardment Group, named, "The Pyramiders". His aggressive and daring flying on combat missions against the German Army in North Africa caused German intelligence reports to name him, "Killer" Kane, the arch enemy of Buster Crabbe's "Buck Rogers" movies.
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-110s 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 Lt. John S. Young, a fellow Texan from Dallas to be his co-pilot on Kane's lead aircraft for the Ploesti mission, Hail Columbia, and Lt. Young's crew from his personal B-24D, Kickapoo. This last minute change proved very fortunate for Young and his regular crew when, subsequently, Kickapoo, lost it's number 4 engine on take off for the mission and crashed, killing it's two replacement pilots, Lt. Robert Nespor, Lt. John Riley, and most 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 until his retirement.
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
2nd Lt. Herbert W. Arens was a B-24D command pilot in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bomb Squadron. He flew the B-24D Liberator bomber, 41-11803, named, Rosie Wrecked 'Em, on the mission to destroy the oil refineries at Ploesti,...
Military | Staff Sergeant | B-24 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, Operation Tidal...
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24D Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Gilbert Ben Hadley
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Military | Captain | B-24 CoPilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Kittredge "Kitt" Hamlin was assigned as CoPilot on the B-24D Liberator bomber, 41-11803, Rosie Wrecked 'Em, in the 344th BS, the 98th BG, and the 9th AF, "The Force For Freedom", in the MTO in North Africa. He flew on the Ploesti oil refinery...
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 flew in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, flying as a Waist Gunner and Radio...
Military | Second Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Lloyd Herbert Hughes Jr., better known to his friends, as "Pete," flew his fifth mission, as pilot of a B-24D Liberator bomber in an attack against the Axis oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania. He was killed August 1, 1943 when his plane was severely...
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...
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 along with the 67th's plane,...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator bomber, named, The Sandman, was flown by Lt. Robert Sternfels and his copilot, Lt. Barney Jackson, in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 345th Bomb Squadron, on Operation Tidal Wave, the famous mission to destroy the...
B-24 Liberator
- The B-24D, 41-24198, named, The Vulgar Virgin, flown by Capt. Wallace Taylor, was in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombardment Squadron, based at Benghazi, Libya, It should not be confused with Lt. Claude A. Turner's B-24D,...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, named, Hadley's Harem, was Lt. Gilbert Hadley's personal airplane and the one he flew, with his CoPilot, Lt. James Lindsey, on the mission to destroy Hitler's oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. As Hadley was approaching his target refinery,...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator, Raunchy, 41-11819, was in the 344th Bomb Squadron, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 9th Air Force, based at Benghazi, Libya, North Africa, in early 1943.
...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator bomber, 41-11761, was first named, Sleepy, by the men in the 8th Air Force and the 93rd Bomb Group in the U.K. and, later, was renamed, The Squaw, by it's Command Pilot, Lt. Royden LeBrecht, after being transferred to the 9th Air...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, Hail Columbia, 41-11825, was assigned to the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron. It was first assigned to 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, 41-11768, named, Kickapoo, was Lt. John S. Young's regularly assigned B-24D, after his Bombardment Group moved out of Egypt, to the air bases at Benghazi, Libya. John Young was from Dallas, like so many of the men in the 98th...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, 42-40753, was a Consolidated B-24D bomber from the 389th Bombardment Group, of the 8th Air Force, and the 564th Bomb Squadron from England. It's Command Pilot on Operation Tidal Wave, was 2nd Lt. Lloyd Hughes, and his crew. They flew on...
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...
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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Son of John Franklin and Birdie M [Wright] Kane. |
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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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Administration nursing home, Pennsylvania, USA. |
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| Buried | June 1996 | |
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Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, USA. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 26 November 2021 10:28:36 | Al_Skiff | Changes to service number, biography and events |
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https://www.fold3.com/image/312802693 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 October 2021 10:43:15 | Kickapoo | Changes to role |
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Added details. - Kickapoo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 October 2021 10:29:47 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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John R. Kane - Wikipedia |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 October 2021 10:18:37 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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John Riley Kane - Wikipedia |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 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 |
| Sources | ||
