Fred Wendall Glover
MilitaryFred Glover hailed from Asheville, North Carolina. He had once played a little professional baseball.
He had once seen a Flying Tigers pilot return home, and he was so impressed with the adulation he received that Fred never forgot it. He decided that flying was the service for him. Fred and several of his buddies decided to enlist and headed for Fort McPherson, Georgia. They tried to enlist in the Army Air Corps for cadet training, but were told the Army had no use for them. Glover replied " Well, to hell with you friend", and walked out.
His passion carried him to the RCAF, where he earned his wings. He was assigned to England to ferry planes, not to combat. He was totally dissatisfied with this; he wanted to be a fighter pilot. When they ignored his request Fred took an Oxford transport up and power-dived it. It was not exactly what this type of aircraft was designed to do, and the damage to the plane and the arrogance of the pilot did not sit well with the authorities; so, on 20 February 1944 he was sent to the 4th fighter Group to fly combat.
On 30 April, while strafing Lyon/Bron Aerodrome, Glover's plane was hit by flak, causing him to lose his glycol coolant. He had to bale out, but he evaded capture, meeting up with some French Resistance Fighters who sheltered him until he finally returned to England on 28 May.
In August 1944 he became CO of the 336th Fighter Squadron, where he had an intense rivalry with "Red Dog" Norley, his roommate and CO of the 335th Fighter Squadron. Glover never gave up; he was a great pilot and intensely aggressive, which was much admired by his squadron pilots and kept their morale at a constant high.
In June 1945 he was transferred to 8th Air Force Headquarters, ending his combat.
He had 22.8 enemy aircraft destroyed to his credit.
Awards: SS, BSV, DFC (4OLC), AM (15OLC), PH, WWII Victory, EAME (5 x Battle Stars).
Post war: Fred was killed in a flying accident in July 1956 in Hazlehurst, Georgia.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Headquarters
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Combat organisation
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 336th Fighter Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Crew Chief
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 334th Fighter Squadron 335th Fighter Squadron 336th Fighter Squadron 4th Mobile Reclamation and Repair Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-2044420
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 336th Fighter Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Unit: 4th Fighter Group 336th Fighter Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Daddy's Girl
- Unit: 359th Fighter Group 4th Fighter Group 336th Fighter Squadron 370th Fighter Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
- Nicknames: Lofty
- Unit: 27th Air Transport Group 56th Fighter Group 63rd Fighter Squadron 87th Air Transport Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Rebel Queen
- Unit: 496th Fighter Training Group 4th Fighter Group 336th Fighter Squadron 555th Fighter Training Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Unit: 4th Fighter Group 336th Fighter Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Asheville, NC, USA | 4 December 1915 | |
Born |
Asheville, NC, USA | 4 December 1915 | Son of Wily Brona and Alpha Jane [Greene] Glover. |
Enlisted |
26 May 1943 | ||
Other Assigned |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 19 February 1944 - 2 June 1945 | Assigned to 336FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. |
Other 22.83 Victories |
France | 16 March 1944 - 27 February 1945 | 16-Mar-44 — 2 ME-110’s 2-Nov-44 — 1 ME-163 21-Nov-44 — 3 ME-109’s 25-Dec-44 — 1 FW-190D 16-Jan-45 — 2 FW-190’s, 1 ME-109 (ground). 27-Feb-45 — 2 ME-109’s, 1 FW-190 (ground). |
Other Promoted |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 20 April 1944 | Promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. |
Other Evaded Capture |
30 April 1944 | Evaded (EVD) - crashed near Valence on 30 Apr 44 in P-51 42-106856 | |
Other Promoted |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 26 June 1944 | Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. |
Other Operations Officer |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 17 August 1944 | Designated squadron Operations officer. |
Other Commanding Officer |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 24 August 1944 | Appointed squadron C/O. |
Other Promoted |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 11 September 1944 | Promoted to Captain. |
Other Promoted |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 22 December 1944 | Promoted to Major. |
Other Discharged USAF |
29 September 1949 | Honourable discharge. | |
Died |
Hazlehurst, GA 31539, USA | 7 July 1956 | Killed in flying accident. |
Buried |
Bethel Baptist Church CemeteryEllenboro,Rutherford County, NC | 11 July 1956 | Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery Ellenboro, Rutherford County, North Carolina |
Revisions
You misspelled his hometown. It is Asheville. Two e 's. You spelled it ashville
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- 1000 Destroyed' by Capt. Grover C. Hall, Jr.;
- Fighter Aces of the U. S. A. and Mustang Aces of the Eighth Air Force ;
- MACR 5286;
- Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia ;
- Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database;
- Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list
Changed middle initial to full middle name
http://fourthfightergroup.freeforums.org/debden-pilot-roommates-t7.html
Personal research & 'Eighty-One Aces of the 4th Fighter Group' by Frank Speer.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://www.4thfightergroupassociation.org/pilots.html