George Purnell Birdsong Jr | American Air Museum in Britain

Capt George P Birdsong and crew of the 323rd Bomb Sqn, 91st Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, beside a Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Delta Rebel'. England, 16 June 1943. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A10603-C62755AC.

Show caption About this image
Ground crew of the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" "Delta Rebel" at Bassingbourne, England. They are all members of the 323rd Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group. 14 February 1943. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A11124-69386AC.

Show caption About this image
Delta Rebel No2 (42-5077) Birdsong's Crew, 323rd Squadron, 91st BG LEFT TO RIGHT: B. Z. Byrd, Radio Operator; Randy Peterson, Left Waist Gunner; Steve Perri, Ball Turret Gunner; Harry Kulchesky, Right Waist Gunner; Clark Gable; Chuck Bennett, Co-pilot; George Birdsong, Pilot; Robert Abb, Bombardier; Robert Card, Tail Gunner THE ACTOR CLARK GABLE IS INCLUDED IN THE DELTA REBEL CREW AS HE WAS IN THE PROCESS OF SHOOTING THE DOCUMENTARY FILM "COMBAT AMERICA."

Show caption About this image

Flew 25 missions as pilot on 'Delta Rebel No2'.

Birdsong had been at college when he enlisted into the Air Corps in April 1942. He went on to pilot 'Delta Rebel' probably the first B-17 to complete 25 missions. He later served as Operations Officer of an air photo unit in Operation Crossroads and went on to fly B-29's in SAC. In 1953 he set a transatlantic record of five hours from Maine to the British Isles in a B-47 and was then the first SAC pilot to check out in the B-52. In 1968 he commanded the 633rd Operations Wing at Pleiku Air Base in South Vietnam flying 189 missions. After retiring from the Air Force in 1970 with the rank of Colonel he flew for two years as a charter pilot from Monterrey Peninsula Airport.

Service

People

Robert Abb

Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Flew 25 missions on 'Delta Rebel #2'
B Byrd

Military | Master Sergeant | Radio Operator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Flew 25 x missions on B-17 42-5077 'Delta Rebel No. 2'. Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Henry Carter

Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Flew 25 x missions on 'Delta Rebel #2' Died non Battle (DNB) Awards: AM (OLC), PH.
Harry Kulchesky

Military | Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Flew 25 missions on 'Delta Rebel #2'
Ernest Miller

Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Flew 25 missions on 'Delta Rebel #2'
Steven Perri

Military | Technical Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. ...
Randy Petersen

Military | Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Flew 25 missions on 'Delta Rebel #2'
Eugene Remmell

Military | Chief Master Sergeant | Flight Engineer; Top Turret Gunner | 450th Bomb Group
Flew 25 missions on' Delta Rebel #2'. ...
Joseph Reynolds

Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Flew 25 missions on 'Delta Rebel #2', died non battle. Awards: AM (OLC), PH.

Units served with

91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars

Group
The 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Harding Field, Louisiana on 15-April-1942 and went to MacDill Field, Florida for the first phase of training from 16-May-1942 to 25-June-1942. The Group was then assigned to 2nd Air Force at Walla...
323rd Bomb Squadron

Squadron

Aircraft

42-5077 Delta Rebel No. 2

B-17 Flying Fortress
Tulsa 15 September 1942, arrived in Bangor, Northern Ireland 11 October 1942; Assigned to the 323 Bomb Squadron/ 91st Bomb Group [coded OR-T] at Bassingbourn on 15 October 1942. On 1 May 1943, Delta Rebel No. 2 became the first B-17 Flying Fortress...

Associated Place

Bassingbourn

Military site : airfield
Now home to a museum all about the aifield and its USAAF residents (http://www.towermuseumbassingbourn.co.uk/) , Bassingbourn opened in 1938 as part of the RAF's pre-war expansion programme. The RAF continued to use it until late in 1942 when its long...
Arlington National Cemetery

Cemetery

Events

Event	Location	Date
Born	Clarksdale, Mississippi	12 October 1919
Son of George Purnell Birdsong Sr.
Enlisted	Jackson, MS	4 September 1941
Jackson, Mississippi
Discharged USAF		31 October 1970
Honourable discharge.
Died	Pleasanton, California, USA	9 July 2004
(aged 84)
Buried		4 October 2004
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia Section 66 Site 2614

Date	Contributor	Update
16 November 2020 20:05:37	Al_Skiff	Changes to middlename, service number, biography, awards, events and place associations
Sources
https://www.fold3.com/image/659124876 https://www.fold3.com/image/312801881 https://www.fold3.com/image/659124876 https://www.fold3.com/record/709139148-birdsong-george-p https://www.fold3.com/record/83982519-george-p-birdsong-jr https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30594062/george-p.-birdsong
Date	Contributor	Update
21 August 2020 19:32:12	jmoore43	Changes to events
Sources
Added Died and Buried events per Find-a-grave Memorial ID 30594062.
Date	Contributor	Update
20 August 2020 23:29:48	decwriter	Changes to awards
Sources
NARA files verified DFC w/1 oak leaf cluster and AM w/3 oak leaf clusters.
Date	Contributor	Update
20 August 2020 21:49:38	jmoore43	Changes to highest rank
Sources
Updated his rank per info in the "Summary biography".
Date	Contributor	Update
31 January 2020 11:42:33	general ira snapsorter	Changes to biography
Sources
Biography completed by historian Helen Millgate. Information sourced from newsletters of the 91st Bomb Group related to the service of George Birdsong.
Date	Contributor	Update
23 March 2017 17:48:10	Al_Skiff	Changes to unit associations, place associations and aircraft associations
Sources
Key Image ID.
Date	Contributor	Update
27 September 2014 18:11:07	AAM	AAM ingest
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia