65th Fighter Wing
Wing
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Harold J Rau
Military
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Lt Col Hal Rau CO 20th FG & Honey
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Lt Col Hal Rau CO 20th FG
CO 356th FG Feb. 1943-Nov. 1943
CO 20th FG March 1944-Dec. 1944
275 combat hours
1 air kill (ME-109) + 4 ground kills (1 x JU-52 + 2 x HE-111 + 2 x ME-110)
While in England Col Rau adopted a yellow lab which he named 'Honey' which he took home with him in 1945.
Service
Units served with
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20th Fighter Group
Group
In August 1943, the 20th Fighter Group arrived in Clyde, Scotland, before travelling to Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire, which was to be their base for the rest of the war. The Group flew 312 missions before their last mission on 25 April 1945. The... -
356th Fighter Group
Group
The 356th Fighter Group flew 413 missions between 15 October 1943 and 7 May 1945 and suffered the highest ratio of losses to enemy aircraft claims of any Eighth Air Force Group. This gave the Group the reputation of being the 'hard luck' outfit. The... -
Aircraft
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43-28408 'Gentle Annie'
P-38 Lightning
Assigned to 79FS, 20FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 401FS, 370FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Belgium with 2Lt William C Schiefen 1-Sep-44; lost control strafing road transports and crashed Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 8477 -
42-68166 Gentle Annie
P-38 Lightning
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44-14337 'Gentle Annie' 'Wildarclif III / Bridget's Bunnion'
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 79FS, 20FG, 8AF USAAF. Personal aircraft of Colonel Harold J Rau. Re-assigned to 1st Lt Darrell A Beschen.
Associated Place
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Kings Cliffe
Military site : airfield
Kings Cliffe began as a satellite air base for the Group based at nearby Wittering. The 56th Fighter Group, however, were all based at Kings Cliffe and it was here that the pilots trained in P-47 Thunderbolts and flew their first missions in the...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | 16 June 1910 | |
| Enlisted | Langley AFB, Hampton, VA, USA | January 1929 |
| given command of the 20th FG | King's Cliffe, Peterborough PE8, UK | March 1944 |
| Died | 17 November 1974 | |
| Buried | 22 November 1974 | |
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Arlington National Cemetery |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 14 July 2017 19:47:27 | fugari | Changes to media associations |
| Sources | ||
JCook Photo Collection & Archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 14 July 2017 19:44:23 | fugari | Changes to nickname, role, biography, awards, unit associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
JCook Photo Collection & Archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 17 July 2016 01:11:03 | 466thHistorian | Changes to highest rank, role, events, place associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:12:07 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list |
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