George Andrew Davis Jr.
He quickly gained a reputation as a skilled pilot and accurate gunner whose "daredevil" flying style contrasted with his reserved personality.[9] Davis's first assignment was to join the 312th Bombardment Group based at Bowman Field in Louisville, Kentucky, where he became qualified to fly the P-40 Warhawk fighter plane.[6] By December, his unit moved to Finschhafen, where it was able to operate over the Solomon Sea against the air forces of the Empire of Japan, and he quickly earned the ironic nickname "Curly" because of his straight black hair.When they were 5 miles (8.0 km) west of the target area, they were ambushed by a flight of Nakajima Ki-43 Oscars and Kawasaki Ki-61 Tony aircraft at 17,000 feet (5,200 m).[11] For the next several months, Davis's unit undertook patrol and escort missions in the Cape Gloucester area and around the islands of Saidor, Manus, and Momote.He closed to within 75 yards (69 m) of the pair before destroying the first with his machine guns, and then the second near Negros Island as it attempted to dive for cover in a cloud.Between the date of this action and February 19, 1945, Davis flew another 47 missions, most of them entailing the escorting of bombers or ships, and a few of them consisting of ground-attacks, but he saw little or no aerial combat during that time.On February 19, he was withdrawn from the front to begin certification on the P-51 Mustang, logging 45 hours of training time on the aircraft through the end of March.On May 3, 1945, he was reassigned to Goodfellow Field at San Angelo, Texas, helping to train new pilots and serving as an operations officer for the base until the end of the war.[15] During his World War II service, Davis flew 266 missions, accruing a total of 705 combat hours and destroying seven Japanese aircraft.On February 15, 1951, he was promoted to major and in October 1951 he was assigned to the headquarters of the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, which was based in Japan and operating aircraft throughout Korea.Davis and his squadron were relocated to Kimpo Airfield to allow them the best access to "MiG Alley" in North Korea, where much of the air-to-air combat took place.[16][19] As two MiG-15s prepared a final attack on Barton, Davis swooped through their pass and scored direct hits on one, killing the Chinese flight leader who commanded the MiG pack.Davis then escorted Barton's damaged aircraft back to base, landing with only 5 US gallons (19 L; 4.2 imp gal) of fuel left in his tanks.However, the Air Force determined it had no capable replacement who could command Davis's squadron,[1][9] and other pilots indicated they wanted him to stay, considering him to be an able and effective leader.[7] As Davis continued patrolling with one wingman, Second Lieutenant William W. Littlefield,[22][23] and cruising at an altitude of 38,000 feet (12,000 m), they spotted a flight of 12 MiG-15s of the Chinese 4th Fighter Division heading in the direction of a group of US F-84 Thunderjets conducting a low-level bombing mission on North Korean communication lines.By the end of the war, he was ranked fourth among pilots, surpassed by Joseph C. McConnell, James Jabara, and Manuel J. Fernandez, after his death.Furthermore, Maj. Davis did not volunteer for Korean duty and did not ask to stay in Korea after he had shot down his fifth Red plane as the dispatches have read and as the public has been led to believe.Her complaints caused media attention to become focused on the Far East Air Force and its policies regarding the rotation of troops and pilots into and out of duty in Korea.[28][29] Although Zhang had been credited by the Chinese with having shooting down Davis's F-86, after Russia declassified its involvement in the war Russian sources claimed that the pilot responsible had actually been Mikhail A. Averin (Михаил A.[32] According to Zhang's own report after the battle, while the MiGs were en route to intercept Davis's group, he and his wingman became separated from the main element.[32] To determine whether Davis was killed by Zhang, given the absence of gun camera footage,[32] the 4th Fighter Division sent out two search teams, on February 16 and 18.[25] In light of these findings and the testimonies from ground troops that had witnessed the battle, Zhang was credited by the Chinese military with having shot down Davis's F-86.[34] Lieutenant General Georgy Lobov (Г.А.Лобов), commander of the 64th Aviation Corps, also states in his memoirs that Davis was killed by a Soviet pilot.This was an extremely rare feat, which Davis accomplished on four occasions and which was rivaled only by fellow ace James Jabara who also scored a notable number of double victories.The others are Francis S. Gabreski, James P. Hagerstrom, William T. Whisner, Vermont Garrison and Harrison Thyng, as well as John F. Bolt of the US Marine Corps.Maj. Davis and the remaining F-86's continued the mission and sighted a formation of approximately 12 enemy MIG-15 aircraft speeding southward toward an area where friendly fighter-bombers were conducting low level operations against the Communist lines of communications.During this latest attack his aircraft sustained a direct hit, went out of control, then crashed into a mountain 30 miles south of the Yalu River.Maj. Davis, by his indomitable fighting spirit, heroic aggressiveness, and superb courage in engaging the enemy against formidable odds exemplified valor at its highest.[40]The President of the United States of America, under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Major George Andrew Davis, Jr. (AFSN: 0-671514/13035A), United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as Squadron Commander, 334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, FIFTH Air Force, on 27 November 1951, during an engagement with enemy aircraft near Sinanju, Korea.
Dublin, TexasYalu RiverCenotaphLubbock, TexasUnited States Army Air ForcesUnited States Air ForceLieutenant ColonelService number312th Bombardment Group342nd Fighter Squadron71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron334th Fighter-Interceptor SquadronWorld War IIPacific WarNew Guinea campaignPhilippines campaignKorean WarMiG AlleyMedal of HonorDistinguished Service CrossSilver StarDistinguished Flying CrossPurple HeartAir Medalfighter pilotflying acekilled in actionnorthwestern KoreaUnited States Army Air CorpsPacific TheaterNew GuineaPhilippineJapaneseF-86 Sabreace of acesMiG-15Maple, TexasMorton High SchoolMorton, TexasHarding CollegeSearcy, ArkansasP-47 ThunderboltUnited States ArmyArmy Air CorpsKelly FieldSan AntonioJones FieldBonham, TexasFairchild PT-19Waco, TexasT-6 TexanAloe FieldVictoria, Texascommissionedsecond lieutenantUS Army Reserveactive dutyBowman FieldLouisville, KentuckyP-40 Warhawk fighter planePacific Theater of OperationsPort Moresby348th Fighter GroupFifth United States Air ForceP-47 Thunderbolt fighter planeFinschhafenSolomon SeaEmpire of JapanNeel E. KearbyCape GloucesterNew Britain campaignBattle of Cape GloucestercounterattackBattle of AraweD3A ValA6M ZeroB-24 LiberatorsNakajima Ki-43 OscarsKawasaki Ki-61 Tonyfirst lieutenantSaidorMomoteHansa BayWakde IslandHollandiatemporary rankcaptainPhilippinesTacloban AirportLeyte Islandtroop transportsBaybayOromoc BayCebu Islandmachine gunsNegros Islanddeflectionaerial bombsafter action reportMindoropropellerClark FieldP-51 MustangcopilotB-25 MitchellGoodfellow FieldSan Angelo, Texasoperations officerDistinguished Flying CrossesAir MedalsLong Beach, CaliforniademobilizationMemphis, TennesseeaerobaticUnited States Air Force Thunderbirds1st Fighter GroupAir Tactical SchoolTyndall Air Force Basejet engine4th Fighter-Interceptor WingSoviet Air ForceChinese Air ForceKimpo AirfieldSinanjuTupolev Tu-28th Bomber Division