I have been watching the old television series...12 O'clock High. I am still in the first year of the series, but.....the General of the bomb group often flies missions into Germany proper. I realize this is/was a television show, but it seems like they did a decent job of respecting "The War". So was this normal.? Would the general in command of the airfield really fly that many B-17 Missions.? Attrition was pretty high...I imagine all the way up to about June-August of 1944.? So did that many high ranking officers fly a bunch of B-17 Missions into Germany.? Thank You
Generals did fly on missions and as I recall one notable officer who knew of details about Overlord did so as well and was grounded because of doing so.
from what i've found, many CO's of bomb groups and even bomber wings would take a mission every once in a while, (i think it was just to keep up their filght status and pay) but that's just my opinion.
Brigadier General Frederick W. Castle was killed on his 30th bombing mission on 24 December, 1944, he was flying in the co-pilot position. It is also worth noting that he had only recently been promoted from Colonel to Brigadier General in late November, 1944. http://www.geocities.ws/pmwebber/castle_treble4.htm
As I understand it, a squadron was the equivalent of a company and was generally commanded by a captain. Three or more squadrons equaled a group, equivalent to a battalion and was commanded by a major or LTC. Three or more groups were combined to form a wing which was the USAAF version of a regiment and was commanded by a colonel. A bomb division was a general's command so I think that a general commanding a bomb group would be unusual to say the least. Curtis Lemay was a colonel when he commanded a bomb wing in the 8th AF. Colonels and even generals had to get out front and see what their men were doing. There was also the leadership principle that you don't ask men to do what don't or haven't.
Squadron commanders were Captains, but many were promoted to Major during their tour. There were cases of 1st Lts. as Squadron Commanders, usually on an 'acting' basis after the loss or incapacitation of the CO. The heavy bomb groups were 4 Squadrons in most cases. Group commanders were Colonels or LTC. Wing Commanders were Col or B.Gen. Group Commanders did fly missions - not to keep flight status/pay - but to lead from the front. They generally flew on the tougher missions. The original 449th Group CO said that he was going to fly every mission (expressed with a colorful metaphor). Higher authorities intervened, but he was shot down on his 13th and the group's 19th mission, so he flew most of them. If the Group CO was not commanding a mission, usually the Deputy CO, Group Operations Officer, or one of the Squadron COs commanded the mission. The mission commander generally flew right seat with one of the lead pilots. Hugo Rush commanded the 47th Wing, first as a Col, then as B.Gen. He flew missions with each of the groups (4) of the wing.
I thought I read somewhere that the US had some flying Sergeants, is that true ? The OP did ask what ranks flew . It seems it was common practice practice in the RAF and Luftwaffe. I am guessing in Russian too. Why no more so in the US ? Gaines
The USAAF did have a Flying Sergeants program for a while. Most become Flight Officers or 2nd Lts. before combat, but some did fly combat as sergeants. Some notable alumni of the program were Chuck Yeager, R.A. "Bob" Hoover, and racer Carroll Shelby. http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1423
I believe the rank of "flight officer" was equivalent to warrant officer. It was for pilots who weren't college grads. After becoming 2 LTs I'm not sure if their date of rank started then or was back-dated to when they became flight officers. Both the British and the Germans had sergeant-pilots. One of the jobs of these sgt-pilots was t break in the new LTs and try to keep them alive until they acquired enough combat skills to be useful. I know Eric Hartmann credited a Sgt. Rossmann with keeping him alive and teaching him the "trade" after a less than stellar start to his career.
In Finland war pilots in general had ranks from Corporal (="Sub-Sergeant") upwards. The top Finnish fighter ace was a Sergeant Major (=highest NCO rank). Squadron commanders were Captains or Majors, sometimes even Lieutenant Colonels, who often flew missions, but not always, since most of the times the largest formation used was a flight. The commanders of the Flying Regiments (2-5 Squadrons) were Lieutenant Colonels or Colonels, who did not fly missions any more.
Timely post.....I was just watching an episode of 12 High.....and one of the players held the rank of "flight officer". I am pretty sure his uniform had a Sergeants Chevron on the sleeve, but I am nor positive. Interesting thread.......
Sgt. pilots had sergeant's stripes. Flying officers had a gold bar with rounded, blue ends. This made their rank insignia different than the warrant officers in the rest of the army. This rank caused a lot of confusion when it first appeared. EM didn't whether to salute them or not and the FOs didn't know if they were supposed to salute 2nd LTs. They became sort of a "Third Leutenant".
