Dominic Salvatore "Don" Gentile had 26 kills in WWII. He was killed in 1951 in a T-33 crash.
Posted on 09/16/2017 4:33:11 PM PDT by DFG
Amazing pictures from World War II have unveiled the swathes of Spitfires which were gifted to American forces by the RAF. The stunning images show how the RAF emblem was removed and replaced by America's 'stars and bars' of the USAAF. The mixture of colour along with black and white images show brave pilots standing by their newly-donated planes, often with a fresh lick of paint on them. The pictures are in Tony Holmes' new book entitled Star-Spangled Spitfires. Mr Holmes said: 'The USAAF received Spitfires because it lacked suitable fighters of its own in Britain with which to engage the enemy.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Dominic Salvatore "Don" Gentile had 26 kills in WWII. He was killed in 1951 in a T-33 crash.
A real hero. RIP.
Old War Birds,
Love It!
Soviets got some too but they were too delicate for their airfields.
I know there’s no market, but it would be cool to bring back a few of these plane models with modern engines, metallurgy and production methods.
WOW, I love all of these photos, thanks!!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_Mk_26
Actually there are companies that manufacture home built Spits.
Step-dad was in Stalag 13 near Nuremberg. Told me that the Spitfires were taking out entire city blocks. Woke up one morning and the guards were gone.
Thanks for the link!
Spitfires were fighter planes. Lancasters were heavy bombers. I am not aware of instances of Spits being used either in ground support or bombing roles. They were excellent photo-reconnaissance platforms.
I've always felt that way about cars... I'd love to have a 47 Merc. coupe with some of to days mechanical improvements.... :)
My best friend’s dad was a Spitfire pilot during the Battle of Britain. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1211005/posts
They were rarely used as fighter bombers.
Short range and a light possible bomb load made other aircraft like the Typhoon much more suitable.
Step-dad was in Stalag 13 near Nuremberg.
Wow...a caption from the linked article at the Daily Mail:
“New Yorker Richard Hurd was the last pilot to ‘make ace’ - a term for a person who has shot down several enemy targets”
That is real troubling. Couldn’t the writer even bother to look up the WW II definition of “ace”? Are writers that lazy? That stupid? That uninformed about history? That incurious? That beaten down by the mohammadens?
I think the P-80 killed Richard Bong (ranking ace) too.
Thank you for posting this.
Hats off to This Ace Pilot!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
