Page 45 - Fighter Group News Today

This month, work centered on getting the cowling completed, installing the cockpit enclosure, skinning the fuselage undersides, and installing duct covers.

The pair from North Carolina take an "emotional" visit to the county where their father was based.

Gerald Teldon (aka “Mr. Lucky,”) from Long Island, N.Y., joined the service in April 1944. He initially applied for the Navy Air Force, but it was over its “Jewish” quota, so he was denied a spot.

Lt. William McGowan was shot down and declared missing - research by family and organisations means he now rests at the Normandy American Cemetery

Gerald Teldon fought with the 85th and 87th fighter squadrons, both part of the 79th Fighter Group, over Italy and the Balkans in 1944 and 1945.

Gerald Teldon, a veteran of the Allied air war over Italy and the Balkans during World War II, was decorated for his service at a ceremony at the San Antonio Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning just hours before his great-grandson's bar mitzvah.

Visitors had front row seats to an air show displaying a variety of American and British planes from different eras, watched reenactments of WWII era soldiers going about their routines and ate and drank from an assortment of food trucks.

The world has lost a substantial treasure ... and I have lost a beloved friend.

Bell P-39Q Airacobra 42-19597, based with the Commemorative Air Force's Central Texas Wing in San Marcos, Texas, underwent a wheels and brakes rebuild earlier this year, returning to flying status in May. Of the roughly 9,600 Airacobras built, very few complete examples remain, with just a handful in airworthy condition.

Stephen Nunn goes in search of Second World War Thunderbolt fighter planes that crashed in the Maldon area.