Colonel Frank Anthony Flynn RFC, RAF & USAAF

[kbulow]

I purchased this group sometime ago from an auction house in America, the group was split up and being sold separately. I won his British Victory medal on E-Bay and I asked if they had his British War Medal and they said yes and I also purchased it. All items were sent to a friends daughter in New York. I then asked again and again if they had anymore of Colonel Flynn's medals and Badges and each time something else was produced, they also said they had his Victory medal and at the time I thought they meant his US Victory Medal however when I finely saw everything in Australia it was about a year later it was another correctly named British Victory medal. Through the services of a American researcher I managed to acquire his service record which confirmed all his US medals  (some I did have to add to his group). Colonel Flynn served into the 1950's and I always thought he may be entitled to a Legion of Merit on retirement, however nothing is mentioned in his service records. I have been able to trace him in various Newspapers, and one shows he wore his RFC Wings on his US Uniform, I have been able to write up a bit on the man which it below.

 

Frank was born in San Francisco, California, United States of America on 21st May 1896 and he was the son of Anthony A. Flynn and Helen Slack. As a student he became a candidate in training for a commission at the training camp at Presidio, San Francisco and the school of Military Aeronautics, Berkeley, California from 15th May to 25th July 1917. Frank had been appointed a 2nd Lieutenant while undertaking this training on 4th June with the Cavalry Officers Reserve Corps, however he was relieved from active duty on 14th August by reason of resignation and he enlisted with the Aviation Signal Reserve Corps the following day. On 13th September he was honourably separated by reason of his services being no longer required. Not to be deterred, he then made his way to Canada where he enlisted with the Canadian Royal Flying Corps at Toronto on 2nd October. He was appointed a 3rd Air Mechanic, and on 1st February 1918 he was discharged to accept a commission with the Royal Flying Corps. He was retained in Canada as a Flying instructor with the 85th Training Squadron, however at the end of February he was granted 4 weeks sick leave and he returned home. On 3rd March, while at Tallaferro field, Fort Worth, Texas he took an air cadet from Los Angeles on a flight and when 400 feet from the ground the machine went into a tailspin. The controls refused to work, and the machine started to drop. There aircraft struck the ground in a newly ploughed field which may have saved their lives, the air cadet, who was in the front seat, received a broken arm and two broken ribs, while Frank received a broken nose. After his leave had expired, he embarked for England where he served with the 33rd Training Squadron, 20th Bristol Fighter Squadron in France and then he volunteered for service in Russia. In the California Honour roll, War History Department for the First World War, Frank describes his time with the Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force:

“My work consisted partly in chasing down submarines on the East Coast of England, the work was rather monotonous except for the stray Hun patrol or Zep, and through our vigilance, we kept these rather scarce. Later I went to France and my work consisted of escorting Bombers, which I was just getting warmed up to, when the armistice was declared. I then answered the call for volunteers to Russia and we certainly worked hard up there, bombing the Bolshevik positions and dumps and doing considerable artillery observation for the Army and Navy, it was for my good work along this line that I received the Russian Order of St Anne, 3rd class with crossed swords. While observing some gun positions, I stopped a machine gun bullet through my leg, thus concluding my war in Russia”.

A study of the Royal Air Force casualty cards confirms that Frank was not wounded from ground fire, in fact he was wounded while flying over the Bolshevik position while trying to reload an automatic pistol, when it discharged, and he shot himself in the leg. He was admitted into the 53rd Stationary Hospital at Archangel, Russia and he was repatriated to the Royal Air Force Hospital at Eaton Square, London in August 1919. On 27th November he departed from Southampton, England and while en route he was transferred to the unfit list on 8th December. Frank arrived in New York on the 18th December and he returned to his family’s home at 1457 Jones Street, San Francisco. He resumed his legal studies and on 6th July 1923 he enlisted with the United States Army Air Corps Reserve where he was appointed a 2nd Lieutenant and allocated service number 0181360. He was rated at Junior Aircraft Pilot on 2nd June 1925, and he received promotion to 1st Lieutenant on 12th June 1926. On 17th September 1928, he was co-pilot of an aircraft which was en route from Mines field at Los Angeles to Crissy field, San Francisco when their gasoline was getting dangerously low. They circled over the city of Tulare in the dark searching for a landing field when they crashed in an alfalfa field along the Santa Fe ring of way, north of Tulare. The aircraft struck the ground and plunged through the telephone wires along the railway, entirely destroying service between Tulare and Points North and the plane immediately caught fire, however both men escaped. The pilot, Lieutenant Gilbert sustained minor burns and Frank sustained bruising, both men were taken to hospital. After this mishap, he returned to duty and on 18th May 1930 he was promoted to the rank of Captain, and he was rated a Pilot on 27th July 1931. He remained with the reserves while working as a Lawyer/attorney in his civil occupation specializing in aviation law, defending airlines from liability claims. He also drafted legislation for airlines operation and advised the airlines as to Interstate Laws. Frank applied for a Purple Heart on 27th October 1932, however his application was rejected as he received his wound as a member of the British Expeditionary Force and not with the American Expeditionary Force. On 18th October 1935 he was promoted to the rank of Major and on 30th May 1936 he was chosen to pilot the plane to scatter the ashes of a comrade, and air ace, Arthur Theodore “Tex” Frolich, who flew with the French, British and American Armies, winning 18 air conflicts. Major Flynn, Pilot, and Captain Robert Miller, both of the 316th Observation Squadron at Crissy field took the plane up to scatter the ashes of their comrade over the park. They had only just completed the memorial service when suddenly their motor failed when at approximately 400 feet. With hundreds of picnickers in the park, Major Flynn skilfully maneuverer the plane to avoid hitting anyone and they came to rest between some trees, avoiding the crowds, and at the time, he was noted in the local newspapers as risking his own life to avoid civilians in the Park. Frank was serving as Superintendent of the San Francisco airport and the Northern California coordinator for Civil Defence at the commencement of the Second World War, and on 18th May 1942 he was appointed a Major with the Army of the United States (AUS) from the Officer Reserve Corps. He was ordered to report for duty with the Air Force Combat Command for limited service only. He came before the Flying Evaluation Board at Tonopah, Nevada on 23rd August 1943 to evaluate his fitness to serve in a tactical Squadron. The findings of the board were, he had 180° extension, 80° flexion right knee due to an old gunshot wound received in the First World War, which was considered stationary. Due to limitation of movement, he was limited to flight duties in continental United States with a non-tactical organization. The board also stated he had a total of 3365 hours and 45 minutes flying time and that he was enthusiastically air minded, and he had been associated with flying for the past 25 years. He was recommended to be upgraded, in a limited capacity, as a Command Pilot. While on operational service his records state that he was authorised to wear the US and British Victory Medals, British War Medal and the Russian Order of St Ann and he served with 413th Base Headquarters, Tonopah, Nevada where he was promoted to the rank of Lt-Colonel on 22nd June 1943. In 1944 he served with 461st American Air Force Base, San Francisco, California and 464th American Air Force Base McChord Field, Washington D.C, as executive officer. After the ending of the Second World War his appointment with the Army of the United States ended. He was relieved from active service on 3rd March 1945, and he was re-appointed to the United States Air Force Reserve, and his rank of Lt-Colonel in the reserves was confirmed on 31st July 1946. On 22nd July 1949 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and he held a number of senior positions at the Hamilton Air Force Base in California till he was disqualified from Flying Duties on 29th August 1955 as physically unfit. He retired from the United States Air Force Reserve not long after on 31st January 1956 after 32 years’ service. After retiring from Military Life, he served as a commissioner for the Superior Court. He was active for many years in civic affairs and served as president of the War Memorial Board of Trustees. His wife, Ida Rose Flynn nee Meehn died in San Francisco on 5th May 1967, and she was buried at the Mount Tamalpals cemetery in San Rafael. Frank died from Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease at the age of 84 at the Greenbrae Convalescent Hospital, San Rafael, California on 12th April 1980. He left a son, Robert F. Flynn and four Grandchildren and a sister Miss Edith Flynn, he was also buried in the Mount Tamalpals cemetery in San Rafael. His obituary which was published in the “Examiner” Tuesday 15th April 1980, states that he flew from box-kite and pusher planes through to jets, and he was one of the last aviation pioneers. It also states that he was a friend of and flew side by side with such figures as Eddie Rickenbacker, ‘Hap’ Arnold, Charles Lindbergh, and Jimmy Doolittle.

[unclegrumpy]

Interesting group and write up!  

 

One minor edit...McChord Field is in Washington State, not D.C.