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WWII NAVAL AVIATOR FLIGHT LOGBOOKS


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Dustin, here is a March of 1942 equipment list for Lt. Porter, it is typed and taped in front of his log, Mark

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Two good pages from the log of Lt. Porter. First is from when he was flying PBY's out of the Solomons with VP-91 in Oct. of 1942.post-527-1186438263.jpg

The second is from when he flew PB4Y's with VB-106 in early 1944, enjoy, Mark.

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Page from the logbook of M/SGT-W.O. Hales, who was a radar operator in VMF(N)-513 in Korea in 1952. He flew both the F7F Tigercat and the F3D Skyknight. The entries are in red ink indicating night missions. These are from Nov. 1952 when he was flying the F3D. However, his last mission was in the F7F which they allowed for the guys who flew both. NCAP is Night Combat Air Patrol. Enjoy, Mark.

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thanks for the addition mark! interesting logs,one interesting listing in that log from Lt. Porter it says GLOVES, WINTER, SHORT I wonder if that is the five finger fleece lined,no wristlet and maybe only goes up yuor wrist an inch or two and also has USN stencil I do not have a pair to picture but hopefully you or someone else can post a pic of what I am talking about

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Kurt thanks for posting those equipment listings,some interesting things I see

The log book for Hall is of particular interest it looks as if most items issued were from Naval Air Station Klamath Falls OR. ( OR.is that the abbreviation as it is a bit blurry?) I did not know there was a NAS there in Oregon.Klamath falls is way in inland and in lower central oregon unlike most all other NAS's which are on the coasts.

 

Dustin

 

It is Oregon ( OR ) for sure. I grew up in Southern Oregon and Klamath Falls is hot and dry. The perfect place for airplanes!

 

Kurt

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Khaki pullover jerseys . . . two pockets, slot in the left pocket for pen . . . long sleeves . . . knit cuffs . . . I have two of them. When the wife and kiddies get back with the digital camera, I'll take a picture or two. In the meantime here's some log pages . . .

 

May 1942 covering the raid on Tulagi and Battle of Coral Sea in VF-42

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June 1942, Battle of Midway in VF-3

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June 1943, action in the Solomons in VF-11

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Regards,

 

Rich

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Khaki pullover jerseys . . . two pockets, slot in the left pocket for pen . . . long sleeves . . . knit cuffs . . . I have two of them. When the wife and kiddies get back with the digital camera, I'll take a picture or two. In the meantime here's some log pages . . .

 

May 1942 covering the raid on Tulagi and Battle of Coral Sea in VF-42

 

June 1942, Battle of Midway in VF-3

 

June 1943, action in the Solomons in VF-11

 

Regards,

 

Rich

 

 

Nice logs to a real hero with 2 Navy Cross awards thumbsup.gif Your dad was quite a guy .

 

Kurt

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Great thread Kurt! I love flight logbooks and agree that they are getting harder and harder to fine. Here is one from my collection. (I know you've seen it Kurt!) This log book is from Charles Brannon. He was a TBF Avenger pilot with Torpedo 8. He was killed during the Battle of Midway and was awarded the Navy Cross. More can be found on him (and his squadron mates) by doing a simple Google search.

 

As shown in the photos, his log book was in a house that burned down. Thankfully the only damage was to the cover and the pages inside are just fine.

 

Hope you all enjoy! Nic.

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Nice that they included the log book with his effects. That's one to hang on to. It was probably back at Pearl Harbor with the rest of the detachment if the Pearl to Midway flight is the last notation. That's the detachment commander, Swede Larsen's, signature. He was back at Pearl with half the detachment, just in case, during the Midway action. I think he eventually became the VT-8 skipper; he certainly was the senior squadron officer after 4 June.

 

My fathers log book, above, is pointedly numbered "2" on the cover. His first log book went down on Yorktown and with it everything up to 4 June 42 (he got his wings in November 1940).

 

In those days, though, a squadron was required to report quarterly on the total number of hours for each pilot. VF-42 had dutifully done so on 30 April 42 (I have a copy of the report) and so he knew how many hours he had up to that date. After the Battle of Midway he and the other VF-42 pilots used that report to establish their total hours and then reconstructed their flights for May 42 in VF-42 and, for those so attached, for June 42 in VF-3.

 

On the page I posted for June 1943 with VF-11 you can see where he was figuring where he would hit the magic of 1000 hours.

 

Rich

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Last entry.......

 

 

Hey Nic

 

I never get tired of seeing that group. If you ever get bored with it ........ ( you know the rest )

 

thumbsup.gif

 

Kurt

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Kurt thanks for posting those equipment listings,some interesting things I see

The log book for Hall is of particular interest it looks as if most items issued were from Naval Air Station Klamath Falls OR. ( OR.is that the abbreviation as it is a bit blurry?) I did not know there was a NAS there in Oregon.Klamath falls is way in inland and in lower central oregon unlike most all other NAS's which are on the coasts.

 

Apparently it was the Klamath Falls Municipal Airport, became an NAS from 1942-45, then became Klamath Falls Airport, then it became an Air Force Base known as Kingsley Field, then an Air Nationalo Guard base, with commercial service continuing as well through the Air Force and ANG service.

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thanks for the addition mark! interesting logs,one interesting listing in that log from Lt. Porter it says GLOVES, WINTER, SHORT I wonder if that is the five finger fleece lined,no wristlet and maybe only goes up yuor wrist an inch or two and also has USN stencil I do not have a pair to picture but hopefully you or someone else can post a pic of what I am talking about

 

 

Hi Dustin... here is a photo with Two style of Gloves, Winter, Short. 5 fingers and 3 fingers... They have silver U.S.N. stamp on front...

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thnaks Jerry, the pair on the left is what I want to refer too! I would bet on the five finger as I doubt actual aviators, not crewmembers, would wear the gauntlets as you are limited towards the controls and knobs also you are required to write when in flight and would assume it to be difficult to write with gauntlets

 

RAL, you get the photos of your summer jersey's yet?

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Notice about Aviators Jersey is in Aviation Supply Offcie Catalog ( Pilots's and Aircrewmen's flight clothing and releted Accessories...) date May 1945.

On page 5(Pilots-Aircrewman part) is Aviator Jersey: For Pilots and Aircrew. Lightweight cotton khaki jersey. To be used for hot weather flying.

Size:from 38 - stock number r37-j-167-38

to 46 r37-j-167-46 ***this is typical Jersey with two chest pockets) for pilots and crewman not for flight deck personel( without chest pockets)***

Notice : Important See page 6 for Special clothing Ordering Procedure for flight Deck - ground and Beaching Personnel...

 

page 6 : Colored Caps: For ground personel of CASU's, PATSU's , SOSU's only' Baseball cloth cap with long peak. Color: blue, green , red , size from 6,1/2 to 7, 1/2

 

I hope its help in identification Jersey and Baseball cap...

Cheers,

Jerry;)

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Hey Guys.. lets see some more logs :)

 

Kurt

We did go off the original intent of the topic!

With Warners book these equipment lists are no longer a question of "what's It"!

 

thanks for posting those jersey's RAL never seen one before

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Kurt, a few more logbooks. First is from a PBM ARM1/cl with VPB-25, from January of 1945. post-527-1187052265.jpg

The second is also from a VPB-25 vet, an AMM2/cl. His is from March of 1945, enjoy, Mark.post-527-1187052281.jpg

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This is a page from a Lt. who flew off the USS Princeton CV-37. He was with VF-192, the famous Golden Dragon's. This is from July of 1952, and I have included both sides of the log. Enjoy, Mark.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...

Seeing this Post back up inspired me to dig. Here's my contribution.

 

 

 

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1942 photo

 

Lt. Herbert W. LeFevre USN won his wings in November 1941 at NAS, Corpus Christi,TX.

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He was retained as an instructor pilot for several years at Corpus and Dallas before being transferred to VB-9 flying SBDs. He transitioned into F6F Hellcats and joined VF-20 on the Enterprise in late 1944. On 12 Jan 1945 he scored a direct bomb hit on a Japanese cruiser which earned him a DFC.

 

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The Internet history of VF-20 provides the following:

 

"On 12 January, strikes were conducted on the French Indo-China Coast. Two convoys were sighted, one of 8 ships south of Camranh Bay, and a second of 14 ships off Quinhon, both of which were virtually wiped out. The first convoy was attacked by AG-20 planes alone whereas in the case of the second convoy (off Quinhon), AG-20 planes participated in the attack with Air Groups 11 and 7. The fighters from this squadron sank 2 DE's, assisted in the sinking of a Katori class CL and damaged 1 SA, 5 SB, 1 DE, and 2 gunboats. Most of the damaged ships were left beached and burning. Eight planes were destroyed on the ground or on the water, including 4 at an airfield near Saigon. There was no fighter opposition during any of the attacks, but three of our planes and two pilots were lost to AA fire from the ships."

 

 

Enjoy - Semper Fi.......Bobgee

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  • 1 year later...
mark leonard

I love this thread,I have been collecting log books for a while and thought I would post some pages of my favorite logs.Here is a photo of my logbook collection,hope to add more to it!

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