36 AIR CLASSICS/August 2022
Arpin survived his tour in China,
during which he shot down a Japanese
fighter.
The 78th FG pilots who traveled
to England in November 1942 had no
idea what adventures lay ahead for
them — and they would be many and
varied. Sadly, 13 of them died overseas
and were not able to tell their families
and friends back home about them
later. But most of them had been able
to do their bit to help defeat the Axis
forces in the Mediterranean Theater
— and in a few cases, elsewhere. ACAllisons. He flew for a while on the
other before it also seized. He then
attempted to bail out, but the canopy
collapsed on him and he died when
the plane crashed and exploded. Arton 12 September. As the 449th’s
pilots were attacking an Imperial
Japanese Navy destroyer near Macao,
Lt. Rockwell’s P-38 was hit by anti-
aircraft fire, knocking out one of its
These 96th FS pilots have just returned
from a fighter sweep supporting the Allied
invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943. Left to
right: 1st Lt. William J. “Dixie” Sloan, who
downed an MC.200 to bring his victory total
to eleven, of an eventual twelve; F/O Frank
D. Hurlbut, who scored three Fw 190s — his
fifth, sixth and seventh of an eventual nine
victories; 1st Lt. Edward T. Waters (a Bf 109,
his seventh and last victory); former 78th
FG pilot 2nd Lt. Larry Liebers, who scored
an Fw 190 for his sixth victory; 19-year-old
2nd Lt. Lincoln D. “Linc” Jones, who also
shot down an Fw 190; and 2nd Lt. Ward
A. Kuentzel, who scored a Ju 88 and an
Fw 190 — the fifth and sixth of his seven
victories.Venerable P-38F-1-LO 41-7544/HV*X “DEAR JOHN” had been assigned to the 27th FS in
the US during April 1942. It was flown across the Atlantic that summer as part of Operation
Bolero. After serving in Iceland and England briefly, it was flown by its assigned pilot, Lt.
Edward Newberry, to Algeria in November (Operation Torch.) It was still serving with the
squadron more than a year later when it was lost in action over Italy on 10 February 1944.