George Preddy was a USAAF officer during WW2 and an American ace credited with 26.83 enemy air-to-air victories, ranking him as the top P-51 Mustang ace of WW2 and sixth on the list of all-time highest scoring American aces. (Intro from Wikipedia)
May 2, 1919 - Greensboro, North Carolina - George Preddy is born
November 13, 1938 - Greensboro - George Preddy flies for the first time in Hal Foster's airplane in a ride to Danville. It is the greatest ever for him and he decides to become an aviator
April 1(?), 1941 - Craig Field, Alabama - Receives orders to attend flight training
December 12, 1941 - Craig Field - Completes flight training. His mother goes to Alabama to proudly pin wings on his blouse during the graduation exercises - Commission as Second-Lieutenant. =(START)
January 3, 1942 - West Palm Beach - The 49th pursuit group boards a troop train for the West Coast
January 8, 1942 - San Francisco - The Troop train arrives in San Francisco
January 11, 1942 - San Francisco - Orders to board the "SS Mariposa" transportship - destionation unknown
January 12, 1942 - San Francisco - The "SS Mariposa" departs to the Pacific with 4,000 men aboard. Troops aboard speculate that the ship's destination was Australia, due to the presence of aussie airmen aboard.
January 22(?), 1942 - North of the Marquesas Islands (French Mandate) - The "SS Mariposa" crosses the Equator at the Center of the Pacific Ocean
February 1, 1942 - Melbourne - Arrival in Melbourne's Bay, Australia
February 2, 1942 - Camp Darly, 30 miles from Melbourne - Train to Camp Darly
February 4, 1942 - Melbourne - 48-hour leave to celebrate birthday
February 15, 1942 - Bacchus March - Preddy is selected to serve as acting lieutenant to Major Wurtsmith
February 16, 1942 - Bankstown - Arrival in Bankstown, a suburb of Sydney, by train
February 22, 1942 - Bankstown - Two P-40E arrive on the field and Preddy spends two hours just sitting at the cockpit getting familiar with the arrangement of instruments and controls
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| Preddy's P-40 "Tarheel" |
March 5, 1942 - Bankstown - Assigned to fly a P-40 to Williamstown, north of Sydney - Joins the 9th Pursuit Group
March 7, 1942 - Williamstown - 23 P-40's and 1 B-17 leave Williamstown for Brisbane - Forced to return due to bad weather
March 13, 1942 - Brisbane - Leaves Brisbane for Charleville
March 14, 1942 - Charleville - Leaves Charleville for Cloncurry
March 16, 1942 - Cloncurry - Leaves Cloncurry for Daly Waters
March 17, 1942 - Darwin - Arrival in Darwin - Batchelor Field on March 18th
March 24, 1942 - Darwin - Moves to RAAF Field Darwin
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| Preddy and Tarheel |
March 30, 1942 - Darwin - Fight with Zeros - Looses his first kill by forgetting to switch on the aircraft's cannons - neither side lost anything
April 27, 1942 - Darwin - Preddy damages a zero fighter and a Mitsubishi bomber.
July 12, 1942 - Darwin - Preddy is wounded in an air accident that kills another pilot, Lt. John Sauber. He would spend months in the hospital.
July 20, 1942 - Darwin - Preddy flies to Alice Springs with a doctor and six other patients
July 21, 1942 - Alice Springs - Flight to Adelaide
July 22, 1942 - Adelaide - Arrival to the Adelaide Hospital
July 28, 1942 - Adelaide - Preddy moves from bed to a wheelchair, so that he could start enjoying regular entertainment
September 23, 1942 - Laverton - First flight since the accident
October 22, 1942 - Brisbane - Arrival in Brisbane by train
October 24, 1942 - New Caledonia - Arrival in New Caledonia aboard a B-24
October 25, 1942 - Nandi, Fiji - Landings at Nandi and Canton Island
October 26, 1942 - Honolulu, Hawaii - Arrival in Hawaii. Spends the night in a hotel
October 27, 1942 - Hamilton Field, California - Arrives to Hamilton Field looking to be assigned.
November 1, 1942 - Greensboro, North Carolina - Preddy arrives home by train. His father joins him for the last 20 miles
November 10, 1942 - Greensboro - Train to Oakland, California
November 14, 1942 - Oakland, California - Arrival in Oakland
November 19, 1942 - Hamilton Field, California - Testing the P-38 Lightning
December 8, 1942 - Hamilton Field - Flies a P-40 again
December 19, 1942 - Hamilton Field - Assigned to the 326th Squadron, equipped with P-39 Airacobras
December 30, 1942 - Hamilton Field - Orders to report to the 1st Fighters Command in New York
January 4, 1943 - Mitchell Field, New York - Arrival in New York - Assigned to Mitchell Field
January 9, 1943 - Westover Field, Massachusetts - Preddy tests the P-47
January 15, 1943 - New Haven, Connecticut - Transfered to the 34th Fighter Squadron of the 352nd Fighter Group
February 22, 1943 - Groton, Connecticut - Moves to Groton
February 28, 1943 - LaGuardia - All 352nd Fighter Group moves to LaGuardia
June 14, 1943 - Camp Kilmer, New Jersey - Moves to Camp Kilmer
June 30, 1943 - New York City - The 34th Fighter Group is shipped to England aboard the "Queen Elizabeth".
July 5, 1943 - Firth of Forth, Scotland - Arrival in Scotland
July 6, 1943 - Glasgow | Bodney - At Glasgow, Preddy takes a train to Bodney. Arrival to his squadron's base
August 4, 1943 - London - 48-hour leave in London
August 6, 1943 - Bodney - Back in Bodney
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| The first "Cripes A'Mighty", a P-47 |
September 9, 1943 - Bodney - Base: Bodney - First combat mission (escort) in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO)
October 14, 1943 - Bodney - Base: Bodney - Mission to Schweinfurt (196 fighters escorting 320 bombers)
November 3, 1943 - Bodney - Base: Bodney - Mission to Wilhelmshaven (566 bombers and 378 fighters)
November 5, 1943 - Bodney - Base: Bodney - Penetration to Ruhr Valley (Gelsenkirchen) at noon - 503 bombers and 383 fighters
November 7, 1943 - Bodney - Base: Bodney - Mission to Ruhr Valley (Wesel, Düren and Randerath) supporting B-17s (282 fighters escorting 122 bombers)
November 8, 1943 - London - 3-day leave in London with John Meyer
November 12, 1943 - Bodney - Back in Bodney
November 13, 1943 - Bodney - Base: Bodney - Escorting B-17s over the ZuiderZee (390 fighters escorting 272 bombers) and into Bremen
November 19, 1943 - Bodney - Base: Bodney - Failed rendevouz mission with 180 B-17s coming back from Gelsenkirchen
November 26, 1943 - Bodney - Base: Bodney - Escort mission to Bremen (633 bombers, 381 fighters) - After Preddy flies home, Meyer and Dillinger shoot down Me-109s
December 1, 1943 - Base: Bodney - 1 Bf 109 shot down over Rheydt, recorded on camera (1 total)
December 22, 1943 - Base: Bodney - Mission to Ösnabrück and Münster (574 bombers) - 1 Me-210 shot down over Zuider Zee - Preddy is awarded the Silver Star (2 total)
January 29, 1944 - Base: Bodney - 1 Fw 190 shot down over the french coast on route to Frankfurt. Preddy is shot down over the English Channel by Flak, but is rescued after one hour in the cold water, after his wingman Whisner pinpoints his position (3 total)
February 13, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Combat with FW190s over the V-1 launch ramps of Pas de Calais Area
March 3, 1944 - Bodney - Preddy, Meroney and Meyer are asked to pass on their knowledge of combat flying to others with less experience. Each of them did this in a letter to the requesting Assistant Chief of Staff
March 12(?), 1944 - Base: Bodney - "Hair-raising" low-level attack on enemy airfields in the Area of Pas de Calais, to learn how much firepower the germans had in the area. All 8 P-47s are hit and two pilots lost.
March 20, 1944 - Coomb House, 25km W of Salisbury - Assigned to go to Coomb House and carry out instructions of the Commander. On March 22nd, at Coomb House, Preddy is promoted to Major by command of Lt.General James Doolittle.
April 1, 1944 - Bodney - Preddy is made 487th Squadron operations officer. Switches to the P-51B Mustang and names his "Cripes A'Mighty 2nd"
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| Cripes A'Mighty 3rd, a P-51D |
April 11, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Penetration missions to Berlin on 11th and 13th. (two aircraft claimed - He111 and Buecker 133, other He 111 unknown - no victories are counted by the Fighter Group
April 22, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Preddy strafes Stade Airfield. A Stuka is destroyed on the ground and another shared with Lt.Kessler, counting 0,33 victory (3,33 total)
April 28, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Strafed a He177 at Bourges Aerodrome, France
April 30, 1944 - Base: Bodney - 1 Fw 190 shot down over Clermont - His fighter group doesn't credit him with this victory, however, his gun camera shows Preddy attacking an FW190, which goes down in smoke
May 7, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Uneventful mission
May 9, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Uneventful mission (After Luksic's 5 victory day)
May 12, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Strafing Halle airdrome
May 13, 1944 - Base: Bodney - 2 Bf 109 shot down over Neubrandenburg (5,33 total)
May 21, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Preddy strafes trains in Neubrandenburg (recorded on camera)
May 30, 1944 - Base: Bodney - 2 Bf 109 shot down over Magdeburg + 1 shared with Whisner, on the day the Squadron looses Luksic and Hannon (7,83 total)
June 6, 1944 - Bodney - Completion of Operational tour - 200 hours plus two extensions of 50 hours each - 7,83 victories in total - Strafing missions in support of D-Day invasions on the 6th and 7th
June 12, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Preddy leads the entire group (Meyer on lease) on an escort mission to St.Jacques, France - 1 Me109 shot down (8,83 total)
June 20, 1944 - Base: Bodney - 1 Fw 190 shot down over Magdeburg + 1 shared (10,33 total)
June 21, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Mission escorting B-24s from Berlin - 1 Bf 109 shot down (12,33 total)
June 24, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Uneventful mission to Lüneburg
June 25, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Uneventful mission to Troyes
June 28, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Escort mission over Saarbrücken - 1 locomotive destroyed
June 29, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Escort Mission to Leipzig - 1 Ju52 and a Locomotive destroyed (Fighter Group doesn't count them)
July 18, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Massive Raid over Rostock (1600 bombers, 500 fighters) - 2 Ju88 + 1 Bf 109 shot down (14,33 total)
July 20, 1944 - Base: Bodney - 1 victory plus one shared over Nordhausen (Fighter Group doesn't credit him although his gun camera is clear)
July 21, 1944 - Base: Bodney - 1 shared with Lt.Moates north of Munich (14,83 total)
July 28, 1944 - Bodney - Approval for another 50-hours extension is authorized
July 29, 1944 - Base: Bodney - 1 Bf 109 shot down over Merseberg - Halle-Leuna Synthetic Oil Refineries (15,83 total)
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| July 29, 1944 over Merseberg |
August 2, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Uneventful mission over the V-1 Launch Ramps, St.Quentin, France
August 4, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Uneventful mission over the V-1 Launch Ramps, and to Arkona, Baltic Sea
August 5, 1944 - Base: Bodney - 1 german aircraft shot down + 1 probable - South of Hamburg (16,83 total)
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| 6 Victories!!! |
August 6, 1944 - Base: Bodney - Mission to Berlin - 6 Bf 109 shot down - Distinguished Service Cross - 22,83 victories total
August 12, 1944 - Bodney - Preddy receives the Distinguished Service Cross. Leave in the United States.
September 25, 1944 - Greensboro, North Carolina - Speech at the War Memorial Stadium
October 28, 1944 - Bodney - Preddy takes command of the 328th Fighter Squadron - rudders painted in red
November 2, 1944 - Base: Bodney - 1 Bf 109 shot down over Merseburg (23,83 total)
November 21, 1944 - Base: Bodney - 1 Fw 190 shot down + 1 probable + 1 damaged over Merseburg (24,83 total)
December 13, 1944 - London - 48-hour leave in London
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| Red rudders of 328th FS |
December 16, 1944 - Bodney - Back in Bodney. Last letter to his parents
December 23, 1944 - Y-29 Asche, Belgium - Squadron moves to Y-29 airfield in Asche, Belgium. Winter makes flight impossible
December 25, 1944 - SE of Aachen, Germany - After shooting down two Me109 fighters at low altitude, Preddy is shot down and killed by mistake by friendly Flak, southest of Aachen, Germany (26,83 total) =(END)
