Word: beckham
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...sleek Thunderbolts turned over their bomber-escort mission to other U.S. fighter planes and streaked for their British base. On the way they spotted a tempting enemy airfield, with planes lined up along the runway. It was too good to pass up. The flight leader, Major Walter Carl Beckham, 18-victory U.S. ace of the European Theater (TIME, Feb. 21), called four planes and roared down for a strafe...
...treetop level, doing close to 500 m.p.h., with their guns blazing. As they pulled up at the end of the field a burst of ground flak caught the Major's plane. Red flames began to lick out behind as he fought his way back up to altitude. Then Beckham's Florida drawl crackled through the interplane radio...
Lieut. George Perpente, second wing leader, hesitated for a split second. Beckham barked at him again...
...encouraging to see Kilgore hit the mess line with his own supply of ketchup. Now all he needs is some meat now and then to go under it. . . . Speaking of meat, a salute to Lt. Beckham and his ration story. Wish we could convince the "Missus" her 50-50 proposition is dampening the highlights of our disbursing course...
...Beckham was still eight short of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker's U.S. record of 26, far under the R.A.F.'s brilliant Spit-fireman, Group Captain Adolph "Sailor" Malan, who destroyed 32 Nazi planes, most of them during the 1940 Battle of Britain. Top R.A.F. pilot still in combat is Squadron Leader Colin Grey, with