Word: beckhams
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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...
...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...
Major Walter Carl Beckham was browned off (fed to the eyebrows) by the European Theater. He felt and looked like a fighter pilot; he had grown the bushiest, sharpest-pointed fighter-pilot mustache in England. The mustache even drew civilians' stares, which added to the Major's mortification because there was nothing to justify it. In 20 sorties over western Europe in his Thunderbolt he had failed to make a kill...
...plane. Life grew brighter. He shot down some more. The exultant Major got kill after kill. Last week he flew his "Little Demon" over Frankfurt and shot down an Me-109 and an FW-190. They were his 17th and 18th victories and they made 27-year-old Major Beckham top-ranking ace in the European Theater of Operations...
...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