Medal of Honor Aircraft

To date, the United States Medal of Honor has been awarded on 103 occasions for actions involving the use of aircraft. Awards for actions that took place in a single flight are the norm, with 74 individual aircraft accounting for 82 of the 93 medals awarded for actions while in flight (including eight dual awards representing the same aircraft). Of those 75 planes, 41 were destroyed during the MoH action, while others were lost later. In a few cases the MoH recipient survived while the plane did not (Jimmy Doolittle's North American B-25 Mitchell, as an example). The reverse also occurred: Lts. Jack W. Mathis and Robert E. Femoyer received posthumous awards while their respective Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresss survived, only to be scrapped later.

Some aircraft were recognized following their crew's award but were not preserved, including Butch O'Hare's Grumman F4F Wildcat, which wasn't stricken until two and one half years after his MoH action, as well as Maj. James H. Howard's "borrowed" North American P-51 Mustang, whose identity remains a mystery. In wartime often the pressing needs for serviceable aircraft overcame their need for preservation in programs or museums that did not yet exist.

WWII

By far the most MoH's were issued to crewmen flying on Boeing aircraft. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress crewmen received 17 awards from 1942 to 1945. Eleven of the Flying Fortress MoH's were posthumous awards, while in 1945 a Boeing B-29 Superfortress crewman was awarded the MoH for saving his plane despite crippling burns. Eleven Consolidated aircraft were involved in MoH missions, including two Consolidated PBY Catalinas. The MoH awarded to Consolidated B-24 Liberator crewmen were largely associated with the series of attacks on the Romanian oil refineries in 1943–44 although one went to a Navy PB4Y Privateer. The Grumman F4F Wildcat represents the most MoH's for a fighter aircraft serving in World War II by a sizable margin, with 8 MoH recipients. Seven F4F MoH's were to Marine Corps pilots, six of whom received their MoH for missions in the Solomon Islands during 1942–43. The lone Navy pilot was Lt. (j.g.) Edward H. "Butch" O'Hare, recognized as the Navy's first World War II ace. Cmdr. David McCampbell's two MoH missions in 1944 were in a Grumman F6F Hellcat bring Grumman's tally to nine MoH aircraft.

Korea

Korean War MoH aircraft include a wide range of types, from World War II vintage aircraft to jets. They include one each for the North American F-51 Mustang, Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, North American F-86 Sabre, Douglas A-26 Invader, Vought F4U Corsair, and the first MoH helicopter, a Sikorsky HO3S.

Vietnam

The Vietnam War produced 20 in-flight MoH awards. They include a very diverse group of 7 fixed-wing aircraft and four helicopters, which range from a Cessna O-1 Bird Dog Forward Air Controller to a Fairchild C-123 Provider transport, to a Republic F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber, plus the well-represented Bell Huey. The McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II is represented only by pilot Lance Sijan, who was awarded a posthumous MoH for his exceptional courage as a POW. Notable for its absence is the Grumman A-6 Intruder.

Survivors

Very few MoH aircraft survive today, especially since nearly half of all awards have been posthumous. Today four MoH combat aircraft still exist, plus two non-combat aircraft and the parts of one MoH Grumman F4F Wildcat.

One near-survivor was Fairchild C-123 Provider (55-4542), the aircraft MoH recipient Maj. Joe Jackson was piloting when he made his daring rescue of Air Force personnel trapped on an airstrip being overrun by Communist forces in 1968. By the time the Air Force History Office learned the aircraft still existed it had been transferred to the South Vietnamese government, who later transferred it to the Thai government. The aircraft was apparently not scrapped until the early 1990s. Another was Republic F-105 Thunderchief (63-8301), which had been piloted by Leo Thorsness while he provided cover for a rescue mission for a downed pilot. Despite having been slated for display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, it was lost to a crash in 1974 after pilot Paul Metz was forced to eject due to engine failure.[5][6]

In-Flight Medal of Honor Awards: Aircraft

Manufacturer Model Medals of Honor awarded Surviving aircraft
Bell UH-18 (6 Army, 1 USAF, 1 USMC)2
Boeing B-1717 0
Boeing B-2910
CessnaO-110
Consolidated B-24/PB4Y 9 (1 Navy)0
Consolidated PBY20
CurtissJN-410
DeHavillandModel 44 (2 Army, 2 USMC)0
DouglasA-121
DouglasA-410
DouglasA-2610
DouglasAC-4710
DouglasSBD20
FokkerTrimotor21
FairchildC-12310
GrummanF4F81 (parts)
GrummanF6F10
HughesOH-610
KamanUH-210
LockheedP-3820
LockheedF-8010
MacchiM-510
MartinB-2610
North AmericanB-2530
North AmericanF-8610
North AmericanOV-1010
North AmericanP-51/F-63 (2 World War II, 1 Korea)0
RepublicP-4720
RepublicF-10520
RyanNYP11
SikorskyHO3S10
SikorskyHH-310
SPADXIII20
VoughtO2U10
VoughtSB2U10
VoughtF4U4 (3 World War II, 1 Korea)0
Total927

Medal of Honor Awards: Aviation-related actions (aircraft not in flight and aircraft of POW's)

Manufacturer Model Medals of Honor awarded Surviving aircraft
BellUH-130
Boeing CH-4611
BurgessN-910
KamanHH-4310
McDonnell DouglasA-410
McDonnell DouglasF-410
North AmericanF-10010
KiteBalloon10
Total101

References

  1. Starn, Michael E. (Winter 1993–1994). "Bell UH-1 'Huey'" (PDF). Fortitudine. XXIII (3): 20. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  2. "Aircraft 154760 Data". Airport-Data.com. Airport-Data.com. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  3. "CH-46D Sea Knight". Carolinas Aviation Museum. Evoke Creative Group. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  4. "Boeing-Vertol CH-46D c/n 2287". Helis.com. www.helis.com. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  5. Metz, Paul (Dec 3, 2015). "Lecture Series: The First True Stealth Fighter: Evolution of the F-22 Raptor". YouTube. National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  6. Baugher, Joe. "1963 USAF Serial Numbers". Retrieved 8 December 2015.

External links

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