78th Fighter Group
78th Fighter Group
Personal pictures, stories and web "links" submitted by 78th Fighter Group veterans, family and friends.
_
1st Lt. Frank A. Fish, 83rd Fighter Squadron, 8-28-44 to 1-45
1st Lt. Frank A. Fish, 83rd Fighter Squadron. ( Picture source - Rob Fish )
Note: The P-47D in the background appears to be HL-K, s/n 42-26543, assigned to Captain Peter Caulfield. HL-K was reported lost during a ground attack on 9-1-44 when it was struck by an exploding locomotive. The pilot, 2nd Lt. Robert N. Jones was killed.
Frank Fish, a native of Cambridge, Iowa, joined the US Army Air Corps right out of high school. He began his flight training in February, 1943 and graduated one year later. Frank joined the 78th Fighter Group, 83rd Fighter Squadron in August, 1944 and completed 66 combat missions flying both P-47s and P-51s. He was credited with one aerial victory(Bf109). Frank was awarded six Air Medals, the Bronze Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross(DFC) during his tour of duty. The DFC was awarded for the following action. Frank was escorting a crippled P-47 back to Duxford, when he spotted an approaching flight of German aircraft. Knowing his ammunition was expended, Frank proceeded to attack the flight to decoy them away from the crippled aircraft. His bold bluff apparently worked and the enemy aircraft retreated.
1st Lt. Frank A. Fish, 83rd Fighter Squadron, shown in the cockpit of HL-V, s/n 42-28636, "Flying Fish". The light colored panel under the cockpit lists the names of the pilot and ground crew. It appears that the ground crew listed is CC, S/Sgt. Rod Wallace, ACC, S/Sgt. Sid Forees and the "Armorer", S/Sgt. Dick Shepp( Picture source - Rob Fish )
P-47D, HL-V, s/n 42-28636, "Flying Fish" was the aircraft assigned to 1st Lt. Frank Fish. Note that the rudder is painted white, indicating that this picture was probably taken in November, 1944 or thereafter. 78th Group aircraft were required to color code the rudders of their aircraft in a November, 1944 directive. The assigned color code for the 83rd Squadron was white.( Picture source - Rob Fish )
After the war, Frank remained active and was assigned to duty as a T-6 Instrument Instructor in Victoria, Texas. Shortly thereafter, he returned home to continue his education at Iowa State College. During this time, he flew P-51s with the Iowa National Guard. When the Korean War came along, Frank returned to the regular Air Force ferrying aircraft. He was then transferred to Germany, where he flew both F-86 and F-100 aircraft. Later, he transferred to the Strategic Air Command where he flew B-47s for seven years. Other Air Force assignments took Frank to Vietnam, where he was an Airlift Element Control Commander and then to Travis Air Force Base where he served as Squadron Commander of a C-141 Unit. He retired from the Air Force in 1974 as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Frank never lost his love for flight and flying. He became active in the "Silverado Soaring Society" in Napa, California and spent hundreds of hours both constructing model gliders and instructing students.
Frank Fish passed away on July 22, 1994 at the age of 70.
( permission to post these pictures and information was provided by Frank Fish's nephew Rob Fish )
To contact the family of Frank Fish, please email his nephew Rob Fish.
Primary and Basic Flight School book covers from Frank Fish's training days.
Thanks... to all that have contributed to these pages on behalf of the 78th Fighter Group Family!
This page was last revised on 1 / 9 / 02
Return to the Portraits and Profiles main page.
Return to the 78th Fighter Group Page.
