in 1940 Blakeslee sought other opportunities to continue flying.
The only financially feasibly option seemed to be to enlist into
the Air Corps. However, there was an obstacle on the path of
the young pilot. Since he did not meet the eduacational requirements he was denied the access to the cadet course in the
USA so he was able to join RCAF instead. After the training in
Canada he was dispatched to the Great Britain where he arrived
in the middle of May 1941. He flew his first combat mission as a
member of the 401 Squadron RCAF and enjoyed his first combat
success on November 18, 1941 when he damaged a Bf 109 in the
Tourqueet area. After a short stint with 121 Squadron he left for
the squadron numbered 133 where all the American volunteers
gathered and where he became a flight leader. On September 29,
1942 he left the RAF service and with the rank of Captain joined
the USAAF where his home squadron became a part of the newly
formed 4th Fighter Group.
Col. Donald J. Blakeslee
(11 September 1917 – 3 September 2008)
Although with 14.5 confirmed kills Donald Blakeslee does not
rank among the top American fighter aces of the the WWII he
was a remarkable pilot and respected commander. Love for the
airplanes accompanied his life since the childhood. In his desire
to learn how to fly in the end of 30s, together with his friend he
bought Piper J-3 Cub which he leased to the local aviation club
in exchange for the pilot training. After the crash of his Cub
This move also meant exchanging the trusty Spitfires Mk. V for
P-47s. From the end of November 1942 till the middle of May
1943 Don Blakeslee acted as the 335th FS commander and later
became the Operations Officer of the whole fighter group. In the
course of his service he was gradually promoted up to the rank
of Lt.Colonel (July 7, 1943) and increased both his personal
score (in 1943 it stood at 5 confirmed kills, 2 probables and 7
enemy aircraft damaged) and his leadership experience above
all. At this stage of his career he also accomplished one of his
extraordinary feats-he became the first P-47 pilot in the world to
shoot down an enemy aircraft. In December 1943 he was posted
to 354th FG in order to facilitate their accomodation in the ETO
(European Theater of Operation). The unit flew new P-51B and
Blakeslee immediately fell in love with it. After returning to 4th
FG he started to lobby for its re-equippment with Mustangs. His
effort met quite some resistance since it would have broken the
established rules according to which the new units arriving in
ETO had the priority to convert to P-51. Blakeslee’s effort did not
bring fruits even after he was promoted to command the whole
4th FG on January 1, 1944. The VIII. Fighter Command was afraid
of the interruption of the operational flying which the conversion
to the new type would have caused. Don Blakeslee’s negotiations with VIII. FC commander finally resulted in authorizing P-51
deliveries to the 4th FG under the condition that the pilots had
to convert to them within 24 hour i.e. without the interruption
in flying the combat missions. Lt. Col. Blakeslee approached this
unusual condition in a way contradicting the standard procedures-he told his pilots that they could familiarize themselves with
the new type during the actual combat mission! This took place
on February 28, 1944. Some pilots in the units in fact did not log
more than one hour on P-51. Barely a week later Don Blakeslee,
already a Colonel, became the first American aviator who reached Berlin area while leading the escort of the „Big Brotheres“
over „Big B“.
He also led larger formations in the consequent operations. The
most crucial was commanding the fighter escort on the mission Frantic I.- longhaul flight of the 8th
USAAF bombers and fighter to Soviet
Union, further to Italy and back to the
Great Britain during June 21-May 7,
1944. During this mission Col. Blakeslee
also scored his last aerial victory when
on July 2, 1944 he shot down a Bf 109
in Budapest area. His final score was
14.5/3/11.
After a leave in the USA during September and October 1944, having spent
three and half years away, Blakeslee
returned to the combat flying. Oddly it
was stopped by the loss of another outstanding pilot, Hub Zemke, 56th FG leader on October 30, 1944. Gen. Kepner,
VIII. FC commanding officer decided to
„ground“ Blakeslee reasoning that the
Air Force cannot afford to loose another commander of such caliber. On November 4, 1944 Col. Blakeslee handed
Pilot Officer Don Blakeslee is seen here
climbing into his Spitfire Mk.V while
serving with No. 401 Squadron RCAF in
the spring of 1942. Blakeslee‘s soon-to-be wife‘s name, Leola, is painted
under the windscreen (Photo: IWM).
16
eduard
INFO Eduard - August 2021