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P-51B-15-NA, 43-24857, Capt. Robert M. Barkey, 318th FS, 325th FG, 15th AF, Lesina, Italy, June 1944
P-51B-5-NA, 43-6787, Capt. Gilbert O'Brien, 362nd FS, 357th FG, 8th AF,
Leiston, United Kingdom, June 1944
P-51B-10-NA, 42-106730, Capt. John T. Godfrey, 336th FS, 4th FG, 8th AF,
Debden, United Kingdom, April 1944
Robert Barkey, after initial training, was assigned
to a unit called the “Checkertail Clan” (319th FS,
325th FG) flying P-40s in Africa. After retraining
on P-47s in late 1943, he was transferred to
Italy with the unit. Barkey’s first victory came
on February 22, 1944, when he shot down two
Bf 109s, both flown by the aces of the elite
German JG 26. After the unit switched to P-51B
Mustangs, Barkey scored his fifth and final victory
on June 6, 1944. He retired with the rank of Major
in 1961. During World War II, he flew 53 combat
sorties and achieved five confirmed victories and
one probable victory. Barkey’s Mustang number
90 bore his wife Dorothy’s name on the left side
of the engine cowling.
Gilbert O'Brien was born on August 24, 1916, in
Charleston, South Carolina. He joined the Army
Reserves in April 1942 and served as an air cadet
from August 1942 to May 1943. On May 20, 1943,
he qualified as a pilot with the rank of second
lieutenant. In 1943 he was assigned to the 362nd
Fighter Squadron and by the end of the year had
flown 476 hours. He was promoted to lieutenant
on March 26, 1944 and to captain in September.
He returned to the United States at the end of
September. During the war years he scored eight
confirmed aerial victories, two of them shared.
His personal aircraft was a Mustang named
“Shanty Irish”. This Mustang was converted to
a two-seater in late 1944 and served with the
364th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group with
the codes C5-H and the inscription “Eager Beaver”
on the left side of the engine cowling.
John Trevor Godfrey, one of the most successful
fighter pilots on the European theatre of
war, was born in Montreal on March 28, 1922.
He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
in October 1941 and, after training, transferred to
the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) in 1943.
As a member of the 4th Fighter Group within the
8th Air Force USAAF, Godfrey was a friend and
wingman of Don Gentile. Together they were known
as “Captains Courageous”, “The Two Man Air Force”,
“Messerschmitt Killers”, and “Damon and Pythias”.
Godfrey achieved eighteen confirmed kills in
combat against the Luftwaffe. On August 24, 1944,
he was accidentally shot down by his wingman
and captured by the Germans. Shortly before the
end of the war, he managed to escape from Stalag
Luft III prison camp. After the war, Godfrey served
in the Rhode Island State Senate. Godfrey died on
June 12, 1958, at his home in Freeport. Godfrey’s
autobiography, The Look of Eagles, was published
posthumously in 1958.
KITS 08/2024
INFO Eduard
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August 2024