Strana 83
BUILT
Maj. Arthur W. Cruikshank, 74
th
FS, 23
rd
FG, Hengyeng, China, June 1944
Arthur Waur Cruikshank was first assigned to
the 157
th
Project Task Force during the war, and
in March 1942 he was one of the first USAAF
pilots to take off from the deck of the aircraft
carrier Ranger with a P-40 during operations
in North Africa. In June, he transferred to the
CBI theater and was assigned to the 23
rd
FG,
which was formed after the AVG was disbanded.
In September 1943, Cruikshank took command
of the 74
th
FS and gradually achieved eight
confirmed and six probable kills. He himself
was shot down twice over enemy territory
and returned to his unit with the help of the
Chinese resistance. Cruikshank returned to
the US in August 1944 and became a test pilot.
In December 1945, he took command of Eglin
Field Air Base in Florida, then successively
held a number of important positions and was
promoted to the rank of general. He died on May
5, 1999. During his second tour of duty from May
1944, Arthur Cruikshank flew an aircraft named
Hell‘s Belle. He was shot down by anti-aircraft
fire on June 15, 1944.
INFO Eduard
83
July 2026