Strana 63
P-40N-5, 1/Lt. Benjamin H. Ashmore, 26th FS, 51st FG, Kunming, China, 1944
A29-651, F/O John Noel Olivier, No. 80 Squadron, Noemfoor Island, 1944
Benjamin Howard Ashmore’s father was a pilot,
and his son intended to follow in his footsteps.
In 1942, he began Army flight training, which
he completed a year later when he retrained
on Thunderbolts. He was originally supposed
to go to Europe, but at the last minute he was
redirected to India, where he joined the 26th
FS 51st FG. He flew 78 missions with this unit,
shot down two aircraft in aerial combat, and
earned, among other decorations, the Chinese
pilot wings, which was personally awarded to
him by General Chiang Kai-shek. He flew two
Warhawks P-40N and later a P-51B Mustang in
combat. All three aircraft bore the name Anvil
Chorus and the emblem of a bull’s head on
a map of Texas with a torn Japanese flag in one
corner. In accordance with squadron custom, the
emblem was most likely applied to both sides of
his aircraft. After the war, he graduated from
the University of Nebraska and served in the
USAF for another 21 years. He flew as part of the
Berlin Airlift, reactivated five RAF air bases in
post-war England, and in the early 1960s served
as commanding officer at the then newly opened
US Air Force Academy. He flew the F-84, F-100,
and F-102. After leaving the military, he spent
15 years as a cattle rancher on his property in
Garfield, Arkansas, and farmed in Monte Ne.
He owned a private plane and hangar at the
airport near Ingleside and flew until he was
90. He died on March 30, 2014, at the age of 92.
No. 80 Squadron was formed in Townsville on
September 10, 1943, and was equipped with
P-40 Kittyhawks. On October 9, it moved to
Aitkenvale and on November 13 became part
of No. 10 Operational Group, whose main task
was to support the advance of Allied troops
along the northern coast of New Guinea.
No. 10 Operational Group was redesignated as
the First Tactical Air Force on October 25, 1944.
No. 80 Squadron moved to Morotai on January
21, where it continued operations over the
Maluku Islands. The lack of significant targets
in the vicinity caused a decline in morale among
the unit and other RAAF units in the area from
the end of 1944. The aircraft with a drawing of
the Disney character Thumper the Rabbit was
transferred to No. 78 Squadron at the end of
1944 and redesignated HU S. The drawing of the
rabbit remained on it.
KITS 11/2025
INFO Eduard
63
November 2025