User:Rc100/sandbox

William Bartling, Hoosier Ace Submitted by Bob Hess of the Middletown- Fallcreek Twp. Historical Society, lNC. The Japanese pilots have just had their first encounter with the most amazing aviation unit assembled in World War ll, The American Volunteer Group, more popularly known as "the Flying Tigers." Flying in this first A.V.G. 'mission was to become the first Hoosier "Ace" of WWll. The son of Arthur and Orpha Bartling, RR#2 Middletown, lndiana, he lived near the little community of Sulphur Springs, after high school he attended Michigan School of Mines, then transferred and graduated from Purdue University about 1935. He enlisted in the Naval Air Corps, was commissioned and received his pilot wings. ln the summer of 1941 (before Pearl Harbor bombing December 7tn) he resigned his commission to join the A.V.G., probably for the desire to adventure in China and also for the monthly salary of $600.00 and a bonus of $500.00 for every confirmed enemy plane shot down. He had been serving as a Navy dive-bomber pilot on the U.S.S. Wasp. Bartling was assigned to the First Squadron, christened the "Adam and Eve" squadron, commanded by Robert "Sandy" Sandell. At Kunming, on December 2}th, occurred the historic first encounter between the Flying Tigers and the Japanese. Because the A.V.G. pilots could not individually confirm six "kills", the fourteen pilots involved decided to split the six victories equally. At Rangoon, on January 23'd, Bartling and A.V.G. shot down twenty-one enemy planes, however, on Bartling's second trip into action, his P-40 Tomahawk was hit several times by a Japanese fighter. He was forced to crash land in a rice paddy, but was unhurt. On the first of February 1942, Bartling flew several missions in a five-plane flight and received credit for two enemy planes shot down at Rangoon. On February Ot^, the A.V.G. celebrated their 1OOth aerial victory. On February 25'h, the "Adam and Eve" flew a late afternoon mission at Rangoon and destroyed twenty enemy planes. Bill Bartling got one confirmed kill and a probable. On February 27th, the ïigers flew their last mission at Rangoon, shooting down eleven enemy planes but Rangoon fell to the enemy on March 6th. The first squadron was ordered to an R.A.F. airfield at Magwe, Burma on March 13th when it was transferred to A.V.G. headquarters at Kunming. On March 24th, a select group of ten pilots including Bartling took off at 6:10 a.m. for a strike at Chiang Mai. Bartling and Greg "Pappy" Boyington (later commander of the Black Sheep Squadron) were among the four planes making strafing attacks, destroying twenty-five to thirty enemy planes on the ground. The squadron lost two pilots. On April 11, 1942, Bartling and six other pilots were sent to Karachi, lndia to pick up seven new P-40 .On May gth, Bartling sighted a Japanese reconnaissance Plane over Kunming Lake. The enemy plane attempted to out climb the P- 40 but Bartling staYed with the Japanese and finally set him afire at an altitude of 27,000 feet. Since the P-40 usually never climbed over 24,000 feet, his conquest was looked on as quite a feat by his A.V.G. buddies. On June 7th, while trying to land at Generalissimo Field, Bartling touched down too fast and ended uP ground looping the plane and tore off the landing gear. The next two planes did the same but it was Bartling's most embarrassing moment of his A.V.G. service. on June 12'n, the Tigers knocked down ten planes defending Kweilin, China airstrip and supporting four B-25s on their bomb raids at Hankow. on July 4th, the A.V.G. was officially disbanded as a unit but Bartling volunteered to stay on for two additional weeks. On July gth, the A.V.G. had total confirmed kill of 286 and at least that many more in the unconfirmed category. The Flying Tigers had 39 Aces, including the leading Ace, Bob Neale with sixteen and Bill Bartling with seven and one- fourth enemy planes. The A.V.G. lost a total of twelve pilots killed in action. Bartling elected to accept a flying position with the China National Aviation Corp. (CNAC). This organization was to fly C-47s carrying military cargo and personnel over the famous "Hump." On October 12'n, Bartlingcrashed in the C-47 on take off nearDinjan. He suffered a broken leg and assorted contusions and cuts. He was hospitalized for several months and eventually had to return to the U.S. His war time service had ended after becoming the first Hoosier Ace of WWll. He was awarded the Order of the Cloud and Banner and Winged Star Medal. President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated in his letter to the Flying Tigers: "the outstanding gallantry and conspicuous daring that the American Volunteer Group combined with their unbelievable efficiency is a source of tremendous pride throughout the whole of America." With only six months combat in WWll, the "Flying Tigers" are perhaps the best remembered aerial fighter groups of the U.S.A.