Philip M. Goldstein – Excursions in Jewish Military History and Jewish Genealogy

The Flight of a Magen David – I: To War In a Hurricane

If Phil Goldstein’s P-38 was unusual in terms of the name it carried – JEWBOY – then one other second world war fighter plane – a Hawker Hurricane of Number 213 Squadron, Royal Air Force – was notable for the symbol it carried: A Magen David; the Shield of David.

The pilot? Flight Officer Gordon Steinberg, a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force from Toronto.

Sadly, he did not survive the war.

A biography of Gordon’s too-brief life from Canadian Jews in World War II – Part II: Casualties (the companion volume to Canadian Jews in World War II – Part I: Decorations, both published in 1948) follows:

FLYING OFFICER GORDON STEINBERG, J-17346, of Toronto, died of injuries received while in action near Alexandria, Egypt, on February 17, 1944. He was forced to bail out of his plane as a result of enemy action. He was buried at sea.

Flying Officer Steinberg enlisted in the air force at Toronto on September, 1940. He was trained at St. Hubert, Victoriaville, Dunnville, Regina, and at Yorkton where he was awarded his pilot’s wings on November 6, 1941. In December of the same year he landed in England and proceeded for further training as a fighter pilot. Flying Officer Steinberg went to Africa in June, 1942 while the Axis forces were pushing the Allied Eighth Army back into Egypt. Attached to the 213th R.A.F. (Middle East) Squadron, he participated in the battles in which Montgomery’s forces repelled the enemy. He was attached to the Eighth Army all the time this force was advancing across the African continent from Egypt to Tripoli. While in Africa Flying Officer Steinberg was commissioned and promoted three times, attaining the rank of flying officer a few months before his death. He visited “Palestine” several times on his leaves and developed a great interest in the country. The R.C.A.F. wrote to his family: “Flying Officer Steinberg completed 92 operational flights. His duties included patrols, air-sea rescue searches and scrambles against enemy aircraft.”

Born in Toronto on October 9, 1914, Flying Officer Steinberg was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Steinberg of 127 Maria Street. He attended Strathcona Public School and Humberside Collegiate Institute from which he was graduated in 1934. Flying Officer Steinberg had been a member of the Jewish Boy’s Club. Prior to enlistment he had been employed as a salesman, clerk and truck driver. A brother, Private Lawrence Steinberg, served in the army.

An aspect of F/O Steinberg’s life not touched upon in the biography is the fact that he’d married in November of 1941, while training to be a pilot. His wife was Ruby Alma (Schopf) Steinberg, who resided at 3251 Dundas Street, in Toronto. Also not mentioned were his four siblings (Bernice, Lawrence, Lilyan, and Louis), as well as his mother, Bella (Nagelburg). Like his father, Bella was born in Austria and naturalized as a Canadian citizen.

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F/O Steinberg’s death on his 92nd operational mission was not due to enemy fighters, flak, or weather. It was due to mechanical failure: The engine of his Hurricane fighter failed in flight.

On February 17, 1944, he departed at 9:30 A.M., with Flight Sergeant S.G. Pickford, from 213 Squadron’s landing ground at Ikdu (also known as “Edku”: a town in the Beheira Governorate, east of Alexandria and very close to the shore of the Mediterranean sea) on a convoy patrol mission. Approximately one hour later, while over the sea roughly between Marsa Matruh and Alexandria, his engine cut as dense black smoke poured from it. F/O Steinberg called F/Sgt. Pickford over his radio indicating that he was going to bail out.

This, he immediately and successfully did.

The loss of his plane and his parachute descent were witnessed by Royal Hellenic Navy Commander N. Sarris aboard the escort destroyer H.H.M.S. Themistocles, who immediately steered his ship towards the position at top speed. He reached the location (31 26 N – 29 16 E; about 35 miles west-northwest of Alexandria) about ten minutes later. Through the dedicated efforts of the Themistocles’ crew F/O Steinberg was eventually found, but sadly, his life could not be saved.

He was buried at sea that afternoon.

The following two images, obtained from The National Archives in Kew, extracted from the Squadron Record and Squadron Summary for No. 213 Squadron, cover the events of 17 and 18 February 1944.

Air Ministry Squadron Operations Records

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As is typical for Casualty Files covering deaths of servicemen in the British Commonwealth forces (analogous to Individual Deceased Personnel Files for American military deaths), the documentation for F/O Steinberg includes a detailed inventory of his effects, which is shown below:

Notable in the list of F/O Steinberg’s possessions is his Hebrew Alamack and Hebrew Prayer Book, as well as his yarmulkah, or kippah (“1 small black cap”), tefillin (“2 prayer straps”), and tallitot (“4 Jewish shoulder capes”), these items listed among a variety of the typical personal possessions of a serviceman and aviator.

Later that year, his wife Ruby, who F/O Steinberg designated as the recipient of his small estate, instructed authorities to, “…give his holy books & religious articles to some religious institution. – Thank You”.

With the passage of over seventy-three years and the absence of documentation (assuming any notes were kept, in the first place), there is almost certainly no way of knowing what eventually became of these items. One imagines that they found their way back to the Jewish community of Toronto, or, that they were donated to a synagogue, school, or Jewish family in Alexandria. Whoever received them likely never knew of the bravery, dedication, or identity of their original owner, but no matter. It would be nice to think; it would be nice to dream, that F/O Steinberg would have been satisfied knowing that their purpose and meaning would continue.

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F/O Steinberg’s name is commemorated on Column 281 of the Alamein Memorial, in Egypt.

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As for the Hurricane? As shown in the photo, P/O Steinberg’s “personal” aircraft carried a Magen David composed in the style of interlocking triangles, in two colors (one light and one dark) painted on the forward fuselage. While his Casualty File and Number 213 Squadron’s historical records for February of 1944 indicate that he was lost in Hurricane IIC BP563 (a plane with over 250 flight hours), and Number 213 Squadron’s Hurricanes were identified by the code letters “AK”, neither set of documents list the aircraft’s specific, individual identification letter. In the absence of other photographs of the plane, it is impossible to tell if F/O Steinberg was lost in his “own” plane, or another aircraft.

The image below, from History of War, shows a Hawker Hurricane in North Africa, with the letters “AK” indicating its assignment to Number 213 Squadron RAF.

The 213 Squadron Association website carries a photo essay – The Hornet’s Sting – that appeared in FlyPast magazine in 1995. Two images show Hurricanes bearing the Squadron’s “AK” code letters, while a third image shows over thirty of the squadron’s pilots at a Christmas Party at Ikdu in 1943. Perhaps F/O Steinberg was among them?

References

Forman, Wallace R., B-17 Nose Art Name Directory, Phalanx Publishing Co., Ltd. (Specialty Press), North Branch, Mn., 1996

Forman, Wallace R., B-24 Nose Art Name Directory, Phalanx Publishing Co., Ltd. (Specialty Press), North Branch, Mn., 1996

Canadian Jews in World War II – Part II: Casualties, Canadian Jewish Congress, Montreal, Quebec, 1948.

RHS Themistocles, at
http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5921.html

Number 213 Squadron RAF

At Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._213_Squadron_RAF

At History of War, at
http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/213_wwII.html

Number 213 Squadron Association, at
http://213squadronassociation.homestead.com/

Number 213 Squadron Association – The Hornet’s Sting (From FlyPast magazine No. 175, 1995), at
http://213squadronassociation.homestead.com/Flypast/flypastarticle.html

Hawker Hurricane IIC in No. 213 Squadron Service, at
http://www.historyofwar.org/Pictures/pictures_hurricaneIIC_213sqn.html

The National Archives (Kew), Royal Air Force Operations Records Books 1939-1945, at
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/raf-operations-record-books-1939-1945/

The Flight of JEWBOY: A Jewish Fighter Pilot in the Second World War – III: The Plane – P-38J 42-104107

Doubtless some visitors to this blog will already be familiar with Lockheed’s P-38 Lightning, but for those who are not… The Lightning was one of most versatile, successful, and particularly one of the most physically distinctive fighter aircraft of the Second World War. Designed by the Lockheed corporation to meet a 1936 Army Air Force Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new fighter (“interceptor”) aircraft capable of protecting the continental United States from bomber aircraft, in time the P-38 would also successfully fulfill the roles of aerial reconnaissance, pathfinder, bombardment leader (“droop-snoot”), and night fighter (albeit not actually used in combat in that role).

Particularly and immediately noticeable is the aircraft’s general design: The configuration of most fighter aircraft of the Second World War – whether powered by radial or in-line (liquid-cooled) engines – was manifested in the “conventional” planform of a fuselage with engine at front, atop low-mounted wings, and with a single tail. Of course, tremendous variation in design existed between the Axis and Allies, let alone among the aircraft manufacturers of any warring nation. Due to the RFP requirements for speed, a fast rate of climb, heavy firepower, and duration of flight at full throttle, the Lightning was strikingly different. This was due to the innovative approach of the aircraft’s design team, which was headed by Clarence C. “Kelly” Johnson.

Two supercharged engines were used. But, rather than a conventional, continuous fuselage extending to and terminating in a single tail unit, the pilot and armament (and other equipment, such as aerial cameras, bombsight, or bombing radar), and radio were situated in a central “pod” or “gondola” between the engines, the latter being housed in individual nacelles, each extending rearward to an individual fin and rudder. Mounted between and “connecting” these twin fins and rudders was a horizontal stabilizer / elevator, with the plane resting on tricycle landing gear. The resulting design was visually distinctive and thus readily identifiable at great distances, by coincidence imparting an almost “art-deco” quality to the plane.

Though other WW II American military aircraft may be better known in popular culture, the Lighting’s technologically innovative design and consequent versatility, combined with its performance and firepower, eventuated in an outstanding and eminently successful military aircraft.

And in another sense, an aesthetically beautiful flying machine, as well.

The Lightning was used by the Army Air Force in all combat theaters, rising to special preeminence in the Pacific, the United States’ two most successful WW II aces (Major Richard I. Bong and Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr.) attaining the entirety of their victories against the against the Japanese in P-38s. In the European Theater, though eventually almost entirely superseded – in the fighter role – in the 8th and 9th Air Forces by the P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt – the plane was continuously used by three Mediterranean-based fighter groups (1st, 14th, and 82nd) which were assigned to the 12th (and in turn 15th) Air Forces.

For a comprehensive and detailed account of the development and use of the P-38 Lighting upon the air war against Germany and Japan – with particularly insightful analysis of the strategic impact of the P-38 in the European Theater, where the reputation of the P-38 was eventually overshadowed by the P-51 Mustang – the following document by Dr. Carlo Kopp, from the Air Power Australia website, is particularly noteworthy and very highly recommended: Der Gabelschwanz Teufel – Assessing the Lockheed P-38 Lightning (Technical Report APA – TR – 2010 – 1201).

The image below is an excellent representative photograph of a P-38 in flight. When this picture was taken, this specific P-38J – 42-68009 – later (temporarily) nicknamed Snafuperman – was probably being flown by Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier (mentioned in Phil’s interview). 42-68009 was lost in a flying accident in New Guinea in early 1945.

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JEWBOY, P-38J, 42-104107, was photographed some time in late May through early June of 1944, when it was assigned to the 49th Fighter Squadron (“Hangmen”) of the 14th Fighter Group.

The Individual Aircraft Record Card for the aircraft is shown below.

The plane was manufactured at Lockheed Aircraft’s Burbank factory, and accepted by the Army Air Force on January 11, 1944. The aircraft departed Newark Army Airfield (now Newark Liberty International Airport) for the Mediterranean Theater on February 4, arriving overseas by February 9. The final entry in the Record Card, corroborates the record in the database of Aviation Archeological Investigation and Research, the latter indicating that the plane was wrecked in a landing accident at Triolo on July 31, 1944.

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The 14th Fighter Group, like most Army Air Force fighter groups, was comprised of three squadrons (the other two being the 37th and 48th), as well as a Headquarters Squadron.

The individual aircraft in the 14th’s squadrons were identified by numbers painted upon both sides of the nose, and also upon the outer surfaces of the tail-boom mounted coolant radiators. A specific numerical range was used to denote the planes in each squadron, with numbers 1 through 30 being allocated to the 48th, 31 through 60 for the 49th, and 61 through 90 for the 37th. The squadron’ aircraft were further distinguished from one another by horizontal stripes painted upon the upper, outer surface of their planes’ fins and rudders, with all aircraft in a squadron bearing the same color: Red for the 37th, blue for the 49th, and white for the 48th. This stripe was sometimes highlighted or trimmed in black or gold to render it more distinctive. The central part of the horizontal stabilizer and elevator was also painted and trimmed in the same squadron color. Finally, common to all 15th Air Force fighters as of early 1944, the propeller spinners were painted red.

The plane’s squadron markings are thus typical in appearance for P-38s assigned to the 49th Fighter Squadron in 1944 and 1945.

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Though the date of the photograph is unknown, it was probably taken some time between May 25, 1944 (the date of Phil’s last victory), and his departure for the United States on Jun 9 of that year. The circled swastikas likely denote aerial victories, while the “uncircled” swastikas probably denote aircraft destroyed in a strafing attack against a German airfield at Villaorba, Italy, on May 14, 1944.

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The two images below are from the flickr photostream of Stefanie Comfort; specifically her album “Jewish Military, U.S.”, where they are listed as “U.S. Military WW2 Jewish Philip M. Goldstein scan0069“.

Unfortunately, the name of the photographer, and the date and location of the images are not given. However, the B-24 Liberators in the background of the photos provide a clue.

In this photo, a B-24 Liberator is visible in the right center of the photograph. The horizontal bar on the lower portion of the bomber’s starboard fin and rudder indicates that the aircraft probably belonged to the 461st Bomb Group. This implies that the photos were taken at the 461st’s base at Torretto.

This image confirms that the word “Jewboy” was painted in English – rather than German – on the plane’s starboard nacelle.

The following image is particularly useful in illustrating the blue tail stripe of the 49th Fighter Squadron on the plane’s fin and rudder, and, the individual aircraft squadron number “47” painted on the exterior of the starboard oil cooler housing. Though the aircraft’s serial number “2104107” is situated below the tail stripe, it has been obscured by exhaust gases from the supercharger, which (not visible in the photo) is mounted atop the engine nacelle. (This was a common effect in P-38s, often making photographic identification of specific planes difficult.)

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Here are two beautiful illustrations of 42-104107 by Andrej T. Sadlo, which appear in the Mini Topcolors series book P-38 Lightning at War, Part 2 (coauthored with Maciej Góralczyk, and published by Kagero). Like other works in the Mini Topcolors series (which covers both aircraft and armored vehicles), the book is a painting and markings guide for a few, select military subjects with significant and unusual markings, and includes 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32 scale decal sheets, published by Cartograf, for each subject. Each aircraft is illustrated by a four-view profile.

This vertical view illustrates the central stripe painted on the horizontal stabilizer and elevator of 14th Fighter Group P-38s.

The Flight of JEWBOY: A Jewish Fighter Pilot in the Second World War: A Voice From the Past

Phil, in front of his plane.

In this 24-minute file (derived from a much lengthier interview) Phil relates memories and highlights of his service as a military pilot. The “sections” of the interview are listed below.

1: 0:00 – 0:42 – Mother attending Graduation at Williams Field, Arizona; Saying good-bye to family and friends
2: 0:45 – 3:46 – Aircraft flown in training (PT-17, BT-13, P-322, AT-9); Encountering and overcoming antisemitism
3: 3:50 – 5:22 – Departing United States (via ship) for overseas from Hampton Roads, Va.; Encountering a rabbi before departure; Saying good-bye to family
4: 5:29 – 9:00 – Use of P-38s by 8th Air Force; Maintenance and flyability of P-38 in England (8th Air Force) versus Mediterranean (12th and 15th Air Forces); Losing engine on take-off while flying the P-38; Witnessing Tony LeVier fly P-38
5: 9:05 – 11:23 – Nature of combat flying (physical and mental aspects); Living conditions in North Africa and Italy (diet)
6: 11:28 – 13:00 – Personalities of fighter pilots (“Tiger” Jones and James W. Tipton); Opinion about movie “Top Gun”
7: 13:05 – 16:14 – Wingmen; Best wingman (Warren E. Semple); Incident over Ploesti; Three B-24s attacked by German fighters; Me-109s engaged by Goldstein and Semple; Claims not confirmed; Semple later killed in action. (Actually, incident with Semple occurred over Piacenza, Italy, on May 25. Goldstein shot down an FW-190; Semple shot down an Me-109 and FW-190. Phil actually shot down the Me-109 on April 2, over Steyr, Austria.)
8: 16:20 – 16:42 – Death of best friend (Edgar G. Hemmerlein)
9: 16:45 – 17:32 – Psychologically acclimating oneself to combat flying on a routine basis
10: 17:37 – 22:06 – Thoughts about implications of being a Jew flying combat missions over German-occupied Europe; Assumption that he would not survive war; Meeting rabbi at Hampton Roads; Saying good-bye to family; Most dangerous mission he flew (Wingman to Robert K. Seidman 5/14/14); Witnessing loss of B-24s over Munich
11: 22:09 – 23:42 – Getting his “own” P-38 and naming aircraft “JEWBOY”; Reaction of others to nickname
12: 23:47 -24:13 – Reading from the Tanach and saying Shema Yisrael every night; Wearing Mezuzah with dog-tags.

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This is a 1944 or 1945 aerial view of the 14th Fighter Group’s airfield at Triolo, Italy, looking south-southwest. (Photograph from Historical Records of 14th Fighter Group, in NARA Records Group 18.)

This is a very contemporary (2017) Google Earth 3-D view of the site of the Triolo Airfield, adjusted to view the location from the same orientation and perspective as the above photograph. Though the runway, taxi strips, and revetments no longer exist, the locations of these features can be distinguished by the areas of light-colored soil which have the same “shape” as these wartime features. Akin to the above image, south-southwest is towards the top.

This image shows the same area as the above photo, but in a conventional, vertical view. The locations of the taxi strips are readily distinguished by light-colored soil.

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Interview Part 4: Use of P-38s in 8th Air Force

According to Bert Kinzey, in P-38 Lightning in Detail & Scale – Part 2, difficulties with P-38s in England were attributable to the, “…poor quality of British fuels. These fuels did not cause problems in inline engines which had mechanical superchargers or even in radial engines with turbo-superchargers. But they simply did not work at high power settings in an inline engine that was turbo-superchargers. Wherever Lightnings were used with high grade American fuel, they performed admirably and established a great record for reliability.”

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Interview Part 6: Pilots of the 49th Fighter Squadron, May, 1944

The 49th Fighter Squadron is credited with 139 confirmed aerial victories attained between November 24, 1942, and March 22, 1945. Of the 184 pilots known to have been assigned to the squadron, 79 were lost, based on an examination of squadron records and Missing Air Crew Reports. Of the 79, 24 survived as POWs, 45 were killed in action, 8 were killed in non-combat related flights, 1 evaded capture, and 2 others survived under unknown circumstances.

This photograph of the squadron’s pilots was taken on May 22, 1944. The 27 men pictured comprise only those pilots assigned (or, at least present for the photograph!) at the actual time the image was taken. As mentioned above, many other pilots were assigned to the squadron before, and after, this date.

Front Row (L – R; seated)

Nathan M. Abbott, Major (Squadron Commander) 0-378458, 103 Shelburne Rd., Burlington, Vt.; 4 aerial victories.
John G. Schill, Jr., 1 Lt., 0-798170, 317 West Rockland St., Philadelphia, Pa., KIA 7/14/44 over Hungary (P-38J 42-104148, # 138, MACR 6868); 1 aerial victory; Buried at Lorraine American Cemetery, Saint Avold, France – Plot B, Row 23, Grave 20
Houston C. Musgrove, Jr., Lt., 0-802060, Box 431, Homer, La.
Warren L. Jones, Lt., 0-1703079, Box 112, Live Oak, Ca.; 5 aerial victories (ace)
Wesley L. Jule, 2 Lt., 0-1703109, 404 Baker St., Bellingham, Wa., POW 6/14/44; over Hungary (P-38J 42-104135, # 49, “Fighting Irishman”, MACR 6420); 1 aerial victory
Philip M. Goldstein, 2 Lt., 0-750574, 642 George St., Norristown, Pa.; 3 aerial victories

Second Row (L – R; seated)

Edgar G. Hemmerlein, 2 Lt., 0-75058, 423 Fourth St., Huntingburg, In., Died on May 27, 1944, after an accident at Serragio, Airdrome, Corsica the preceding day (P-38J 42-104236, # 53, No MACR); Buried at Fairmount Cemetery, Huntingburg, Indiana
Warren E. Semple, 1 Lt., 0-744772, 12 France St., Norwalk, Ct., KIA 6/15/44 France (P-38J 42-104266, # 54, MACR 6423); 2 aerial victories; Buried at Rhone American Cemetery, Draguignan, France – Plot B, Row 9, Grave 3
Harold Simmons, Lt., 0-659192, 580 Beach St., Revere, Ma.; 2 aerial victories
Jack Lenox, Jr., Lt., 0-1703108, 123 West Birch, Enid, Ok.; 5 aerial victories (ace)
Louis L. Benne, 1 Lt., 0-802235, Box 156, Listie (Somerset County), Pa., POW 6/14/44 Hungary (P-38J 42-104229, # 38, MACR 6031); 5 aerial victories (ace)
Wilson H. Oldhouser, Lt., 0-739662, 43 North Albermarle, York, Pa.; 3 aerial victories

Third Row (L – R; standing)

Quentin A. Teige, 2 Lt., 0-758887, 1529 Mary St., Marinette, Wi., KIA 5/24/44 Austria (P-38J 43-28261, # 60, MACR 5184); 1 aerial victory; Buried at Forest Home Cemetery, Marinette, Wi. – Plot K, 24, 1, 1
John D. Lewis, Lt., 0-754522, 1282 Oxford St., Berkeley, Ca.; 1 aerial victory
George T. Johnson, Lt., 0-817958, 582 Cate Rd., Pico, Ca.; 1 aerial victory
Gunvald B. Thorsen, Lt., 0-758891, 429 61st St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Swanson T. Shortt, 2 Lt., 0-744776, Galax, Va., KNB 6/20/44 Triolo, Italy (P-38J 43-28450, No MACR); 3 aerial victories; Buried at Gladeville United Methodist Church Cemetery, Galax, Va.
Moses J. Long, 2 Lt., 0-816126, 513 S. Conception St., Mobile, Al., POW 8/14/44 France (P-38J 43-28643, # 42, MACR 7953, Luftgaukommando Report ME 2274); 1 aerial victory
William R. Palmer, Lt., 0-729052, 3565 Calafia Ave., Oakland, Ca.; 2 aerial victories

Rear Row (L – R; standing)

Thomas S. Purdy, Lt., 0-802343, 165 South 1st Ave., Alpena, Mi.; 4 aerial victories
Richard L. Fowler, 2 Lt., 0-750564, 1565 Chestnut St., San Francisco, Ca. / Indian Rock, Tx., POW 5/24/44 Italy (P-38J 42-104202, # 44, MACR 5638); 1 aerial victory
James W. Tipton, Lt., 0-750724, 324 1/2 South 18th Ave., Phoenix, Az.
Jackson R. Schetler, Lt., 0-799654, 526 Fairview St., Riverside, N.J.
John F. Cullen, Lt., 0-743922, 99 Knowles St., Pawtucket, R.I.; 1 aerial victory
Walter C. McConnell, 2 Lt., 0-816901, Box 58, Cornelius, N.C., KIA 8/14/44 France (P-38J 42-104123, MACR 7976); Tablets of the Missing at at Rhone American Cemetery, Draguignan, France – Possibly Buried as “Unknown X107”
Lawrence A. O’Toole, Lt., 0-760486, 387 Cross St., Akron, Oh.; 1 aerial victory
Clyde L. Jones, Jr., 2 Lt., 0-760324, 1104 S. Adams St., Fort Worth, Tx., POW 6/14/44 Hungary (P-38J 42-104262, # 48, MACR 6127); 4 aerial victories

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First Lieutenant James W. Tipton

“1st Lieut. James W. Tipton, 24, 324 1/2 South 18th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona, and his crew chief S/Sgt, Maimone. The Lieut. has successfully completed 50 combat missions and returned to the United States.” (Image from Historical Records of the 14th Fighter Group – Headquarters Squadron, AFHRA Microfilm Roll BO079)

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Interview Part 7: Aerial victories of First Lieutenant Warren E. Semple, May 25, 1944

First Lieutenant Warren E. Semple (Image from FindaGrave.com)

These two accounts are transcribed from Combat Claim Forms in the Historical Records of the 49th Fighter Squadron, from AFHRA Microfilm Roll AO742.

“On May 25, 1944, I was flying number four position in White flight on a mission escorting B-24s to the A/D at Piacenza, Italy. As we entered the target area we engaged 8 to 10 Me 109s. During the combat I followed my leader down in a long dive. Due to the terrific speed of my plane I was unable to pull out at the same time my leader did. When I managed to pull out of the dive I was fairly far behind my leader. As I pulled up to join him a FW 190 crossed in front of me at 30 [degrees] and I made a slight turn as I fired. I saw three or four 20mm strikes around the cockpit and then the whole canopy seemed to be blown off. At this time the plane flipped onto its back out of control and it was still spinning as it passed thru the cloud level 5 or 6 thousand feet below. As there seemed to be no recovery, I judge that the pilot had been killed after my shells hit the cockpit. I did not follow him thru the clouds for it was imperative that I return and join the squadron.”

“On May 25, 1944, I was flying in white four position, escorting B-24s in a mission over Piacenza Airdrome in Northern Italy. As we entered the target area at approximately 25,000 feet, we saw a group of 8 or 10 Me 109s in flights of two. These enemy planes were a little high to us at three o’clock. One other Me 109 was flying at the same clock position as a decoy. The flight leader called out the flight which would engage the enemy. As the 109s broke toward us and down I got on one’s tail. From dead astern I fired a very long burst while closing in. I saw the plane burst into flame all along the engine and cockpit. I followed it through a cloud and saw it crash into the ground.”

Warren Semple was killed on June 15, 1944, during a strafing mission against Luftwaffe airfields at Lajasse (near Salon), Orange and Avignon, France. He is buried at the Rhone American Cemetery, Draguignan, France.

There were no actual witnesses to his loss; squadron records simply state that he was “…last seen in the target area at 44-08 N, 04-52 E.” He is among a group of five American fighter pilots – killed at the Plan de Dieu between June 15 and August 13, 1944 – who in April of 2005 were memorialized on a commemorative tablet at Travaillan, Vaucluse, France. According to the Kracker Luftwaffe Archive, he was shot down by 56 victory Luftwaffe ace Leutnant Eduard Isken of III / JGr (Jagdgruppe) 200.

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Here is the Combat Claim Form for Phi Goldstein’s aerial victory of May 25, 1944, from AFHRA Microfilm Roll AO742. The description of the combat is transcribed below.

“On May 25, 1944, I was flying blue three position on a mission escorting B-24’s to the A/D at Piacenza, Italy. As we entered the target area we sighted several enemy airplanes and immediately engaged them in combat. During this engagement a FW 190 made a head on pass at me. I gave him a quick burst and then pulled around to get behind him. As I completed my turn I noticed that his engine was on fire and then I saw the plane roll over and the pilot bail out.”

Unfortunately, 49th Fighter Squadron Combat Claim Forms only seem to exist (or least, to have been preserved) from May of 1944 forward. Thus, no such document is available for Phil’s victory of April 2. A Combat Claim Form does exist for his victory over an (apparent) IAR 80 on May 7, but is not presented here.

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Interview Part 8: Second Lieutenant Edgar G. Hemmerlein

Similar to the accounts for Warren Semple, this account is transcribed from a Combat Claim Form in the Historical Records of the 49th Fighter Squadron, from AFHRA Microfilm Roll AO742.

“On May 25, 1944, I was green three on a mission escorting B-24s to the A/D at Piacenza, Italy. As we escorted the bombers to the target area we were engaged by approximately 30 mixed enemy aircraft. I sighted one FW 190 in a dive. He was approaching us from head on. I lowered my nose to give him a little lead. I saw that I was giving him too much lead so I held my trigger and let him fly through my line of fire. I saw several pieces fly off the plane and also saw my cannon shells bursting on his fuselage. As the enemy plane passed under my nose I lost sight of him. Due to the enemy action I was not able to look for him, as I was too busy trying to keep away from the other enemy fighters.”

Edgar G. Hemmerlein, as an Aviation Cadet. He is buried at Fairmount Cemetery, in Huntingburg, Indiana. Edgar’s tombstone carries the inscription “2 LIEUT 49 AAF FIGHTER SQ – WORLD WAR II”

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Interview Part 9: Phil’s Combat Missions (From Historical Records of the 14th Fighter Group, in NARA Records Group 18.)

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Brigadier General Atkinson, Major Bright, and Colonel Oliver B. (“O.B.”) Taylor, the latter Commander of the 14th Fighter Group from September 26, 1943 to July 17, 1944. (Image from Historical Records of the 14th Fighter Group – Headquarters Squadron, AFHRA Microfilm Roll BO079.)

Interview Part 10: “With Seidman” – Phil is referring to the loss of 1 Lt. Robert K. Seidman, who was shot down by flak and killed during the 14th Fighter Group’s strafing mission against German airfields near Aviano and Villaorba, Italy, on May 14, 1944, on his 50th, and last scheduled combat mission. (P-38J 42-104259, #42, “Peg”, MACR 5049) From Pittsburgh, Robert is seen below, with fellow Pittsburgher Lt. Joseph Havrilla, in an official photograph taken on December 21, 1943. (Army Air Force Photograph 3A-49287 / C-27286)

From Lt. Seidman’s diary, “Dec. 21st: No mission today. Overcast heavy everywhere. All of our targets obscure. Photographer came out from Wing and took pictures of Colonel Taylor, Lt. Havrilla, Lt. Schoener and myself in front of a 38.”

Robert’s fate was resolved in 1948. He is buried at B’Nai Israel Cemetery, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Flight of JEWBOY: A Jewish Fighter Pilot in the Second World War

A photographic image can evoke different things.

It can evoke a place, and a time.

It can evoke a mood, and a moment.

Sometimes, upon a single glance, a photograph can serve as a symbol and reminder of an era that – while having passed into history – resonates within the present.

Such is the image that is the “header” image of this blog, and now, the subject of this post: A picture of a World War Two era Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter plane, nicknamed “JEWBOY”, before which stands a fighter pilot – Philip M. Goldstein – and the aircraft’s ground crew.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in August of 1920, one of six brothers and sisters, Philip Goldstein was the son of Abraham Solomon and Clara Violet (Burns-Graham) Goldstein, both of whom were at one time heavily involved in vaudeville. His family moved to Trappe, Pennsylvania, after his second grade of elementary school, and then successively lived in Collegeville and Norristown; like Trappe, all communities on the outskirts of Philadelphia.

Life became especially challenging for the family after Phil’s father died in the midst of the Great Depression. After a period of uncertainty following his 1938 high school graduation, Phil enlisted in the army in 1940, with the general but uncertain ambition – arising from his love of music, inspired by Damon Holton, band leader at the Chain Street School in Norristown – of serving in the Army Band.

His musical plans came to fruition in short order, albeit in a roundabout way. He was assigned to a machine-gun company of the 12th Infantry Regiment. He was soon transferred to the Regimental Band, in which he played the French Horn at ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. In October of 1941 the Regiment was transferred to Fort Gordon, Georgia, where it was attached to the 4th Motorized Division. (The 4th Motorized Division was reconfigured and redesignated as the 4th Infantry Division on August 4, 1943.)

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Corporal Joe Martino and Phil (with french horn) (Company D- Machine-Gun Company). (Image from Bass Entertainment Pictures website.)

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Throughout this time, and even earlier, Phil was focused upon other military horizons. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he took the exam for Army Air Corps pilot training. He passed. During and after his successive stages of flight training he was assigned to the following locations:

Pre-Flight: Santa Anna, California – Squadron 39
Primary: Oxnard, California (Mira Loma Flight Academy)
Basic: Lemoore, California (Flew BT-13 and BT-15)
Advanced: Williams Field, Chandler, Arizona – Graduated in Class 43-G (Flew AT-6, AT-9, and AT-17)
P-38 Conversion Training: Muroc, California
West Coast Interceptor Command / 4th Air Force (329th Fighter Group): San Pedro, California

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Phil during primary flight training, at Mira Loma Flight Academy, Oxnard, California. (Image from Bass Entertainment Pictures website.)

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Phil’s portrait as an Aviation Cadet. (Image from Bass Entertainment Pictures website.)

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Phil atop the wing of P-38G 42-13352, while he was serving in the 4th Air Force in California. This P-38 was assigned – as was presumably Phil – to the 332nd Fighter Squadron of the 329th Fighter Group, which was a component of the 4th Air Force. The plane was lost at Orange County Airport, California, on June 21, 1943, when pilot Franklin H. Monk (later an ace in the 475th “Satan’s Angels” Fighter Group) was forced to bail out due to mechanical failure.

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Phil’s assignment to West Coast Interceptor Command did not last long. In October of 1943, he departed for overseas aboard a Liberty Ship from Hampton Roads, Virginia. Initially stationed at a North African airfield where he trained French pilots to fly P-38s (he had four years of high school French) Phil was soon assigned to the 49th Fighter Squadron of the 14th Fighter Group, at which he arrived on January 16, 1944.

He was accompanied by two friends from Williams Field Class 43-G: Lieutenants Earvie T. Cloyd and Edgar G. Hemmerlein.

Earvie, assigned to the 37th Fighter Squadron, would be shot down and captured on May 7, 1944.

Phil and his very close friend Edgar would be assigned to the 49th Fighter Squadron. Edgar did not survive the war. While taking off for his 38th combat mission from the island of Corsica, his aircraft crashed. He died the following day. He was twenty-four years old.

All of Phil’s combat missions were flown during 1944; his first mission on January 20, and his fiftieth and last mission on June 28.

He had three aerial victories: An Me-109 on April 2, during a fighter escort of B-17s to Steyr, Austria; an Italian Fiat G-50 on May 7, during a fighter escort of B-17s to Bucharest, Romania (Actually, it is far more likely that this aircraft was a Romanian IAR-80); a Focke-Wulf 190 on May 25, during a fighter escort of B-24s to Piacenza, Italy, and, four Ju-88 bombers destroyed by strafing during the 14th Fighter Group’s mission against a German airfield complex in the vicinity of Aviano and Villaorba, Italy, on May 14, 1944. He also claimed an Me-109 damaged on March 30, during a fighter escort of B-24s to Sofia, Bulgaria.

He left for the United States on July 9, returning from Naples via a merchant ship that arrived at Hampton Roads, Virginia. After a two-week period of rest at the Cadillac Miami Beach Hotel, he was sent to Santa Rosa Army Air Base in California, where – under the command of Lt. Col. John W. Weltman, formerly of the 1st Fighter Group – he served as a flight instructor, with a specific focus on aerial gunnery.

In the meantime, during a dance at Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco, he had the very good fortune to meet the woman – Jane – who, then a physics student at University of California in Berkeley, would become his wife. With a new and very happy direction life, and already having accumulated more than enough “points” for separation from the military, Phil was discharged at Camp Beale, California, in June of 1945.

Soon, he was studying musical composition at Mills College under the direction of Darius Milhaud. However, Phil still found himself highly uncertain about his future. His father-in-law introduced him to a friend in the insurance business. In time, this would become – at the Allstate Insurance Company – his lifelong career, while California would become his lifelong home.

Akin to the many other Jewish WW II servicemen who received awards for military service, or, were military casualties (wounded or killed), Phil’s name does not appear in the two-volume 1947 publication American Jews in World War Two.

He was one of the many Jewish aviators who served in the Second World War.

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Phil and his granddaughter, in the early 1990s. (c/o Phil Goldstein)

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In 2013, Frank Cronin met Phil “in person”, and the two discussed Phil’s life and experiences. Frank presented Phil with a model of his P-38, constructed from Academy’s 1/48 kit. This image of Frank and Phil, from iModeler.com (Social Scale Modelling) is a memento of their meeting. (Frank’s other completed models can be see at the iModeler webpage Modeling by Frank Cronin.)

References

(Books)

Freeman, Roger A., Camouflage and Markings – United States Army Air Force 1937-1945, Ducimus Books Limited, London, England, 1974

Goldstein, Philip M., JEWBOY vs The Luftwaffe, Privately printed via Blurb.com, 2016.

Green, William, Famous Fighters of the Second World War, Hanover House, New York, N.Y., 1958.

Kinzey, Bert, P-38 Lightning Part 1 – XP-38 through P-38H, Squadron/Signal Publications, Carrollton, Tx., 1998

Kinzey, Bert, P-38 Lightning Part 2 – P-38J through P-38M, Squadron/Signal Publications, Carrollton, Tx., 1998

Maloney, Edward T., Lockheed P-38 “Lightning”, Aero Publishers, Inc., Fallbrook, Ca., 1968

Rust, Kenn C, Fifteenth Air Force Story …In World War II, Historical Aviation Album, Temple City, Ca., 1976

Shenahan, Anthony, Lockheed P-38 Lightning – A Pictorial History, Historian Publishers, John W. Caler Publications, Sun Valley, Ca., 1968

Stanaway, John, Peter Three Eight – The Pilot’s Story, Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Missoula, Mt., 1986

(Books – No Author)

USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II – USAF Historical Study No. 85, Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center, Air University, Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1978

Pilot’s Manual for Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Aviation Publications, Appleton, Wi. (undated)

Archival References (Microfilm)

Historical Records of Headquarters Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, AFHRA Microfilm Roll BO 079 – GP-12-SU-OR-F 5/45 through GP-14-Hi 12/44

Historical Records of 49th Fighter Squadron, AFHRA Microfilm Roll AO 742 – SQ-FI-48-HI 1/45 through SQ-FI-51-SU 12/42-8/45

Websites

Kopp, Carlo (Air Power Australia), at Der Gabelschwanz Teufel – Assessing the Lockheed L-38 Lightning (Technical Report APA – TR – 2010 – 1201).

P-38G 42-13352 accident history (AviationArcheology.com) at http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbasn.asp?SN=42-13352&Submit4=Go

P-38J 42-104107 accident history (AviationArcheology.com), at http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbasn.asp?SN=42-104107&Submit4=Go

Triolo, at Abandoned, Forgotten & Little Known Airfields in Europe” (ForgottenAirfields.com), at http://www.forgottenairfields.com/italy/apulia/foggia/triolo-s567.html

4th Infantry Division (Wikipedia), at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)

12th Infantry Regiment (Wikipedia), at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)

329th Fighter Group History (armyaircorps.com), at http://www.armyaircorps.us/329th_Fighter_Group.cfm