Afternoon clue. Thanks; Ernie P.
Question: What warbird crew chief do I describe?
Clues:
(1) This crew chief not only serviced his aircraft; he made it, and every other of its type, more effective in actual combat.
(2) His work earned him a bronze star. The citation was signed by a famous General, one in his chain of command.
(3) His name is proudly listed on a current website dedicated to the exploits of his unit.
(4) He was considered to be an example of industriousness and maturity. He had a knack of being able to make/build/modify/fit almost any part he needed. And, he was considered to be very good at “appropriating” the parts and materials he needed.
(5) He was already in the Army when the U.S. entered the war. Although, he almost spent the war as an artilleryman.
(6) While stationed abroad, he convinced his commander to transfer him to an air unit.
(7) After completing his overseas tour in early 1943, he was sent to become one of the first airmen assigned to a new unit; one which would later be dedicated to ground support activities.
(8) He quickly showed a perhaps unique ability to devise and improvise a series of new or modified tools and equipment used in loading explosives aboard the aircraft he serviced.
(9) He developed a specially modified truck to help load the bombs aboard the aircraft. He also was an expert at the electrical wiring system carried inside the wings. He and his sidekick kept devising new ways to load both bombs and bullets aboard the aircraft.
(10) At that time, the unit was having a lot of problems carrying out dive bombing activities. This was discovered while the outfit was practicing dive bombing prior to the D-Day landings.
(11) The subject of our discussion realized the basic problem was that the pilots simply had too many things to do at the same time. The bomb release mechanism in use required the pilot to look down and take one hand away from the throttle or stick to release the bombs.