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| Aviation Art Collecton - Invader |
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| Squadrons for : Invader | ||
| A list of all squadrons from known to have used this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
386th Bomb Group Country : US Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of 386th Bomb Group | 386th Bomb Group Full profile not yet available. | |
410th Bomb Group Country : US Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of 410th Bomb Group | 410th Bomb Group Full profile not yet available. | |
| Signatures for : Invader | |||
| A list of all signatures from our database who are associated with this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking their name. | |||
| Name | Info | ||
 Flight Officer J Frank Bell Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Flight Officer J Frank Bell | Flight Officer J Frank Bell 409th B G. A-26 pilot, flew his first combat mission Dec 15th 1944. Shot down and taken POW April 16th 1945. | ||
 Captain Ralph F Conte Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Captain Ralph F Conte | Captain Ralph F Conte Navigator / Bombardier, Ralph flew 65 combat missions in the A-20 & A-26 | ||
 Captain Narval F Davis Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Captain Narval F Davis | Captain Narval F Davis Pilot with the 647th Sqn. 72 combat missions on both the A-20 & A-26, the first on D-Day June 1944. | ||
Colonel Richard Dick Denison Click the name above to see prints signed by Colonel Richard Dick Denison | Colonel Richard Dick Denison Navigator Dick Denison's first combat missions were flown during the D-Day invasion, flying C47s towing gliders into the Normandy bridgehead, and making casualty evacuations. He transferred to the 552nd Squadron, 386th Bomb Group flying the Martin B26 Marauder, before converting over to the Douglas A26 Invader. Dick completed a total of 40 combat missions during his tour. | ||
 First Lt Wayne E Downing Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by First Lt Wayne E Downing | First Lt Wayne E Downing A pilot, Wayne Downing flew Douglas A20 Havoc light bombers with the 416th Bomb Group, the first Group to fly the A20 in Europe. On D-Day the 416th BG targeted Argentan, a major German troop crossroads, and later in the day a second mission to hit a major marshalling yard. Moving to France in September 1944, in October he converted over to flying the more advanced a26 Invader. Wayne Downing flew a total of 86 combat missions. | ||
 First Lt Leonard R McBride Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by First Lt Leonard R McBride | First Lt Leonard R McBride 416th B G A-20 & A-26 pilot on 65 combat missions | ||
 Lt Colonel Arthur R Milow Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Lt Colonel Arthur R Milow | Lt Colonel Arthur R Milow Arthur Milow was Commanding Officer of the 643rd Squadron, 409th Bomb Group, and commanded a total of 66 combat missions flying the Douglas A20 Havoc, and A26 Invader. He flew combat missions during the D-Day operations, and later took part in the Battle of the Bulge. | ||
Major Carl Oates Click the name above to see prints signed by Major Carl Oates | Major Carl Oates Carl Oates joined the 386th Bomb Group at Great Dunmow, England in September 1944. Piloting first the B-26 and later the A-26, he flew 22 combat missions from England, and later from bases in France and Belgium. Carl was appointed Operations Officer of the 554th Squadron during the last six months of World War II. | ||
  Capt Michael T Russo USAAF Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Capt Michael T Russo USAAF
| Capt Michael T Russo USAAF Michael T. Russo was born in Cleveland, Ohio on September 4, 1920. Mike was attending Ohio University when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Like many patriotic Americans, he immediately enlisted in the US Army, and requested pilot training. Mike received his primary training at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, advanced training at Randolph Field, Texas, and finally earned his wings at Moore Field, near Mission, Texas. He was then sent to Meridian, Mississippi for training in the new A-36 Invader, the dive bomber version of the P-51A Mustang. Following sixteen hours of flight time in the A-36 Russo was assigned to the 16 th Bomb Squadron (later redesignated as the 522nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron) of the 27 h Bomb Group (Light.) Flying out of North Africa, then Lt. Russo would score his first confirmed aerial victory on September 13, 1943, when his flight executed a diving attack on twelve Fw-190s which were attacking Allied shipping off the coast of Italy. In October Russo's flight attacked Ju-88s on the ground at an airfield near Rome. They were attacked by seven Bf-109s, and although his comrades downed three of the German fighters, Russo did not get one. Later that day, on a second sweep over that area, Russo downed a small biplane which unluckily came into the range of his guns. That aircraft was believed to be a Fiesler Storche 167. In December a flight of twelve A-36s were directed to the airfield at Aversano to strafe Ju-52s. Russo bagged one of the German transports after it had taken off, thereby attaining a third aerial victory. On one mission Russo strafed a column of German troops with devastating results. His crew chief surprised the young pilot by painting Killer Russo on the tail of his A-36. Not wanting to make himself a target for the enemy, or risk hostile treatment, if were downed in combat, Mike had the nickname removed from his aircraft. On December 30, 1943 Russo's flight of twelve A-36s was bounced by sixteen Bf-109s near Rome. In the ensuing battle, Russo downed two of the German fighters. With those two victories Russo became the only A-36 ace of the War, and the first Mustang ace. Russo participated in a number of War Bond drives in the States, and he was promoted to Captain in 1944. Mike left military service with the end of the War with 169 points. He established a very successful business in Troy Michigan, MR Products, Inc. Among one of Mike Russo's patents was that for Mr. Chain, a plastic chain used for crowd control worldwide. Russo's decorations include the Silver Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, The Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Air Medal with fourteen Oak Leaf Clusters. Mike attributes his success with the A-36 to his engineering oriented way of thinking. He knew that the Allison engine in the A-36 would only perform at optimal levels close to sea level. At any altitude the German fighters would have far superior performance advantages. Knowing the limitations of his aircraft helped save his life on a number of occasions. There were very high casualties in Mike's squadron, and the Allison powered version of the Mustang would prove a relatively unimpressive aircraft until the Merlin engine was fitted to the airframe and the P-51B was born. Michael Russo passed away in 2006. | ||
 First Lt Arthur J Schuler Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by First Lt Arthur J Schuler | First Lt Arthur J Schuler 409th B. G. 37 mission A-26 pilot, buzzed Paris with other Group planes on VE Day, and told us 'we blew the dust off the Arc de Triomphe!' | ||
 Colonel Daniel F Shea Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Colonel Daniel F Shea | Colonel Daniel F Shea 46th B G. Graduate of West Point. 65 missions as A-20 & A-26 pilot. | ||
Captain Earl Slanker Click the name above to see prints signed by Captain Earl Slanker | Captain Earl Slanker Joining the USAAF in October 1942, Earl was posted to Europe flying the new B-26F Marauder, assigned to the 386th Bomb Group based at Great Dunmow, in Essex. He flew combat operations in the build up to D-Day, later moving to Beaumont, France in October 1944. Promoted flight leader, Earl converted to the A-26 Invader in February 1945, completing 62 combat missions. | ||
 Colonel Dick Wheeler Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Colonel Dick Wheeler | Colonel Dick Wheeler 416th B. G. Graduate of West Point. A-20 & A-26 combat pilot in the ETO from Jan 1944 to Aug 1945. | ||
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