Louis Edward Curdes
American Flying Triple-Axis Ace / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Louis Edward "Lou" Curdes (2 November 1919 – 5 February 1995) was an American flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II who held the unusual distinctions of scoring an official and intentional air-to-air kill against another American aircraft as well as shooting down at least one aircraft from each of the major Axis powers. Curdes was also a Prisoner of war escapee and spent about nine months in enemy held territory. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice, a Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal. He flew a Lockheed P-38 Lightning and a North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft with the latter having the nickname "Bad Angel."[1][2]
Louis Edward Curdes | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Lou |
Born | (1919-11-02)2 November 1919 Fort Wayne, Indiana, US |
Died | 5 February 1995(1995-02-05) (aged 75) |
Buried | Lindenwood Cemetery, Fort Wayne, Indiana |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force |
Years of service | 1941–1947 (USAAF) 1947–1963 (USAF) |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Service number | O-733836 |
Unit | 329th Fighter Group (1943) 82nd Fighter Group, 95th Fighter Squadron (1943) 4th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Air Commando Group (1944-1945) Twelfth Air Force Fifteenth Air Force |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross (2) Purple Heart |
Spouse(s) |
Svetlana Valeria Shostakovich Brownell
(m. 1946) |
Signature |
Curdes was one of only three American pilots to shoot down aircraft belonging to the German, Italian and Japanese air forces. The other two pilots were Lt. Col. Carl Payne[lower-alpha 1] and Maj. Gen. Levi R. Chase.[lower-alpha 2][3] In total, Curdes shot down seven German Messerschmitt Bf 109s, an Italian Macchi C.202 fighter, a Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-46 reconnaissance aircraft and an American Douglas C-47 Skytrain. After the war, Curdes flew Douglas C-54 Skymasters in the Berlin Airlift and after retiring from the Military after 22 years of service, he founded a construction company.[1]