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Lt. Joseph Black "Dollar 55" 362nd F.S., 357th F.G. Leiston England 1944/45

If not for the 8th AAF's long range fighter escorts and its pilots the war in Europe would have gone on much longer and the Nazi government would have had time to develop its technology in rockets and other sophisticated weaponry. During the spring, summer, and fall of the 1943 & early 1944 Eighth Air Force losses of planes and men sometimes reached 12% for a single day's raid! One in four airmen were being KIA, WIA or MIA. At one point it became STATISTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for a bomber crewman to survive a 25-mission tour of duty. At Schweinfurt and Regensburg, for example, on August 17 and at Schweinfurt on October 14, 1943 sixty B-17s, each with a crew of ten men, were shot down over enemy territory many more limped home with dead and wounded so badly damaged they never flew again. Americas daylight bombing campaign was being seriously reconsidered until the P-51 Mustang became available in numbers. Joe Black flew the P-51 Mustang into combat protecting the bomber streams and was then unleashed from escort duties to take out targets of opportunity as the war gound to its conclusion.
Work In Progress 5/23/2004

Joseph was born in Philadelphia in July of 1924 and except for service time he has lived in the area all his life.
Joe: "My mother and father both worked during the depression, my father at " Atlantic Refining Co.", my mother worked at "Lit Bros" at times. At that time everybody was poor but the kids didn't know it. I worked for a local engraver and printer after school and some weekends and later as sign painter for a movie house. I attended McClure Elementary at 6th & Hunting Park, Cooke Jr . High on York Rd. & Loudon and North East High on 8th & Lehigh all in Philadelphia.

The first time I saw an airplane I was about 6 years old and dad took me to a local airfield to watch them take off and land. They were bi-planes of some sort. I knew then I wanted to be a flyer. The farthest I had traveled before I enlisted was to the New Jersey shore for summer vacations with my family.

I enlisted in the cadet program just after my 18th birthday late August. or early September and was sworn in November 16th 1942. I was shipped by rail from Philly to Miami Beach on February 1st 1943.

Primary Flight school was Douglas Ga. and we flew Stearman PT17s. Basic Flight school was at Craig Field Selma Alabama. and the BT 13 was the trainer.

Advanced was at Jackson Missisippi in the AT 6 Texan. I graduated with the class of 44C and received my wings and bars Mar. 12, 1944 at Jackson AAF, it was the first class to train there. My Father was there and pinned my wings on.

A big thrill for us both. I did my Fighter training in the P-40. I joined the 357th Dec. 44 and flew 28 combat missions. Our last mission was April 25, 1945. My call sign was, Dollar 55

Replacement pilots came to the unit in small groups, 15 or 20 we were checked out in the P51 by the professor of "Clobber College". He ground schooled us and led us in air combat tactics used by the 357th F.G. We were treated as fledgelings until we got our feet wet with some missions under our belts. My first mission was a escort mission to bomb the bridge crossing the Rhine at Wessel. They missed the bridge. No enemy action. I flew the leaders wing, red 2. My first mission to Berlin was memorable because of the great number of fighters and bombers we put up. the 357th escorted the 2nd box of bombers to the target and back to the channel and the bombers were still coming in.

A B-17 was still over France when I picked it up and the right outboard engine was feathered. It was still behind enemy lines. I have no idea what or when the mission was. It was from the 100th B.G.

Before a mission the CQ would wake us a couple hours before the mission. We would go to the mess hall, eat breakfast and grab some snacks to take along. We collected our flying gear and went to the briefing and to learn the routes, times and what enemy action we might encounter. I would do a visual inspection with Stan ( my crew chief) and he would let me know if there was any thing to watch out for. Stan passed away many years ago. I did not have any special rituals, and carried no lucky charms. ( before a flight)

Training Manual for the P-51

INSTRUCTIONS FOR GETTING A P-51 OFF THE GROUND, BAILOUT and LANDING
Section VII -- Operating Instructions for the P-51

PRELIMINARY CHECK
Obtain flight clearance.
Check outside of airplane carefully. Remove pitot cover.
Check service of ship and status of it on Form 1A carefully.
Make sure chocks are in place.

ENTER COCKPIT
Adjust seat and rudders for height and length.
Check ignition switch OFF.
Set parking brake.
Check bomb and gun safety switches are OFF.
See that landing gear control handle is in the DOWN position.
On the P-51D, there is NO ARENS control to prevent accidental raising of gear on the ground.
Unlock controls and check for freedome of movement. Control lock is located at the base and just forward of the stick.
Pull the plunger on the left side of the lock to unlock controls.
Fasten safety belt and shoulder straps.

Set altimeter to correct barometric pressure.
Oil and coolant shutters to full OPEN position as soon as batter cart is plugged in. Set trim tabs. Rudder 5° Right, Elevator 2° to 3° Nose UP (with 25 gallons or less in fuselage tank). Elevator 1° to 3° Nose DOWN (fuselage tank full). Aileron 0° for Take-Off.
Release hydraulic pressure with wing flaps and flap handle to UP position.

Close canopy (bubble) as follows:
Push in on axle of crank on right side of cockpit to engage clutch.
Disengage pin on crank handle from the holes on the face of the clutch housing by pulling crank knob inboard gently.
Turn crank counterclockwise, holding knob inboard to close canopy
WARNING - If red indicators show through openings on each side of the forward end of the enclosure, the emergency release is unlocked and unsafe for flight.

STARTING AND WARM-UP
Ignition switch OFF.
Have prop pulled through if it has been idle more than 2 hours.
Generator and battery switch ON, unless battery cart is being used, then battery switch OFF.
Throttle 1 inch open.
Mixture control in IDLE CUT-OFF.
Propeller control in INCREASED RPM.
Supercharger switch in AUTOMATIC.
Carburetor air control in RAM AIR.
Turn ignition switch to BOTH.
Fuel shut-off valve ON and fuel selector valve to Fuselage tank (if full), or Left Main tank if Fuselage tank not serviced.
Fuel booster pump on NORMAL and check for 8-12 pounds of fuel pressure.
Prime engine 3 to 4 shots when cold. 1 to 2 when warm.
See that prop is clear.
Lift guard on starter switch on pilot's switch panel and press switch to START. Caution in use of starter not to overheat.
As engine starts, move mixture control to AUTO RICH. If engine does not fire, after several turns, continue priming.

WARNING: When engine is not firing, mixture control should be in IDLE CUT-OFF.
Warm engine at approximately 1300 RPM. Check for constant oil pressure. If no oil pressure or low pressure after 30 seconds, shut off engine.
Check all instruments for proper readings.
Check hydraulic system operation by lowering and raising flaps. Loading 800-850 pounds and unloading at 1050-1100 pounds.
Check communication equipment for proper operation.

Uncage all gyro instruments. Check both LEFT and RIGHT MAIN and FUSELAGE fuel systems by rotating fuel selector valve with booster pump switch in EMERGENCY.
Check for 14-19 lbs/sq. in. If drop tanks are installed, check fuel flow by rotating fuel selector control.

TAXIING INSTRUCTIONS
Check wing flaps UP.
Have wheel chocks pulled.
Steer a zigzag course.
Taxi with stick slightly aft of neutral. This will lock the tail wheel. In the locked position the tail wheel may be turned 6 degrees to the right or left by use of the rudder pedals.
For sharp turns, push stick forward of the neutral position to allow the tail wheel full swiveling action. Use brakes as little as possible.
Always taxi with the WING FLAPS UP and the OIL AND COOLANT SHUTTERS in the open position.

BEFORE TAKE-OFF (Run-Up)
At 2000 RPM, check the following: Suction 3.75 to 4.25 inches HG.
Hydraulic pressure 800-1100 lbs/sq. inch.
Ammeter not to exceed 50 amps.
Check the instruments for the following limitations:
Desired Maximum
Oil Pressure 70-80 lbs/sq. in. 90 lbs/sq. in.
Oil Temperature 70°C-80°C 90°C
Coolant Temperature 100°C-110°C 121°C
Fuel Pressure 12-16 lbs/sq. in. 19 lbs/sq. in.
Check mags at 2300 RPM. Maximum drop 100 RPM.
At 2300 check propeller - 300 RPM maximum drop - and return to full INCREASE RPM.
Oil and coolant shutters AUTOMATIC.
Wing flaps 20 ° if desired.
Mixture AUTO RICH.
Propeller in full INCREASE RPM.
Fuel booster pump on EMERGENCY, check for 14-19 lbs/sq. in.
Generator switch ON.

USE OF POWER
Manifold Pressure RPM Mixture Control
Take-off 40" Hg 3000 RPM Auto Rich
Climb 35" Hg 2600 RPM Auto Rich
Cruise 26"-28" Hg 2300-2400 RPM Auto Rich

BEFORE LANDING
Mixture AUTO RICH.
Oil and coolant shutters AUTOMATIC.
Fuel selector to fullest tank. NOTE: Never land on droppable wing tanks. Booster pump switch to NORMAL position.
RPM increased to 2600.

Normal gear procedure:
Retard throttle to check landing gear warning light (17"-22" M.P.).
IAS 170 or below. Put landing gear handle in DOWN position.
Allow time for gear to extend.
Retard throttle to check warning lights.
If light does NOT come ON at previously noted position of throttle, gear is DOWN and LOCKED.
Lower flaps as desired. Full flap speed 165 or below.

AFTER LANDING
Raise flaps.
Booster pump OFF
Oil and coolant shutters OPEN.
Run engine to 1500 RPM, set mixture control to IDLE CUT-OFF and move throttle fully open.
Turn ignition switch OFF after propeller stops turning.
Fuel shut-off valve OFF.
Turn all switches OFF.
Lock controls.

EMERGENCY WING FLAP OPERATION
There is NO emergency wing flap operation provided on the P-51D as the hand pump has been eliminated.
On all earlier models of the P-51, emergency operation is as follows:
Put flap selector to desired position and operate the hand pump until it siezes. Flaps will be in desired position and will stay there until another selection is made.

EMERGENCY LANDING GEAR EXTENSION PROCEDURE
If normal extension fails, recheck landing gear warning light by retarding throttle until landing gear warning light comes on.
At an IAS of 170, put gear handle in down position and yaw plane. Recheck landing gear warning light by retarding throttle blow 20" M.P.
If the landing gear warning light is still ON, indicating gear not down and locked, pull fairing door emergency release knob and yaw the plane again to lock gear. Then again retard throttle to check warning light.
NOTE: The warning light does NOT indicate the position of the tail wheel. If there is any doubt as to whether or not the tail wheel is down, dive the airplane a short distance and pull out with enough acceleration to down the tail wheel.
REMEMBER - THE ONLY CHECK AVAILABLE FOR THE MAIN GEAR IS THE WARNING LIGHT. USE IT!

ALTERNATE PROCEDURE FOR OPERATING OIL AND COOLANT SHUTTERS ON THE P-51D If AUTOMATIC operation of oil and coolant shutters fail due to thermostat or AUTOMATIC circuit failure, Check circuit breaker.
If it has popped out, push it back in. If it won't stay in, hold it in and Hold switch in manual OPEN (or CLOSED) long enough to open (or close) shutters, (approximately 15-20 seconds).
WARNING: DO NOT HOLD CIRCUIT BREAKER IN TOO LONG AS IT MAY START AN ELECTRICAL FIRE.
The above is an ALTERNATE procedure ONLY. If the electric motors are burned out, there is NO EMERGENCY PROCEDURE.

EMERGENCY EXIT
The cockpit enclosure may be released as a unit in an emergency.
The Emergency Release handle is located on the right forward side of the cockpit.
To release the canopy, pull the handle all the way back. Remember: Duck you head as you pull the handle to avoid a head injury.
To bail out, either of two procedures may be followed:
Release canopy, roll airplane over on its back and drop out.
Release canopy, climb out of cockpit, lower yourself onto the wing and roll off.

When the drop tanks are installed, the gear may not retract or extend properly due to aerodynamic forces causing a suction between the drop tanks and the fairings on the landing gear; to break this suction it is necessary to yaw the airplane from side to side.

Joe: "The bulge (Ardennes) was a big suprise, we knew the Luftwaffe was unable to do anything ofensive and thought the ground troops and panzers were as bad off. Ground support missions were out of the question until after christmass because of horrible weather. We flew escort missions during this time. My plane was hit on two occasions, One by a ME-109 and the other by Flak. Neither were serious. Toward the end we were released after target was hit, more than earlier in the tour. One squadron would seek targets of opportunity, air or ground. during the Rhine crossing we flew low level fighter sweeps to stop all movement of German troops or supplies toward the front. The P-51 with a liquid cooled engine was very vulnerable to ground fire. hitting a coolant line would bring us down in minutes. My last mission was April 25 an escort mission to Hallein. No enemy action, it was the last mission we flew. It was over.

Joe: "The only short coming the Mustang had was the fuselage tank that was installed to give a extra 85 gallons of fuel.It shifted the center of gravity and made the plane very unstable in turns.We would burn it down to less than 45 gallons as soon as possible before any combat. Other than that the P-51 was a pilots Dream plane."

Assignment 357th FG 362nd FS Leiston England

Joe; "I did not keep a private Log or diary and Have no idea what most of the missions targets were. Most of them were escort, a few were fighter sweeps looking for ground transportation to cripple. Air fields were targets we hit sometimes after we were released after the bombers had hit the target. By VE Day we had seen all that Hitler had to offer including, V1s, V2s and ME 262s. The first 2 we let the RAF take care of. The ME 262 was just another fighter and fair game if you could catch it. The 357th shot down 18 of them and that is a record. I saw ME 262s a few tmes but never got close enough to fire at one or vice versa. The best combat advice I recieved was from Chuck Weaver, my 1st flight leader, never let your head stop turning."

Lt. Joseph Black. 362nd Fighter Squadron. P-51D 44-63880 G4-N "Mary's Li'l Lamb" profile - Nick King Artist courtest Peter Randall

[ NOTE: Just a few of the adversaries faced by a p-51 pilot in 1944 and into 1945

Focke Wulf 190......Messerschmitt 109........Messerschmitt 410
Notes: [Being over their own territory even outmoded aircraft like the Me-410 were used to lob rockets into the formations and bomb from above. Sometimes the Luftwaffe pilots even had time to land and take another fuled and armed plane up to hit the bombers on the way back out.

As the Allies Air Fleets drove deeper into Germany the Luftwaffe pulled in fighters from the Eastern Front and introduced the first jets & rocket fighters. The Allies had nothing that could touch these fighters until after the war ended. They had to be caught in their landing patterns or in the rockets case when they ran out of fuel and were gliding back to earth.

Joe: "I found the K-14 sight very effective. Most pilots put a piece of tape on the wing span footage of the ME-109 & FW-190 for aerial combat. that about covered it. It is always better to fly up his butt but you don`t always have that luxury so the K-14 gives you your lead. I trained with towed sleeve targets. "

[Pilots gunnery varied through out the war, some were naturals other developed an eye for deflection shooting and others still got so close before firing that if they hit the enemy they with out a doubt were going down. Late in the war a gyroscopic gunsite was developed but its usefulness was at times questionable. ]

Joe: "I was Col. Evans wing man when he shot down a Me-109. I escorted a wounded B-17 home to England but we were not attacked. A link to a 357th Web site story featuring Joe in a specific combat action.

As the Allied aircrews always fought over enemy territory there were few good choices if your plane was severely damaged. [ Through out the war Mustang pilots found them selves being attacked not only by Axis pilots but also their own. More than one found himself floating down into Germany the victim of a P-38 or Thunderbolt pilot who mistook the silhoutte of the P-51 for the Me-109 in the heat of combat. More than once the Germans hit American and Russian formations only to look back and see the two Allies fighting each other as they hedgehopped home. In a badly damaged aircraft even if you could pull yourself out of the cockpit , hard enough if you were wounded, the centrifugal forces of a spinning or tumbling aircraft would pin you down to face fire or exploding ordinance & the inevitable crash into the earth. The German civilians at the prompting of Propaganda Minister Goebbles late in the war shot, beat and hanged air crew they captured. Ironically it was the German Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe that often had to save the surviving crews from the towns people and local SS groups.]

Joe: "We thought we would get sent to the Pacific theater but I guess the great minds decided that war was about finished and the sent us to Neubiberg Germany as Air force of occupation. We packed up the big stuff and it was truck convoyed to Neubiburg Germany, The 100th B.G. flew what they could handle and on July 29th 1945 the pilots flew the P 51s to R-85 at Neubiberg near Munich. We had hardly any duties, a few air shows for the big brass and some great trips to rest and relax. I came home March 17th 1946 as inative reserve and was never called up again.

I was employed by the Atlantic Refining Co, later named Arco for 36 years. I retired in 1982 as a foreman of the three reformer units at the Philadelphia. Refinery.

Marianne and I were married March of 1949. We were pals from pre war and grew into more than pals after the war. The union was blessd by five children and a flock of grand children. "Mary`s Li`l Lamb" was a P51D and was assigned to me about my 6th mission. It`s I.D. was G4 N. 362nd F.S., 357th F.G. She was my only companion for the rest of my missions.

Lt. Joseph Black. 362nd Fighter Squadron. P-51D 44-63880 G4-N "Mary's Li'l Lamb" Pictured from left, S/Sgt. Todd Brightman, assistant crew chief; Sgt. Bill Martin, armourer; Lt. Black & T/Sgt Stan Bronowski, crew chief. photo - Lt. Joe Black
Lt. Joseph Black. 362nd Fighter Squadron. P-51D 44-63880 G4-N "Mary's Li'l Lamb" Lt. Black with crew chief T/Sgt. Stan Bronowski photo - Lt. Joe Black

Joe was awarded the Air medal with 2 oak leaf clusters, 2 Presidential citations and the appropriate campaign ribbons.

Air Medal (Est 1942) Criteria: Heroic actions or meritorious service while participating in aerial flight. Devices: Bronze Oak Leaf, Silver Oak Leaf

European - African - Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (Est 1942) Dates: 1941-45 Criteria: Service in the European - African - Middle Eastern theater for 30 days or receipt of any combat decoration. Devices: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Bronze Arrowhead

World War II (WWII) Victory Medal (Est 1945) Dates: 1941-46 Criteria: Awarded for service in US Armed Forces between 1941 and 1946. Notes: None.

E-Mail Me @ worldwar2mem@yahoo.com

357th FG / 8th AAF link

357th FG Leiston link

357th Link

Bud Anderson Web Site

Little Friends Peter Randall web site. source of P-51 Drawing and crew identifications on Joes Photos.

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