3 likes. He joined the Army in March 1942 and graduated from pilot training at Luke Field, Arizona on December 3rd, 1942. Louis Curdes does what no other American ace has ever done: win a medal for downing an American plane. So he went back to his low level circling. A fourth plane was circling at 20,000 feet sending out a distress signal. Already sporting a trifecta of Axis victory markings on his P-51D, Bad Angel, Capt. He was interned as a Prisoner of War until October 1943. Captain Louis E. Curdes was assigned to the 95th Fighter Squadron, 82nd Fighter Group. Curdes and some other pilots escaped before the Germans took control of the PoW camp. On 24 June he shot down an Italian Macchi C.202 over Sardinia. Louis Edward Curdes (1919 - 1995) Lindenwood Cemetery Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana Air Force Lt. Col. Louis E. Curdes, the pilot of a P-51 Mustang dubbed “Bad Angel,” was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down an American C-47 that his girlfriend happened to be ab... read more. Captain Louis E. Curdes was assigned to the 95th Fighter Squadron, 82nd Fighter Group. While attacking the Japanese-held island of Batan, one of Louis’ wingmen was shot down. When darkness fell and still no help had arrived, Curdes figured all would be safe until dawn and returned to his base. _________________________________________________. He became one of only three Allied Pilots to shoot down at least one plane from each of the three Major Axis Nations. He also has the unusual distinction of having downed a United States aircraft. Tweet This. Close • Posted by. In Allen County, Indiana, 2 April 1946 he married Svetlana Valeria, one of the passengers of the C-47 he shot down in the Philippines. A few days later, the Italians surrendered to the Allies. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice and a Purple Heart. Curdes returned to active duty, this time again with the United States Air Force. As part of 4th Fighter Squadron, Curdes flew P-51D/20-NA #44-63272, Bad Angel. var linktext = "contact";
Curdes looked down to the tossing dinghy and figured the chances of a Catalina coming in for a rescue before dark. Curdes lined up his P-51 directly behind the C-47 and fired his .50 caliber machine guns into one of the C-47s two engines, causing it to fail. The C-47 settled into the water within yards of the downed fighter pilot's dinghy. Air Force Lt. Col. Louis E. Curdes, the pilot of a P-51 Mustang dubbed “Bad Angel,” was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down an American C-47 that his girlfriend happened to be aboard. As the squadron circled, Curdes could see that his companion had survived, and remained in the area to guide a rescue plane and protect the downed pilot. Curdes was one of the only three American pilots to shoot down aircraft of the German, Italian and Japanese air forces, belonging to the three main countries that comprised the Axis Powers. They had blasted three more on the ground at Batan before flak caught one of his flight. No airfield could be found and Curdes returned to the Philippines. Le 24 juin,toujours au large de la Sardaigne,il abat un Macchi C.202 Folgore et le 30 juillet touche un autre Me Bf-109 qui s echappe. At this point, the dusk and low level of fuel of the P-51 forced Curdes to return to base. Dernière visite : mer. Read this timeline from bottom to top to learn about this larger-than-life character. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice and a Purple Heart. Louis Edward Curdes (2 November 1919 – 5 February 1995) was a fighter pilot and flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. On Curdes P-51 the “Bad Angel”, he now added a Japanese flag indicating the downing of the “Dinah” and an American Flag for the transport. Peddinghaus Decals 1/72 North American P-51D-20NA Mustang "Bad Angel" Markings flown by Lieutenant Louis Edward Curdes from 4th Fighter Squadron / 3rd Air Commando Group at Laoag, Philippines in August 1945 WWII 2573 After nearly three years of study, Curdes joined the Army Reserve on 12 March 1942. Share your thoughts, experiences and the tales behind the art. He became a 2nd Lieutenant, and graduated from Flying School on 3 December 1942 at Luke Field, Arizona at the age of 22. If that wasn't outstanding enough, it's how he got an American flag kill mark on his fuselage that earned him a place in military history — and maybe even the Distinguished Service Cross. Jump to navigation Jump to search. Ten days later he shot down three German Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighters. 88% Upvoted. share. Contrary to subsequent reports, Curdes did not receive a Distinguished Flying Cross for that event, although he did receive credit for the "Kill" and displayed it on his aircraft.[3]. Problem with this page? var username = "joe";
A Jap flag and U.S. flag were added to the seven German and one Italian markings on the fuselage of his Mustang. He manoeuvred his P-51 in front of the plane several times trying to get the C-47 to alter course, but the C-47 maintained its course.[2]. His last two victories in Europe were two Me-109s over Benevento, Italy.[1]. The pilot ditched in the ocean. Louis Edward Curdes(November 2, 1919 – February 5, 1995) was an Americanflying aceof theUnited States Army Air Forcesduring World War II who held the unusual distinction of scoring an official air-to-air kill against another American Aircraft. It was getting along towards mid- afternoon, and the nights come fairly early off northern Luzon in the middle of February. The pilot had become lost during a flight from Art island in the southern Philippines and had been forced to head for the nearest visible strip because of a fuel shortage. Flew in North Africa & the Pacific, 1 of only 3 US Aces to claim kills agains all 3 Axis powers
Good Devil, Bad Angel and Unbelievable Hero « on: December 24, 2011, 12:27:55 PM » This is a 7-mission static semi-historical mini-campaign showing exploits of American ace Louis Edward Curdes. Lt. Col. Louis Edward Curdes was an American P51 flying ace during World War II who held an unusual kill ratio. He is the only person that has ever been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after shooting down his girl friend. 7 comments. The plane had apparently been lost in poor weather and its radio had stopped working. Curdes requested a return to active duty and joined the 4th Fighter Squadron and the 3rd Air Commando in the Pacific in August 1944, flying the P-51 Mustang.[3]. P-51 Mustang "Bad Angel" in Hanger #4 at the Pima Air and Space Museum. sept. 22, 2020 4:24 am Later, Lt. Curdes would end up marrying one of these nurses! He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice and a Purple Heart. Later he was sent to the Mediterranean theatre to fight against the Germans in southern Europe.[1][2]. “Bad Angel”. When he was 22 years old, he graduated flight training school and was shipped off to the Mediterranean to fight Nazis in the air over Southern Europe. The P-51 banked steeply, head on into the flak, and opened up with its fifties on the C-47’s right engine. document.write("" + linktext + "")
Curdes’ post-WWII Summary of Military Occupations may best sum up his wartime experience. Curdes gave a start and a shout when he glanced at the names of the survivors. Curdes was repatriated to the US and returned to his hometown in Fort Wayne. Talk:Louis Edward Curdes. Produced with enthousiasm, Peddinghaus has extensive coverage on various areas which can provide fine and unique details to … He joined the 329th Fighter Group, a unit of the United States Army Air Forces, but was transferred to the 82d Fighter Group, 95th Fighter Squadron, where he saw action in North Africa, Sardinia and Italy, flying a Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Lou Curdes returned back to the US in July 1945 and was discharged in September of 1946. Louis Curdes was born on 2 November 1919 to Esther (nee Kover) and Walter Curdes. (3 main powers: Germany, Japan & Italy)
The next morning, he accompanied the rescue PBY to pick up the downed C-47 pilot and 11 crew members, including two nurses, all of whom had survived the incident. This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Louis Edward Curdes article. Bingo! He grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and enrolled at Purdue University. At this point, the Jap ack-ack, opened up at Curdes’ P-51 but not at the transport. Curdes made wheels up forced landing on a beach South of Naples, Italy in … 16, 2020 5:51 am: Nous sommes le mer. Scalley and La Croix located a small Japanese airfield and attacked it and also called for reinforcements; Curdes and Schmidtke headed south to join them. And they were circling over the survivors when a rescue Catalina arrived to pick them up. On 27 August 1943, Curdes was shot down whilst in combat with German aircraft over Salerno, Italy. In 1942, the United States needed pilots for its war planes lots of war planes; lots of pilots. One of the nurses was the "date" he had been with the night before at Lingayen. save hide report. Captain Louis E. Curdes was assigned to the 95th Fighter Squadron, 82nd Fighter Group. His widow Valeria died on 10 October 2013 at the age of 87. Put new text under old text. The next morning before daylight, he and his wingman took off. After his retirement from the Air Force, he started a construction company under the name of Curdes Builders Company.[1]. Enlisted in December 1942
He was reassigned to the 4th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Air Commando Group (1945) where he flew the P-51), "BAD ANGEL". Louis Curdes was one. Louis Curdes was born on 2 November 1919 to Esther (nee Kover) and Walter Curdes. Louis E. Curdes sitting on his P-51D "Bad Angel" in, Pacific Campaign and shooting down an American aircraft, Pages containing cite templates with deprecated parameters, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II, Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States), "1LT Louis Edward Curdes (1919–1995) – Find A Grave Memorial", http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=163273697, "Louis Edward Curdes US Army AC (1919–1995) | WikiTree: The FREE Family Tree", "The American WWII Ace Who Shot Down 7 German, 1 Italian, 1 Japanese, And 1 American Plane", https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/american-wwii-ace-shot-7-german-1-italian-1-japanese-1-american-plane.html/2, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Louis_Edward_Curdes?oldid=4532598, Svetlana Valeria Shostakovich Brownell (1946). u/AJTHEMUSICGEEK. Scalley called for backup – they had found a small Japanese airfield and were attacking it. Pilot Lt. Louis Curdes in his P-51 Mustang “Bad Angel”. Dernière visite : mar. [3] The plane successfully ditched without breaking up, and the crew was able to evacuate into a lifeboat. He was reassigned to the 4th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Air Commando Group (1945) where he flew the P-51), "BAD ANGEL". His water bound charges had grown from one to thirteen. Later he was sent to the Mediterranean theatre to fight against the Germans in southern Europe. Peddinghaus Decals 1/32 North American P-51D-20NA Mustang "Bad Angel" Markings flown by Lieutenant Louis Edward Curdes from 4th Fighter Squadron / 3rd Air Commando Group at Laoag, Philippines in August 1945 WWII 2657 Related Trees. Third Air Commando Group was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down a C-47. By November 1944, parts of the Philippines were again under US control. [3] Flying over the island of Batan, the squadron split; Curdes and Lieutenant Schmidtke headed north, while Lieutenants Scalley and La Croix headed south. Louis Edward Curdes Louis E. Curdes sentado en su P-51 "Bad Angel", Filipinas, 1945. He was awarded theDistinguished Flying Crosstwice and aPurple Heart. //-->. While covering La Croix, Curdes noticed a larger plane was preparing to land at the Batan airfield. His unit was later transferred to Gabu Airfield in Laoag, Philippines from where he attacked Japanese positions in northern Luzon and Okinawa until the end of the war. Lt. Curdes was circling low over one of his P-51 pilots who was bobbing in his dinghy just off Jap field Batan Island. On 7 February 1945, Curdes flew a P-51 about 30 miles southwest of Taiwan, where he destroyed a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft Mitsubishi Ki-46-II. Up until this point, young Lt. Curdes combat career had been stellar. Stories about Louis Curdes (1919)Bad Angel"....History of a P-51 Fighter; Pima Air and Space Museum. He was promoted to Major on 1 September 1951, and retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel in October 1963. American fighter pilot and flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Louis Curdes, 4th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Air Commando Group, Mangaldan, Philippines, February 1945 A month into his Philippines tour, Curdes completed the hat trick. He flew a North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft with the nickname "Bad Angel". Pilot Lt. Louis Curdes in his P-51 Mustang “Bad Angel”. In less than a month of combat, Curdes was a flying ace. Curdes tried to make contact by radio, but was not successful. Curdes dived in to do a little strafing after all occupants of the transport climbed aboard life rafts, but he observed in time that the survivors were white. For shooting down an unarmed American transport plane, Lt. Louis Curdes was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Circling overhead, Louis could see that his wingman had survived, so he stayed in the area to guide a rescue plane and protect the downed pilot. What are your thoughts? Las calcomanías de las banderas debajo de la cabina de pilotaje se exhiben como marcas de los aviones que derribó: 7 alemanes, un italiano, un japonés y un estadounidense. As it was also running out of fuel, the pilot headed directly to the island's airstrip, unaware that it was under Japanese control. Pima Air and Space Museum Lt. Louis E. Curdes Louis Curdes was born November 2, 1919 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Louis Edward Curdes (2 November 1919 – 5 February 1995) was a fighter pilot and flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. La Croix approached and was brought on board the C-47's life raft, where he was informed about the situation. "Those damned Japs have patched up one of our buggies and didn't even have the grace to take the markings off" Curdes figured as he wheeled about to give the visitor a closer look. To Curdes's surprise, he discovered that one of the nurses, named Svetlana Valeria Shostakovich Brownell, was a woman with whom he had had a date the night before the incident. Bad Angel, pilot who shot down his future wife Friends: Another very unique WWII story of a US pilot who shot down German, Italian, Japanese planes and one US plane and who married later to a passenger of that US plane. A few weeks' later, Captain Louis E. Curdes of the 4th Fighter Squadron. Peddinghaus Decals is a specialty manufacturer from Germany known in the modeling community for producing decals sets and subjects not easily obtained elsewhere. It was the number of one of the "Jungle Skippers." John Tewell's flickr page seen HERE (used with permission), Some content on this site is probably the property of acesofww2.com unless otherwise noted. In total, he 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. [1] He flew a North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft with the nickname "Bad Angel". This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. After World War II, he joined an Air National Guard unit at Baer Field and remained there until 1948. déc. Le 19 mai,il abat 2 Me Bf-109 au large de la Sardaigne. Curdes' flight had knocked down two planes over the target, Curdes getting his first Nip since he came to the Pacific from the MTO last December. 16, 2020 5:51 am sept. 22, 2020 4:24 am: Nous sommes le mar. The ONLY one to shoot down a USAAF plane as well
Another pilot whose plane had the lowest gas in his tanks headed for home. And definitely the only one to shoot down his girl friend. The C-47 still maintained its course for the Batan's airfield so Curdes then disabled the remaining engine forcing the pilot to ditch in the sea. And, as the wheels came down on the transport, Curdes saw the American markings. He flew a North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft with the nickname "Bad Angel". Louis Curdes. Curdes made wheels up forced landing on a beach South of Naples, Italy in August 1943 when he ran low on fuel trying to return to N. Africa. Probably the only person to shoot down German, Italian, Japanese and American planes as well. He was commissioned a second lieutenant, and graduated from flight school on December 3, 1942 at Luke Field, Arizona. “FIGTHER PILOT, TWIN ENGINE, AND SINGLE ENGINE: Operated … Lt. Louis Curdes was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down the C-47, thereby saving its 12 occupants. 20 minutes ago. Louis Edward Curdes a commence a combattre en mars 1943 sur P-38 Lightning a Malte. Their objective was to investigate if the Japanese were using a temporary air strip on the southern tip of Taiwan. A quick run of thinking convinced Curdes there was only one thing to do since the plane would be Jap property as soon as it landed, if it was not already. As the transport headed out to sea, with one engine gone, Curdes made a 180 degree turn and cut loose on the other engine. Le 29 avril 1943,il abat le meme jour 3 Me Bf-109 et en touche un autre qui s enfuit. After almost three years of studying, Louis joined the Army Reserves on March 12, 1942. On 19 May he shot down two more Me-109s near Villacidro, Sardinia. His aircraft, the P-51 named "Bad Angel" is currently in the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona. He grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and enrolled at Purdue University. A mechanic works on the P- 51. Thereafter, on the fuselage of his P-51 "Bad Angel", he proudly displayed the symbols of his kills: seven German, one Italian, one Japanese and one American flag". By that time he had shot down aircraft from the three main countries of the Axis Powers: Germany, Italy and Japan.[1][2]. He joined the 329th FG, but transferred to the 82nd FG, 95th FS, where he saw action over North Africa, Sardinia and Italy flying P-38Gs. Thereafter, on the fuselage of his P-51 "Bad Angel", he proudly displayed the symbols of his kills: seven German, one Italian, one Japanese and one American flag. After nearly three years of study, Curdes joined the Army Reserve on 12 March 1942. He participated in the Berlin airlift during the opening stages of the Cold War. Suddenly, Curdes noticed a black speck coming from the southwest toward a Jap landing strip at Batan. I was admiring its aerodynamic lines and recalled enough history to know that until the Mustangs came into service, the skies over the Pacific Ocean were dominated by Japanese Zeros. He went to investigate and found the aircraft to be Douglas C-47 transport with US insignia. Location: Philippines; Date: 1945, July; Duration: 30 sec; Sound: NO SOUND; Clip: 65675033349; A P- 51D plane or Mustang of the 3rd Air Commando Group, 5th U.S. Army Air Force, being repaired in Philippines. They reached Allied territory on 24 May 1944. On 29 April 1943, he shot down three German Messerschmitt Bf 109 (Me-109) aircraft and damaged a fourth near Cape Bon, in Tunisia. On February 10, Curdes, now a Lieutenant, formed a squadron of four aircraft that departed from Mangaldan Airfield in the Philippines. [Right] Captain Louis E. Curdes sitting in his P-51 fighter "Bad Angel" - Philippines, 1945. It's not a mistake.