Four time, All American Football “Great” Tom Harmon is seen at the nose of his Lockheed P-38 Lightning as a member of the China based, 449th Fighter Squadron.
Harmon had been originally trained as a B-25 Bomber pilot, however after a delayed arrival in India cause by a weather related flight accident, Harmon was assigned to the P-38 equipped 449th Fighter Squadron, which at that time had a serious need for replacement pilots who had experienced with high performance twin engine aircraft.
While flying the Lightning, Harmon was credited with the destruction of two Japanese fighters in aerial combat. These two Japanese aircraft are described in the records of the 449th as “Zeros,” however, as it was common practice for most China based Army Air Forces pilots to simply refer to nearly all Japanese fighters as “Zeros.” the two fighters that were credited to Harmon were more probably Nakajima Ki-43 “Oscars.”
Following the War, Harmond returned to the world of sports, by becoming one of America’s most respected sports broadcasters and his son Mark Harmon, would become a well known television and motion picture actor.
Share On Facebook
Tweet It
