Skill and Daring: Lt. Col. Neel Kearby

In the annals of World War II aerial combat, Butch O'Hare achieved a rare and amazing feat by shooting down five Japanese aircraft in one dogfight.  Incredibly, Lieutenant Colonel Neel Kearby surpassed his feat against equally long odds later in the war.

October 11, 1943: As the campaign for New Guinea raged in the air and the ground, allied pilots of the 348th Fighter Group sent out a reconnaissance patrol of four fighters in the vicinity of Wewak.  Their mission was to identify the locations of airfields and other ground installations for future American bombing runs.  The leader of the patrol was Lieutenant Colonel Neel Kearby, a short man only 5' 9" tall from Wichita Falls, Texas.  They flew the P-47D Thunderbolt, a rugged, sturdy fighter nicknamed "The Jug," that enjoyed an advantage in diving speed, but lacked maneuverability in a turning fight.  Kearby named his airplane "Fiery Ginger," after his wife.

With their reconnaissance mission complete, the four Thunderbolts had turned to head home, but Kearby saw a lone Japanese "Oscar" fighter plane and shot it down in a diving pass.  He shot down the Japanese Lieutenant Colonel Taniya Teranishi, a squadron commander with several kills to his credit.  Moments later, the patrol sighted a Japanese flight of 12 bombers escorted by as many as 36 fighters.  Kearby led them in a high arc behind the formation so that they could attack in a dive once again.  Swooping down from 8,000 feet above the Japanese, Kearby flamed one Oscar immediately.  A "Tony" fighter got on Kearby's tail, but his wingman, Captain Bill Dunham shot it down.  Kearby got another Oscar, then a third, while Captain John Moore, the trail airplane picked a second Japanese plane off of his tail.
Having accounted for six aircraft altogether, Kearby led his little patrol against a fleeing flight of "Tony" fighters.  He took one, then Moore shot one off of Kearby's tail for his second kill of the day.  As he pulled out of the pass, Moore saw two Tony's on his own tail and expected them to shred his aircraft.  Through brilliant maneuvering, however, Kearby got behind the Tonys and shot one down, possibly damaging the other, which dove for the ground.  Kearby had killed six aircraft in a feat of daring that made him as famous as his aircraft.
Sadly, after shooting down a total of 22 enemy aircraft, Colonel Kearby was shot down and killed on March 5, 1944.  He is pictured below with his wife, Virginia, whom he called Ginger.  Today, his medals are on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

As many veterans can attest, we lose some of our best and bravest.