Richardson Stanley P Capt

Assigned Aircraft

P-38H CL-X 42-67057 "Miss Mona" (Roger Freeman)
P-38J CL-X 42-67305 "Miss Mona"
P-51D CL-X 44-13743 (Later flown by Lt. Mercurio and named "Skippy")
"My aircraft was always CL-X except for an early mission or two when I flew CL-A (with a bar under the A). It was a new "H" model. The squadron had more airplanes than letters in the alphabet so some had a bar beneath the letter."
(Stanley P. Richardson Jr.)

Mission History

Not Known

Mission List

55th FG Mission #	Date	Target
101	25 May 1944	Liege (Returned early as right engine rough. Flight time 2hrs 15 mins)
147	11 June 1944	Targets in France

Air Scores

1-0-0

Ground Scores

0-0

Score Detail

11 June 1944 Me-109 destroyed (air) Beauvais

Notes

Ground Crew: Crew Chief was Vincent W. Spencer, Assistant Crew Chief was William H. Dodd, Armorer was John J. Forde, and later Wilbur A. Mills.
"The 338th squadron call sign was Warcraft while at Nuthampstead. I was Warcraft 60."
(Stanley P. Richardson Jr.)
07 December 1943 - Assigned to the 338th Fighter Squadron
24 June 1944 - Appointed Flight Commander of "B" Flight
06 August 1944 - Awarded Oak Leaf Cluster to the Distinguished Flying Cross
16 August 1944 - Transferred to 496th Fighter Training Group

Memories

"Yeah...one confirmed at Beauvais. Actually I pranged two 109s on that mission, but only one confirmed." (Stanley P. Richardson Jr.)

"During WW II, as different from now, it was easy to 'bum' a ride in any aircraft you wished to fly. After completing my tour I was assigned to a training squadron at Atcham, near Shrewsbury, to train incoming fighter pilots in the combat tactics used by the Germans. There was one squadron of Spits, one of P-47 Thunderbolts, and one of '38s. Over a few mild and bitters at the club, the fighter instructors would agree to exchange rides in each others airplanes. I was never combat-ready in either the Spit or the Jug, but had many hours of fun flying those birds. One of the Spits I flew had served in the Battle of Britain and I really enjoyed flying the Mk VB. That all came to an end when one of the RAF guys overshot a landing in a Lightning, went off the end of the runway, flipped over, and burned. The base commander put an end to our fun." (Stanley P. Richardson Jr. Nov 2004)

"I remember the tarmac was slippery as hell. We raced the big Cletrac trucks, used to move airplanes, down the taxiways. The Cletrac's had wide "tank type" rubber treads and two upright controls were used to slow one of the treads when a turn was needed. Pull back on both and the Cletrac came to stop. During one of our "drag races," Bob Fruh started a sideways slide on the slippery tarmac, and the Cletrac slid off the taxiway sideways, and into the mud alongside. Of course, the Cletrac rolled over onto its side. Bob wasn't hurt 'cause he bailed off OK. His wallet suffered some damage though because the squadron CO fined him for the damage to the Cletrac. The fine constituted of many scotch and sodas I fear. It didn't take much to entertain us young, wild, fighter pilots." (Stanley P. Richardson Jr. Jan 2005)