Description:


Great content typed D.S., 1p. folio, [n.p.], July 3, 1945, an award document issuing the Distinguished Flying Cross to Major Hubert M. Childress, 325th Reconnaissance Wing, U.S. Army Air Corps, for his contribution to the planning of the D-Day Invasion. In part: "On 2nd June 1944, Major Childress�volunteered to photograph at low altitude the bridges over the Loire River, so essential to planning the invasion of France. The mission was, with aircraft unsuited to low altitude flying and with relatively little experience, admittedly an extremely hazardous one. The Bridges were notably well defended�Upon leaving Nantes, Childress noticed that his vertical stabilizer had been badly damaged�he continued on his mission�At Tours, he was fired at by a gun emplacement at point blank range�left engine became unserviceable�continued up the Loire River on one engine, taking pictures until he reached Blois� produced oblique photographs of twenty-seven bridges�". The document additionally details the severe damage of Childress's plane: "�approximately one hundred twenty-five flak holes�serious loss of coolant�right stabilizer tip was practically demolished, the left wing flap cable severed, and the left ailaron cable badly frayed�" The document is signed at the conclusion by LEONARD SLATTER (1894�1961), British senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II, who ended his career as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Coastal Command. He adds his rank and the date "July 3, 1945." Very good.

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July 14, 2020 11:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

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