Dan Steele

A great photograph of Lt Col Julius “Jack” Almond being directed for another photograph next to his ship “Sweet Sue”.

I believe this was taken at RAF Beaulieu not long after his unit, 387th Fighter Squadron, 365th Fighter Group “Hell Hawks”, arrived in the Spring of 1944.

The photograph that appears to be taken here is actually featured in the fantastic book, Thunderbolts of the Hell Hawks². The book was also used as a reference for the colour work on “Sweet Sue”.

1. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/137626
2. Barnes, D; Crump, J & Sutherland, R 2011, Thunderbolts of the Hell Hawks Barracuda Graphs

Lieutenant Colonel Louis T. Houck, Commander of 387th Squadron, 365th Fighter Group “Hell Hawks”.

Seen sitting in the cockpit of his P-47D “Screamin’ Weemie” (42-26462), wearing his iconic “Devil Horns” helmet^1,2.

1. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/239902
2. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/3071

365th Fighter Group Commander, Colonel Ray James Stecker, photographed sat in a P-47D-27-RE at A-7 Azeville Advanced Landing Ground¹.

The ruins of Château de Fontenay can be seen in the background, which was destroyed by fire earlier in the war.

1. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/241408