WW II COMBAT MISSION SUMMARY

for

Lesley B. Hull, 1st Lt., USAAF

25 September 1944

to

21 February 1945

Prepared by

D. F. Plummer,

Bellevue, Washington

April, 2000

© 1998 L.B. Hull and D.F. Plummer

WW II COMBAT MISSION SUMMARY

for Lesley B. Hull, 1st Lt., USAAF

Lesley Barton Hull was born on 16 June, 1921, (near San Francisco, California?).  He entered the US Army Air Corps at Salinas Army Air Field, Salinas, California, on 29 June, 1942.  He began glider pilot training at an Air Corps contract flying school near Antigo, Wisconsin, in September, 1942, and soloed in a Piper Cub aircraft after 8 hours dual instruction.  At the contract school, he accumulated 30 hours flying time, then was transferred to ‘dead-stick’ school at Plano, Texas.  At Plano, he continued his pilot training, accumulating another 30 hours dual/solo time in Aeronca type aircraft.  At the completion of the ‘dead-stick’ school, he was scheduled to move on to glider training school at 29 Palms, California.

At the time Hull completed his training at Plano, the Air Corps glider program was drastically cut back.  However, he then qualified for aviation cadet flight training, and entered pre-flight school at Santa Ana, California, in class 44-B in May, 1943.[1]

Hull began his primary pilot training as an aviation cadet at Blythe, California, flying the Ryan PT-22, an open cockpit aircraft.  He accumulated 30 flying hours in the Ryan aircraft.  He was next sent to Basic flight school at Lenore Army Air Field, California.  At Lenore, he trained in the Vultee BT-13 “Vibrator”, and the Cessna HC-78 twin-engine trainer, in which he accumulated another 30 hours flying time.  He then proceeded to Advanced flying training at Douglas, Arizona, where he accumulated another 30 hours of flight time.  At the completion of Advanced training he received his pilot’s wings and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Army Air Corps on 8 February, 1944[2].

At the completion of his pilot training, Hull requested an assignment to multi-engine aircraft, and was therefore sent for transition training in B-17 Flying Fortresses at the first-pilot school, located at Hobbs Air Base, New Mexico.  Hull completed his training two months later after accumulating 90 hours in the B-17 aircraft.

After completing B-17 transition training, he picked up his crew in Lincoln, Nebraska and was then transferred to Ardmore, Oklahoma, for combat crew training in June, 1944.  This training was completed in August, 1944, about the time the US 3rd Army was breaking out of the hedgerows of Normandy.  With his new crew, he picked up a brand new B-17 and ferried it to England via Goose Bay, Labrador, and Iceland.  They completed this flight at Vally, Wales, where the aircraft was left for combat modification.

LT. Hull and his crew continued on to their base at Sudbury, Suffolk, England.  When he landed in Wales, Hull was 23 years old, had accumulated about 250 hours of pilot time during pilot training, and had about 200 additional hours in the B-17 aircraft.  At the Sudbury base, he and his crew were assigned to the 832nd Bomb Squadron of the 486th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force.  On 25 September 1944 he flew his first combat mission to Ludwigshafen, Germany; however, the mission was diverted to Strasbourg, France (about 100km SSW).  A summary of his 35 missions follows[3].

Except where noted, the original crew that assembled and trained together in the U.S. flew all 35 missions together.  Hull and co-pilot Bill Roberts flew every mission together.  Roberts declined an opportunity to have his own crew at about mission 20; he elected to stay with Hull’s crew, deciding he had a better chance of coming home alive flying with a crew he knew and trusted.  Hull said, “I’ll be forever grateful for that decision. He was a mature 27, a maturity I relied on many times.”

(Preparer's note:  After discharge from the USAAF in  late 1946, Hull entered the University of Denver, graduating in (?) with a degree in (?).  In early 1951 he traveled to Seattle and was employed as a template maker by the Boeing Airplane Co.  (I met Hull when I was also employed as a template maker in June, 1951.)  In early 1952 he was recalled to active duty, and completed transition training to B-29 aircraft at (?AFB).  He was subsequently assigned to the 15th (?) Air Force, and flew B-29 combat missions over Korea beginning in January 1953.  Hull remained in the USAF until his retirement as a Lt. Col. and command pilot in 1970.)

Following his retirement, he and his family moved to the San Jose/San Francisco area.  In late 1995, Hull acquired a 'Thunder Gull' ultralight aircraft and renewed his pilot's license.  Early in 1996 he began planning a 'round-the-U.S.' flight in the aircraft.  His plan was to fly over each of the state capitols and photograph them from his aircraft (as proof of his 'visit').  He wanted to "... be the first person in aviation history to fly to all 48 contiguous states on a single continuous cross-country flight in an ultra-light aircraft."

Hull began his trip in late summer, 1996; he had planned to overfly Sacramento, continue on to Carson City, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, etc., continuing over the southern states, north along the Atlantic coast, then head west along the northern states, completing the trip with overflights of Olympia, Washington, Salem, Oregon, and retruning finally over Sacramento and home to Half Moon Bay, California (he kept his aircraft at Paso Robles).  However, he altered his plan and flew north, over much of California, Oregon and Washington, and continued on east.  On  4 October 1996, after photographing Nebraska's capitol, Hull was making a landing approach to a grass field near Auburn, Nebraska, when his aircraft struck an electrical transmission line which he apparently failed to see during final approach.  Hull was probably killed instantly, though attempts were made to revive him.  He was honored with a military ceremony at the Presidio in November 1996.)

WW II COMBAT MISSION SUMMARY

for

Lesley B. Hull, 1st Lt., USAAF
 

LBH awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for this mission.

LBH was only crew member wounded during all 35 missions! He was awarded the Purple Heart.