The American Fighter Aces Association Oral Interviews The Museum of Flight Seattle, Washington Louis E. Curdes Interviewed by: Douglas E. Clanin Interview Date: April 13, 1991 2 Abstract: Fighter ace Louis E. Curdes is interviewed by historian Douglas E. Clanin about his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Curdes describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time with the 82nd Fighter Group in the Mediterranean Theater and with the 3rd Air Commando Group in the Pacific Theater. He also touches on his postwar career with the United States Air Force. Topics discussed include his time as a prisoner-of-war in Italy, his escape back to Allied-controlled territory with the help of Italian Partisans, his combat missions in Europe and the South Pacific, and his participation in the Berlin Airlift. Biography: Louis E. Curdes was born on June 11, 1919 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He joined the United States Army Air Forces in 1941 and graduated from flight training the following year. Curdes served two combat tours during World War II, one with the 82nd Fighter Group in North Africa and one with the 3rd Air Commando Group in the South Pacific. During his time in the Mediterranean Theater, he spent several months as a prisoner-in-war in Italy; he eventually escaped back to Allied lines with the help of Italian Partisans. Curdes remained in the military after the war and retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1963. Some of his postwar assignments include helping to form the Indiana Air National Guard and participating in the Berlin Airlift. Curdes passed away in 1995. Biographical information courtesy of: Boyce, Ward J., ed., American fighter aces album. Mesa, Ariz: American Fighter Aces Association, 1996. Restrictions: Permission to publish material from the American Fighter Aces Association Oral Interviews must be obtained from The Museum of Flight Archives. Transcript: Transcribed by Pioneer Transcription Services 3 Index: Personal background ....................................................................................................................... 4 Interest in aviation........................................................................................................................... 6 Joining the United States Army Air Forces .................................................................................... 6 Flight training.................................................................................................................................. 8 Missions with the 82nd Fighter Group ........................................................................................... 9 Time as a prisoner of war and escapee ......................................................................................... 10 Return to the States ....................................................................................................................... 15 Postwar trip to Italy ....................................................................................................................... 16 Aerial victories and service record ............................................................................................... 17 Transferred to the 3rd Air Commando Group .............................................................................. 18 Deployment to the South Pacific .................................................................................................. 20 Details about the Douglas C-47 shoot-down ................................................................................ 21 Aerial victory against a Mitsubishi Ki-46 Dinah .......................................................................... 21 Mission details, part one ............................................................................................................... 22 Interactions with Generals and other fighter pilots ....................................................................... 23 Mission details, part two ............................................................................................................... 24 Postwar service ............................................................................................................................. 25 Berlin Airlift.................................................................................................................................. 27 Family background and conclusion .............................................................................................. 28 4 Louis E. Curdes [START OF INTERVIEW] [Begin Side A] 00:00:00 [Personal background] DOUGLAS E. CLANIN: My name is Douglas Clanin. I’m an editor with the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis. I’m in the north side of Fort Wayne, Indiana on April 13th, 1991, beginning this tape recording at approximately 3:15 p.m. I’m in the home of Mr. Louis Curdes. Is that how you pronounce your name, sir? Curdes? Which is a German extraction, I believe. Spelled C-U-R-D-E-S. Mr. Curdes, what is your full name? LOUIS E. CURDES: Louis Edward Curdes. DEC: And where and when were you born? LEC: 2 November 1919, Fort Wayne, Indiana. DEC: What were the names of your parents? LEC: Walter L. and Esther H. Curdes. DEC: Did you have any brothers and sisters? LEC: One sister. DEC: What were your parents’ principle occupation when you were growing up? 00:00:54 LEC: My mother was a school teacher for—before she met my father. And then she was a house-make—or homemaker. And my father was in the development and home-building real estate. DEC: Where did you attend elementary and high school? LEC: Forest Park School for grade school. North Side High School for high school. 00:01:20 DEC: Did you have a major field of study while you were in high school? LEC: College Prep. 5 DEC: Were you active in sports in high school? LEC: I was until my coach caught me smoking. DEC: What sports did you participate— LEC: Basketball and track. DEC: Where—did you win letters in any of those sports? LEC: I did not. DEC: What year did—were you kicked out of the—off the team? LEC: My freshman year. DEC: Oh. LEC: [chuckles] 00:01:49 DEC: Did you have any jobs—well, for example, assisting your dad—during your high school years? LEC: Oh yes. I cut the weeds off the lots, and we were a development—[clears throat]— development company. And had hundreds and hundreds of lots and rental homes. And I maintained them to the best of a teenager’s ability. DEC: Upon your graduation from high school, which would have been in what? LEC: 1938. DEC: Did you continue to do that type of work? Or did you gain, uh— LEC: No. I went to school. And on summer vacations I worked in construction. DEC: And I noticed that you joined just prior to Pearl Harbor. That’s kind of interesting. LEC: The Saturday before. Yeah. DEC: Did you have an inkling that something was going to happen? LEC: None. DEC: And why did you decide to join? 00:02:52 6 LEC: [sighs] I really don’t know why. I wanted to fly. But I don’t think anybody knows really why they want to join the service. They can all reflect and say, “Well, I was very patriotic. I didn’t like Hitler and Mussolini and—” But I had no idea that Pearl Harbor was coming. But honestly, I don’t think I could say why. [Interest in aviation] DEC: That’s interesting. You’re the first person I ever talked to that joined just prior to Pearl Harbor, the day before it actually happened. And you had a prior experience in flying. You indicated that you had an interest in flying. Prior to the war, did you— LEC: Oh, I have an intense interest. My father was an aviation buff. And he helped Art Smith at—out our local Memorial Park here—with his aircraft and getting it airborne. And he took me out to Smith Field. And I got a ride, when I was around eight, nine years old, in the World War I Jenny. And my father also took me to the Cleveland Air Races. He took me to Akron while they were building the Akron and down to Georgia when they were making the Macon. And, uh—no, I was—shall I say—but at that time, I had quite a lot of exposure for a normal kid. DEC: Were you active in the Civil Air Patrol? LEC: No. They didn’t have it then. DEC: Oh. They didn’t have it prior to that. Did you know Margaret Ray, who also flew out at Smith Field prior to World War II? LEC: I did not. DEC: She became a WASP and lives here on north side of Fort Wayne. And I thought possibly—there’s pictures of her taken at Smith Field, where she was flying. 00:04:56 LEC: No, I did not know her. [Joining the United States Army Air Forces] DEC: Okay. When you joined the service, at that point and time—this was prior to Pearl Harbor—did you—by enlisting, you enlisted into the Army. Did you specify that you wanted to get into aviation? Could you do that? LEC: Oh, that’s what I went in for. I took the exams and had the academic records to go into what they called then a Flying Cadet. Became the Aviation Cadet later on. And there was about 7 three or four of us in Fort Wayne, and we were sent to Santa Ana, California. I’ll never forget, my father took us down to a bar close to the Nickel Plate Railroad and bought us all a beer and sent us off on our merry way to Santa Ana. Now, that wasn’t the 6th, though, of December. They’d put us on what they called a private—enlisted us as a private unassigned and sent us home and paid us a phenomenal sum of 21 dollars a month. DEC: When were you finally shipped out to Santa Ana? LEC: I think it was a month or so later. 00:06:11 DEC: Hm-hmm [affirmative]. This will