|
RARE WWII ACE’S FLIGHT LOG BOOK
– 15TH USAAF, 52ND FIGHTER GROUP,
5TH FIGHTER SQUADRON P-51 PILOT – LOG ENTRIES
INCLUDE NOTATIONS ON ALL FIVE AIR VICTORIES:
A rare offering, this is the Pilot’s Log Book of LTC
(ret) James W. Empey, a career US Air Force pilot and
most notably, a documented World War Two Fighter Ace who
secured his five air victories while flying his P-51
over the skies of southern and eastern Europe in 1944.
In December 1943, Lieutenant
Empey shipped out for North Africa, reporting to the 5TH
Fighter Squadron, 52ND Fighter Group, 15TH
US Air Force. Empey began his war flying U.S. Army
Spitfires and it wasn’t until after the squadron was
moved to Corsica that they received the P-51 Mustangs in
March of 1944. Empey’s pride in being issued his own
P-51 is noted in his log, "GOT MY OWN SHIP - No. U.
(Hot damm!). During the course of Empey’s service
in Europe, his flights included escorting flights of
B-24’s and B-26’s on bombing missions to Poland, the
famed Ploesti Oil Fields, and over the German homeland.
LT. EMPEY
ca.
1944
As a result of Empey’s good
nature and his ability to engage almost anyone in
conversation, his squadron mates dubbed him the “Little
Ambassador”. The nick name stuck and when the squadron
received their newly issued P-51’s, it seemed a natural
fit to paint the same name on the nose of Empey’s
plane.
Scoring all five of his air
victories in this P-51 during a 30 day period, Empey
destroyed a Me-109 west of Weiner Neustadt, Germany on
May 29TH, 1944 – his first – and on June 11Th
he destroyed two Me-109s over Sofia, Bulgaria.
Assigned to escort a flight of
B-24’s on a mission over Munich on June 13, 1944, Empey
was flying the “Little Ambassador” in the fourth slot of
Blue Flight. Empey spotted a JU-88 below him and dove
to attack. Making continuous passes on the German
aircraft, and avoiding enemy return fire, Empey saw his
gunnery scoring hits on the JU-88’s engine and cockpit
and witnessed the aircraft crash into the German
countryside and burn, scoring his fourth air victory.
Empey attained his “Ace” status on July 28TH
with the destruction of a Me-109 south west of
Bucharest, Hungry.
Empey returned to the United
States and after the war he was discharged to return
home to his native New York. Before long, he rejoined
the service, and made the transition to the US Air Force
when it was created in 1947, serving 30 years before his
retirement in 1972 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
In addition to his combat flight time in Europe, he also
flew a considerable number of combat missions in
Vietnam. Empey logged an impressive flight career
including time in the P-39, P-40, the Spitfire, P-51,
F-84, F-86, F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104, B-17, B-25,
C-47, C-123, L-20, T-28, T-33, O1-A (L-19) and notably
in a JU-52. He logged a total of 5,437 hours of
military flight time, including a total of 1,327 hours
of combat time.
On a personal note, Empey
eventually retired in San Antonio, Texas and it was here
that I met and got to know him as Jim. Despite his
advancing years and the toll an active life had taken on
his body, Jim was as pleasant a man to be around as you
would hope for - quick with a laugh, even quicker for
one of the jokes he was known for, and never at a loss
for a good story. There are two notable stories of his
that poignantly framed his career that I still treasure
– the first occurred as a young “hot shot” pilot in
Italy being dressed down by his plane captain after
returning from a mission and having melted the barrels
of the machine guns on his plane, and the second of a
chilling episode over the skies of Vietnam while flying
an O1-A in support of an American army regiment engaged
in a desperate battle below. Both are a bit long to
relate here, but will be shared with the eventual owner
of this grouping.
In addition to the impressive
collection of flight helmets and the related equipment
from not only the United States air forces, but from the
air forces of nations around the world, Jim was also a
very discriminating and well informed collector of 19th
Century Colt Firearms, M-1 Carbines, and 20th
Century military pistols. He was one of those rare
gentleman collectors that we are fortunate to meet on
occasion, and whether you were buying or not, you were
always welcome at his show tables or in his den.
After Jim passed away in 2013,
I had the opportunity to obtain a number of items from
his collection and some of the pieces related to his
service, in particular to his early aviation days in
Europe. Of special note, I was able to purchase his
Pilots Log Book, in which he recorded his flights from
his early days at flight school in 1942 through March of
1988 when he apparently stopped piloting. Of special
note are the entries which include notations of his five
air victories.
Included in the sale of the log
will be the following items:
* Empey’s original Student
Pilot Certificate issued in 1942;
* Empey’s original Geneva
Convention Card;
* Empey’s business card noting
his life membership in the American Fighter Aces Asso.;
* Empey’s last DOT medical
certificate issued in 1988;
* A photograph of Empey and
autographed by him, taken shortly after he was assigned
his P-51 in 1944;
* A copy of a newspaper
article autographed by Empey, published after his
retirement detailing his career and accompanied by a
WWII era photograph of Empey seated on the edge of the
P-51’s cockpit;
* A cartoon depicting Empey
in his P-51 ca. 1944;
* A print of Thomas A.
Tullis’s “North American P-51B Mustang, 1st.
Lt. James W. Empey, 5th F.S., 52nd
F.G., 15th A.F.” depicting Empey’s P-51,
Little Ambassador as it appeared during his service
in Italy, 1944. The print measures 17” x 11” and is
autographed by Empey.
* A limited edition, numbered
print of “The Little Ambassador Speaks”, executed as
part of the series commissioned by the American
Fighter Aces Association to document in art one notable
air victory for as many of the surviving World War Two
American Air Aces as possible. The numbered print,
bearing the original signatures of both the artist and
Empey, depicts the aerial combat that resulted in
Empey’s fourth air victory.
* Empey’s USAAF Officer’s
Service or Garrison Cap, dress khaki with the bullion
cord trim and bearing his lieutenant colonel’s
insignia.
This is a seldom encountered
opportunity to acquire a rare World War Two Ace’s flight
log which records not only his air victories, but his
career spent in many different aircraft up through the
Vietnam War. Accompanied with other records and
memories of his experiences during World War Two, this
is an exceptional grouping.
SOLD
|
