|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | Ace with 18.50 Victories |
| Colonel Charles Older - Signed Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Pilot and Aircrew Signatures |
|
|
| Text for the above items : |
Triple Dates With Destiny by Stan Stokes. Chuck Older was born in California in 1914. He graduated from UCLA and entered the U.S. Marine Corps. in 1940. He earned his wings as an aviation cadet, and was assigned to VNIF-1. In mid-1941, anxious to see some action, Chuck resigned his USNIC commission and joined Claire Chennaults American Volunteer Group. He was assigned to the 3rd Pursuit Squadron Hells Angels and experienced his first combat in December of 1941. In the first two combat missions he flew on December 23 and December 25, 1941, Older would be credited with downing five Japanese aircraft becoming one of the first two AVG aces. He bagged four more enemy aircraft prior to mid-1942 when the AVG was disbanded. In mid-1942 Older returned to the States and accepted a commission with the USAAF. He commanded a P-38 squadron for a time, and in 1944, having been promoted to Major, he was sent back to China to serve once again with General Claire Chennault, this time with the 14th Air Force. Chuck served as Deputy Commander and Group Operations Officer for the 23rd Fighter Group. Flying P-5 Is for the first time, he downed as Oscar over Yochow on July 28, 1944. Promoted to Lt. Colonel, Older would down four more aircraft in December including three more Oscars and a Lilly. In January of 1945, Older bagged three different types of enemy aircraft on a single mission, including a Sonia, a Betty, and a Tess on the outskirts of Shanghai. His attack on the Sonia is depicted in Stan Stokes painting entitled Triple Dates With Destiny. Some artistic license has been utilized in the depiction. The artist has chosen to depict in the scene Olders regular aircraft, rather than the borrowed one he actually flew on the mission. Chucks regular mount had actually been destroyed the day before during a ground attack . Later, Older would lead the first attack on Shanghai with a flight of sixteen Mustangs. This successful mission caught the Japanese by surprise, and resulted in the destruction of more than seventy aircraft on the ground and five more in the air. Following the War, with a total of 18.25 aerial victories, Older left the Air Force. He earned a Law Degree from the University of Southern California, and entered the law profession. In 1952 he was recalled for the Korean War, and served with the 352nd Bomb Group based in Japan. He returned home and practiced law for fifteen years before Governor Ronald Reagan appointed him to the bench, as a Judge of the Superior Court in Los Angeles. Judge Older served the court for twenty years hearing both criminal and civil cases. He presided over the highly publicized Charles Manson murder case. Chuck retired from the bench in 1987 and continues to live in Los Angeles. His numerous decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the British Distinguished Flying Cross, the Chinese Air Force Medal and the Order of the Cloud Banner. In 1996, the USAF honored Older and other AVG members, and Chuck received the USAF Distinguished Flying Cross for his service with the AVG. |
Sayonara Sally by Stan Stokes. Claire L. Chennault retired in 1937 and began a second career in China where he set up a number of flying schools and airfields. A personal friend of Chiang Kai-shek Chennault was asked to organize a unit of experienced American combat pilots to help fight the Japanese. Chennault sent recruiters to American military installations and was able to organize the American Volunteer Group or AVG by late 1941. The group later became better known as the Flying Tigers, and their distinctive shark-mouthed P-40s became a well-recognized symbol. There were three AVG squadron; the Adam and Eves, the Panda Bears, and the Hells Angels. On December 23, 1941 sixty Sally heavy bombers of the 60th , 62nd , and 68th Sentai based at Bangkok and Phnom Penh were supposed to rendezvous over Bangkok and head to Rangoon for a bombing raid. The three units failed to join up as planned and they also failed to rendezvous with their fighter escorts for the mission. As the sixty aircraft approached Rangoon they were strung out and without the benefit of escort. None-the-less the determined Japanese pilots forged ahead. The AVG Flying Tigers were alerted at 10:00 AM with the alert message clear the field! Chuck Older and Ed Overend had been released from duty for some R&R, however when they hear the commotion created by the alert they returned to Mingladon Airfield and located two unused P40s, hopped in and went flying. Reaching an altitude of 8,000 feet they began to catch up with some other aircraft from the Hells Angels Squadron. They then spotted the huge conglomeration of Japanese bombers above them. I aimed at one of the wing planes on the left side of the formation and after my first attack, smoke began streaming from the port engine. I rolled out to the side and came back.... I aimed again at the same plane and closed to about seventy-five yards. I gave it a long burst, and the bomber suddenly nosed down out of the formation with smoke streaming behind. I saw it roll over into an almost vertical dive and disappear below me. As Older further recalled I continued making attacks from below, this time aiming at the leader of the formation.... I saw the bomber explode.... and flame and smoke seemed to pour out from the bottom of the fuselage. I saw debris falling from this plane immediately after the explosion. The bomber nosed straight down with flames and smoke pouring from it. Two days later the AVG would decimate an even larger formation of Japanese bombers, forcing the Japanese to adopt a policy of bombing only at night. |
| Colonel Charles Older Aircraft details |
| Colonel Charles Older Squadron details |
|
Contact Details |
|
Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com
|
|
|
