Russ Hiatts WWII Aircraft Photos

from France
Courtesy of Bob Kennedy
& Gerald Liang
uss Hiatt, a Life Member of AAHS, a USAAF veteran of WWII,
aviation photographer and a great guy passed away in early 2005.
Because of the generosity of Bob Kennedy who now has the Hiatt
Collection and Gerald Liang who did the darkroom work, we can share
these photos with the AAHS Membership.
Russ Hiatt was raised in Bakersfield, Calif., and was an airplane nut
all his life. The U.S. Army Air Corps had summer maneuvers in
Bakersfield, Fresno or Delano in the 1930s, and the U.S. Navy used
Bakersfield as a refueling stop on training flights between the San Francisco
area and San Diego. During these times, Russ would borrow a camera and
hustle over to Bakersfield Airport and photograph as much of the activity as
he could, film being the limiting factor.
Russ entered the U.S. Army Air Forces in early WWII and was trained
to be an aerial gunner. He became so proficient at accurately firing a
machine gun that he became a gunnery instructor. Later he served as a tail
gunner in a Martin B-26 in the European Theater of WWII. After WWII,
Russ worked for Union Oil and lived for many years in Taft, Calif.
This selection of photographs come from various airfields in France
during the latter stages of WWII, and show a nice cross-section of 8th and Russ Hiatt, the tail gunner servicing his twin .50s
9th AF aircraft of the USAAF, including some rarely seen ones.
of his Martin B-26.

Northrop P-61A-5-NO, 42-5549, 9th AF.

299

de Havilland DH-98 Mosquito, P.R. Mk XVI, NS 559 (Hatfield), 8th AF, 26 Bomb Group (R), 654 Bomb Squadron (SP) modified under
Red Stocking Program, 055 at A-83, Denain-Prouvy Airdrome, Valenciennes, France, April 1945.

Lockheed F-5E, 9th AF, 10th Photo Reconnaissance Group, 31st Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (8V-) at A-83, Denain-Prouvy
Airdrome, Valenciennes, France, April 1945.

Lockheed F-5E-3-LO, 44-24274, Kitty, 9th AF, 10th Photo Reconnaissance Group, 31st Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (8V-C) at
A-83, Denain-Prouvy Airdrome, Valenciennes, France, April 1945.

300

Journal: American Aviation Historical Society, Winter 2005

Martin B-26G-5-MA, 43-34330, 9th AF, 344th Bomb Group, 495th Bomb Squadron (Y5-A) at A-83, Denain-Prouvy Airdrome,
Valenciennes, France, April 1945.

Boeing B-17G-40-VE, 42-97952, c/n 7317, 8th AF, 3 BD, 45 CBW(H), 96th Bomb Group, 337th Bomb Squadron (AW-S) at A-83,
Denain-Prouvy Airdrome, Valenciennes, France, April 1945.

Republic P-47D-11-RE, 42-75314, 9th AF, 387th Bomb Group, 557th Bomb Squadron, KS Squadron hack.

301

Douglas A-26B-15DT, 43-22323, 9th AF, 416th Bomb Group, 668th Bomb Squadron, (5H-M) at A-69, Laon-Athies, France in February
1945.

A damaged North American P-51D Mustang, USAAF Laura Connine at A-83, April 1945.

A Waco CG-4A glider, 43-40454.

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Journal: American Aviation Historical Society, Winter 2005