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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art World War Two Veteran Signatures United States H  Hall, Leonard |
[UP] - Haberman, Roger - Haeuser, Karl - Halkyard, James - Hall, Leonard - Hallow, Ed - Hammond, George - Hanson, Robert - Hardy, George - Hardy, Willis - Harper, Edwin - Harrington, Jay - Harris, Bill - Harwell, Sid - Hasek, Ivan - Havelaar, Marion - Hawkins, Ray - Hayes, Thomas - Headrick, Richard - Hedrick, Roger - Heier, William - Hempy, Harry - Herron, Lewis - Higgins, Malcolm - Hill, James - Hill, Tex - Hink, Harry - Hite, Robert - Holloman, William - Holmes, Besby - Holstrom, Everett - Hoover, Travis - Horton, Edwin - Hudson, Elbert - Huglin, Henry - Hurlbut, Frank |
Col Leonard R Hall USAF
Born and raised on the Kings Ranch in Texas, Leonard Hall, the first airborne radar observer in the USAA-F and co-founder of the Night Fighter School, earned an engineering degree from Texas A&M before joining Shell 011 Company as a seismologist. Holding a reserve officers commission, Hall was called up in 1941. Early in 1942, Hall (at that time a Captain) and Lt. Col. Don Brummel, a reserve officer and commercial airline pilot, were selected to organize and train night fighter crews for the United States Army Air Force. Hall was a dual rated officer, having completed both Pilot Training and Combat Observer schools. Brummel and Hall were sent to Orlando, Florida to establish a Night Fighter School. There first reaction to their new assignment was .. 'What's a night fighter?' They were soon to find out. Shortly thereafter the two young officers were sent off to England to learn everything they could from the RAF. The British had developed a fairly crude airborne radar system called 'Trigger,' and was attaining limited success in intercepting German night bombers. The RAF was awfully busy at the time, and Hall and Brummel had to largely train themselves. They were given access to several radar-equipped aircraft including a Bristol Beaufighter, a Havoc (A-20) and a Mosquito. Learning an entirely new combat technique was an exciting, but at times life threatening, experience. Most military pilots at that time were not very experienced at either night or instrument flying. As one of the RAF night flyers, Bill Gunston stated in his book Night Fighters... 'All flying is uplifting and exciting. Flying to fight other flyers is more exciting still, but flying and fighting at night reaches the pinnacle of human experience that are touched but rarely.' Returning to Orlando, Hall and Brummel had radar equipment installed on some A-20s, re-christening them P-70s. As the school began to receive instrument-rated pilots and radar officer recruits, Hall flew as both an instructor pilot and radar officer instructor. All the night fighters were volunteers. C.C. Smith, who would become an ace flying the P-61, was one of Hall's first students. The converted A-20 was eventually replaced by the Northrup P-61 Black Widow. Hall and Brummel performed some of the early evaluation of this aircraft. Later, both were asked to volunteer for service in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS.) Following the War Hall served as Project Officer for experimental aircraft, Technical Air Attache to Great Britain, and was involved in the flight test and acceptance on the B-58 supersonic bomber. After his retirement from the Air Force, Hall joined NASA, where he served under Werner von Braun during the Apollo Program. His decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, three Air Medals, two Purple Hearts, the Legion of Merit, and a Presidential Citation. He currently resides in Southern California with his wife LaVern.
| Col Leonard R Hall USAF - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Bite of the Black Widow by Stan Stokes. The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the USAAFs first modern fighter aircraft which was specifically designed from the start to serve in the night fighter capacity. Designed by Jack Knudson Northrop, this aircraft was quite innovative. The Armys initial requirements for this night interceptor made no mention of radar, but stated that the aircraft would carry a device which would locate enemy aircraft in the dark. The P-61 indeed utilized radar, and about seven hundred of these large twin-engine aircraft were built. The recommendation to pursue development of an aircraft of this type came about from the recommendations of a special commission which visited Great Britain during the Battle of Britain. The commission identified the need for an effective night fighter capability to deter enemy night bombing raids. Although the first prototype flew in May of 1942, the Black Widow did not enter front-line service until 1944. The P-61 was the largest and most powerful fighter aircraft of WW II. The Black Widows bite was mean because of its four cannons and four machine guns. With a wingspan of sixty-six feet and a length of nearly fifty feet, this large aircraft was powered by twin 18-cylinder Double Wasp radial engines, capable of 2,000-HP each. The B model of the P-61 was capable of speeds in the 365-MPH range, and had an incredible range of 3,000 miles. This great range gave the P-61 added benefits in the Pacific theater of operations. The P-61 utilized 4-bladed, variable pitch props, and incorporated a tricycle landing gear configuration. With its distinctive double tail configuration, the Black Widow had a roughly similar appearance to the P-38 Lightning, which was sometimes utilized in the night fighter role prior to the P-61 becoming available. The XP-61 prototype took to the air in May of 1942, and the aircraft exhibited a maximum speed of 380 MPH. Despite good results from the initial flights, the P-61 took a long time to enter production. In July of 1943 the Army organized the 481st Night Fighter Operational Training Group at Orlando Field in Florida. This unit completed service tests on pre-production Black Widows, and was responsible for training flight crews. In his spectacular moon-lit painting entitled Bite of the Black Widow, aviation artist Stan Stokes depicts the P-61 flown by Major Carroll C. Smith of the 418th Squadron of the Fifth Air Force. Smith was one of two pilots in WW II to attain ace status in the Black Widow. Smith obtained a total of seven night victories. His first two were obtained while flying a night-fighter version of the P-38. Four of Smiths victories in the P-61 came on two missions during one evening in December 1944. |
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