| Harold Elwood Comstock | |
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Harold E. Comstock in front of his P-47 |
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| Nickname | “Bunny” |
| Born | December 20, 1920 Fresno, California |
| Died | April 3, 2009 (aged 88) Clovis, California |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1941 – 1971 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands held | 63rd Fighter Squadron 389th Fighter Squadron 481st Tactical Fighter Squadron |
| Battles/wars | World War II Vietnam War |
| Awards | Legion of Merit (2) Distinguished Flying Cross (7) Purple Heart Air Medal (17) |
Harold Elwood “Bunny” Comstock (20 December 1920 – 3 April 2009) was a World War II fighter ace in the 56th Fighter Group and a career fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. After a test flight of the P-47 Thunderbolt on 13 November 1942, Republic Aviation issued a press release on 1 December 1942, claiming that he and fellow pilot Lt. Roger Dyar had exceeded the speed of sound.[1] [2] [3] [4]
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Harold Comstock was the eldest son of Clinton E. Comstock and Millie L. Daw. He was an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America and started flying at fifteen. After graduation from Theodore Roosevelt High School (Fresno), he attended Fresno State College for two years to complete the requirements to apply to the United States Army Air Corps. On 1 October 1941, he was ordered to report to Kelly Field, Texas for aviation cadet training.
He then attended primary flying school at Sikeston, Missouri, basic flying school at Randolph AFB and he graduated from advanced flying school at Foster Field, Texas on 3 July 1942. He received his commission and pilot wings and then returned to Fresno, California to marry Barbara L. Joint. He reported for duty with the 56th Fighter Group at Bridgeport, Connecticut on 20 July 1942. His wife gave him the nickname “Bunny Nose” and when the other pilots found out, the nickname of “Bunny” stayed with him.
Because of the need to manufacture airplanes quickly and the close proximity to the Republic Aviation factory, active duty pilots were used for some of the test flights of the new P-47. On 13 November 1942, Lts. Comstock and Dyar were ordered to test a new type of radio antenna on the P-47C. Lt. Comstock climbed to an indicated altitude of 49,600 feet (15,118 meters) while trying to reach 50,000 feet. Due to poor response from the controls, he decided to let the aircraft fall off rather than risk a spin. He started to dive straight down and after passing below 40,000 feet he found that his controls had frozen. He then felt a bump and was unable to move the controls as the aircraft continued to dive. Even with maximum exertion, he was unable to move the control stick so he started to roll the trim tab back and after passing below 30,000 feet, the aircraft started to pull out of the dive and he recovered between 20,000 and 25,000 feet. Lt. Dyar started his dive and encountered the same conditions. After landing, Lt. Comstock reported what happened and the chief designer of the P-47 Thunderbolt, Alexander Kartveli, questioned Lt. Comstock at length and made numerous calculations. Republic Aviation soon issued a press release claiming that Lts. Comstock and Dyar had exceeded the speed of sound. This was picked up in the national media and also drawn in Ripley's Believe It or Not!. Soon after the press release, the 56th Fighter Group received a telegram from Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold that “there would be no more discussion about the dive”. The actual speed attained was probably less than the speed of sound but this speed which caused the flight controls to lock up was referred to as “compressibility”. This effect was encountered by many pilots flying in combat but training and proper procedures allowed them to recover from it.[3][4] In 1959, the Air Force published "A Chronology of American Aerospace Events" and included an entry for 15 November 1942 which stated "Lts. Harold Comstock and Roger Dyar set a new speed record for airplanes when they power-dived their P-47 fighters at 725 mph from 35,000 feet over an east coast air base."[5] While the Air Force acknowledged the speed of 725 miles per hour, it is not known whether the P-47 could actually exceed the speed of sound in a dive. Capt. Roger Dyar was killed in action on 26 June 1943.[6]
On 6 January 1943, the 56th Fighter Group sailed for England on the RMS Queen Elizabeth, and flew their first operational mission on 13 April 1943. Lieutenant Comstock was promoted to 1st Lt on 29 May 1943 and got his first aerial victory on 17 August 1943, when he shot down an Me-109. He had additional confirmed victories on 4 October 1943, and 26 November 1943. After a long engagement with enemy aircraft on 3 February 1944, he did not have enough fuel to make it to a runway and was injured in a crash landing near Halesworth, England. He was promoted to Captain on 12 March 1944 and following recovery from his crash landing, he returned to flying combat missions. He returned to the U.S. for thirty days of leave in late May following completion of his first combat tour. After he returned to the 56th Fighter Group for a second combat tour, he took command of the 63d Fighter Squadron on 19 July 1944. He was promoted to Major on 17 September 1944. In support of Operation Market Garden, Major Comstock led the 56th Fighter Group on a disastrous mission that had been ordered to go “at all costs” to provide flak suppression.[7] Numerous anti-aircraft batteries were destroyed and the 56th Fighter Group received a Presidential Unit Citation for this mission but 16 of 39 planes were lost and 15 of the returning aircraft were damaged.[8][9] His last two victories were on 23 December 1944. After two combat tours and 136 missions, he returned to the U.S. in January, 1945.[10]
| Date | Location | Air/Ground | Number | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 August 1943 | Near Ans, Belgium | Air | 1 | Me-109 | Destroyed |
| 4 October 1943 | Bruhl, Germany | Air | 1 | Me-110 | Destroyed[10] |
| 4 October 1943 | Bruhl, Germany | Air | 1 | Me-109 | Damaged/Probably Destroyed[10] |
| 4 October 1943 | Bruhl, Germany | Ground | 1 | Ju-88 | Destroyed[10] |
| 26 November 1943 | Friesoythe, Germany | Air | 1 | Me-110 | Destroyed |
| 26 November 1943 | Friesoythe, Germany | Air | 1 | Me-110 | Damaged[11] |
| 26 November 1943 | Friesoythe, Germany | Air | 1 | FW-190 | Damaged[11] |
| 29 November 1943 | Papenburg, Germany | Air | 1 | Me-109 | Damaged/Probably Destroyed[12] |
| 29 January 1944 | South of Bonn, Germany | Air | 1 | FW-190 | Damaged[13] |
| 24 February 1944 | Peterhagen, Germany | Air | 1 | FW-190 | Damaged[11] |
| 16 September 1944 | Ahlhorn Aerodrome, Germany | Ground | 1 | He-177 | Destroyed |
| 18 November 1944 | Gross Ostheim Aerodrome, Germany | Ground | 1 | He-111 | Destroyed |
| 23 December 1944 | Southwest of Bonn, Germany | Air | 2 | FW-190 | Damaged[14] |
| 23 December 1944 | Southwest of Bonn, Germany | Air | 2 | FW-190 | Destroyed |
Following World War II, Major Comstock had the following assignments:[15]
April 1945 – July 1945 Peterson Field, Colorado Springs, Colorado – Standardization/Evaluation pilot, 72nd Fighter Wing.
July 1945 - October 1945 La Junta, Colorado Commander, 10th Fighter Squadron, 50th Fighter Group.
October 1945 - August 1946 Headquarters, United States Air Force, the The Pentagon. Assigned to the Manpower Branch.
August 1946 - January 1947 P-51 Mustang Acrobatic Team Leader, Hamilton Air Force Base, Novato, California.
January 1947 - June 1947 Plans Branch, Hamilton Air Force Base, Novato, California.
June 1947 - July 1949 Chief of Training, 13th Air Force and 2d Air Division, and Pilot, 301st Fighter Wing, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.
July 1949 – November 1950 Williams Air Force Base, Chandler, Arizona – Squadron Commander of the Jet Training Squadron, Instructor Pilot
November 1950 – August 1953 Florennes Air Base, Belgium – Liaison duty and advisor to the Belgian Air Force where he flew the F-84F Thunderstreak.
September 1953 – October 1954 England Air Force Base, Alexandria, Louisiana – Commander of the 390th Fighter Squadronwhere he again flew the F-84F Thunderstreak and then the F-86 Sabre. Promoted to LtCol 0n 14 April 1954.
November 1954 - August 1956 England Air Force Base, Alexandria, Louisiana – Assumed command of the 389th Fighter Squadron following the death of LtCol John B. England.
August 1956 – August 1957 Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama – Attended the Air War College
August 1957 – June 1960 Newport, Rhode Island, – Instructor at the Naval War College
June 1960 – June 1963 Camp Smith, Hawaii – Director of Reconnaissance CINCPAC. Responsible for all reconnaissance in the "western" half of the world. Completed his B.S. in Psychology at the University of Hawaii.
July 1963 – June 1966 Cannon Air Force Base, Clovis, New Mexico – Commander of the 481st Tactical Fighter Squadron.
July 1966 – July 1969 Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii – Promoted to Colonel. Director of Counter Offensive Operations for PACAF until 1968 and then Director of Training for Pacific Air Forces.
July 1969 – September 1971 Bergstrom Air Force Base, Austin, Texas – Commander, 602nd Tactical Air Control Group.
30 September 1971 - Retired after thirty years of service.
LtCol Harold E. Comstock on F-100
While assigned to Cannon AFB, Lt. Col Comstock commanded the 481st Tactical Fighter Squadron which was deployed to Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam, in June, 1965. On this tour, Comstock completed 132 combat missions and the squadron flew numerous combat sorties in support of the besieged troops at Plei Me and the Battle of Ia Drang Valley. On 15 November 1965, Comstock was flying the second of two F-100 Super Sabre jets that approached Landing Zone X-Ray with instructions to drop napalm. The napalm from the first aircraft landed too close to American lines and resulted in American casualties. Comstock was about to release his load of napalm on the assigned area when a quick call instructed him to break off. If he had dropped the napalm on the target as instructed, it would have killed Hal Moore, Joe Galloway, Basil Plumley, and numerous other soldiers of the 7th Cavalry.[16] This battle, in the Ia Drang Valley, is detailed in the book and movie We Were Soldiers Once...And Young.
During the Spring of 1968, he had another tour in Vietnam as the 7th ABCCC “Cricket” commander and directed numerous missions in support of the Battle of Khe Sanh.[17]
After retirement, he and Barbara returned to Fresno, California and then built a home in Auberry, California. Harold took an active interest in genealogy and became a member of the Mayflower Society. He was also a Freemason and a Shriner. Harold Comstock died on 3 April 2009.
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Legion of Merit With 1 oak leaf cluster |
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Distinguished Flying Cross, With 6 oak leaf clusters. |
| Purple Heart | |
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Air Medal With 16 oak leaf clusters |
| Joint Service Commendation Medal | |
| Air Force Commendation Medal | |
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Presidential Unit Citation Emblem with 1 oak leaf cluster |
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Army Meritorious Unit Commendation Emblem with 1 oak leaf cluster |
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Air Force Outstanding Unit Award With 2 oak leaf clusters |
| American Defense Service Medal | |
| American Campaign Medal | |
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European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal With 5 battle stars |
| World War II Victory Medal | |
| Army of Occupation | |
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National Defense Service Medal With 1 service star |
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Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal With 1 oak leaf cluster |
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Vietnam Service Medal With 2 oak leaf clusters |
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Air Force Longevity Service Award, With 5 oak leaf clusters |
| Vietnam Campaign Medal |