Louis Edward "Lou" Curdes (November 2, 1919 – February 5, 1995) was an American flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II who held the unusual distinctions of scoring an official and intentional air-to-air kill against another American aircraft as well as shooting down at least one aircraft from each of the major Axis powers.
Curdes grew up having an interest in aviation and would later drop out of college to join the military to become a pilot on December 6, 1941, the day before the Attack on Pearl Harbor. He served in multiple campaigns of the Mediterranean theater and acquired several victories over enemy aircraft, becoming a Flying ace (meaning that he was confirmed to have shot down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat) in less than a month of combat. He was later shot down and became a Prisoner of war. He then escaped captivity twice and was recaptured twice and after his prison guards abandoned their posts, he spent about nine months in the enemy-held central Apennine Mountains. Curdes eventually returned home and then went back to combat. This time it would be late in the war in the Pacific theater where he would shoot down only two aircraft before the end of the war.
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice (one for action in the Mediterranean theater and one for action in the Pacific theater), a Purple Heart, 14 Air Medals and the Prisoner of War Medal. He flew a Lockheed P-38 Lightning in both theaters and a North American P-51 Mustang only in the Pacific. Curdes named his first P-38 "Good Devil" and his P-51 "Bad Angel."
Curdes was one of only three American pilots to shoot down aircraft belonging to the German, Italian and Japanese air forces. The other two pilots were Lt. Col. Carl Payne and Maj. Gen. Levi R. Chase. In total, Curdes shot down seven German Messerschmitt Bf 109s, an Italian Macchi C.202 fighter, a Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-46 reconnaissance aircraft and an American Douglas C-47 Skytrain. After the war, Curdes flew Douglas C-54 Skymasters in a transport unit during the Berlin Airlift. Not long after he was essential in creating an Indiana Air National Guard unit, which in 1946 was federally recognized and is still active today. Curdes then joined the new United States Air Force and served on bases around the country and world until he retired after 22 years of service. After retiring he founded a construction company. Curdes died on February 5, 1995, at the age of 75, almost exactly 50 years after shooting down a C-47.
Early life Louis Edward Curdes was born on November 2, 1919, to Esther H. (née Kover) a former schoolteacher and Walter L. Curdes who worked in development and homebuilding real estate. He grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, during the great depression, with one sister. He graduated from North Side High School in 1938. Curdes played basketball and ran track in high school, but his coach caught him smoking so he was cut from the teams. He would also help maintain many of his father's rental properties.
Walter Curdes had an interest in aviation and had assisted Art Smith with repairing his aircraft. He would also take young Louis to air races at Smith Field, Cleveland and Georgia. When Curdes was eight or nine, he got a ride in a World War I Curtiss JN Jenny. Curdes' father also took him to see the building of the USS Akron and the USS Macon airships. Due to these experiences, young Louis developed a deep interest in aviation.
Louis later enrolled at Purdue University to study engineering and found construction work in the summers. Curdes only occasionally followed the ongoing wars in Europe and Asia, but still had a strong dislike of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. After three years of study, he dropped out and joined the military to become a pilot on December 6, 1941, the day before the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
About a month later, Curdes became a Flying Cadet and spent the next month in Santa Ana, California, two months in Ontario, California, two months in Lancaster, California for Basic Combat Training and then two months in Luke Field, Arizona. He trained on a few different aircraft including the Stearman PT-13, North American T-6 Texan, Vultee BT-13 Valiant (which the cadets at the time called the "Vultee Vomit") and the Curtiss P-36 Hawk. At the time, few cadets got to experience the high-performance P-36 Hawk. He then joined the Army Reserve on March 12, 1942, and later became a 2nd Lieutenant, graduating from Flying School on December 3, 1942, at Luke Field, Arizona at the age of 23 and was posted to the Mediterranean theater.
World War II North Africa and Italy
Curdes joined the 329th Fighter Group in Glendale, California and then spent a month at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego. After that, he was sent to Edwards Air Force Base and then back to Santa Ana. In March, he was sent overseas, but on April 17, was transferred to the 82nd Fighter Group, 95th Fighter Squadron, where he saw action in North Africa, Sardinia and Italy, flying a Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Curdes first mission was on March 23, 1943, near Cape Bon, Tunisia. He engaged multiple Messerschmitt Bf 109s of the Jagdgeschwader 27 and was able to shoot down three and damaged a fourth. He had such a shortage of fuel after this engagement that he had to force a landing in a dry riverbed and wait for the Army to bring him fuel and Marston Mat to create a temporary runway.
On May, 19, the 82nd escorted B-25 Mitchell bombers near Villacidro, Sardinia and on the way back, Curdes' unit was engaged by eight Bf 109s. Curdes managed to shoot down two of them. In less than a month of combat, Curdes became a flying ace. During another escort mission on June 24, he shot down an Italian Macchi C.202 over Golfo Aranci in northern Sardinia and then damaged a German Bf 109 on July 30 over Pratica di Mare, Italy. In August, he was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross.
Distinguished Flying Cross citation Place and date: North African Theater of operations, April 29, 1943. General Orders: Headquarters, Northwest African Air Forces, General Orders No. 128 (June 30, 1943).
Citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Louis Edward Curdes (ASN: 0-733836), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as pilot of a P-38 type aircraft of the 95th Fighter Squadron, 82d Fighter Group, FIFTEENTH Air Force in the North African Theater of Operations. On April 29, 1943, on a skip-bombing mission in the Sicilian Straits, Lieutenant Curdes' formation was attacked by twelve enemy fighters. Despite the fact that he had been unable to release his bomb, Lieutenant Curdes turned to attack, destroying one ME-109 and damaging another. Sighting two ME-109s attacking a crippled P-38, he unhesitatingly attacked and destroyed both of them and escorted the damaged aircraft to friendly territory. His consistent gallantry and devotion to duty have reflected great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.
Capture and escape
While escorting bombers to Benevento, Italy on August 27, 1943, Curdes' unit came under attack by about 50 enemy aircraft. During the engagement, Curdes turned around to help a teammate (which was against regulations) who was under attack by multiple Bf-109s when he was shot down over Salerno, Italy. Before he was shot down, he managed to take out two Bf 109s which would be his last two victories in Europe. He also received injuries to his back and shoulder from rounds that came through his canopy. He was forced to land wheels up on a beach about 10 miles south of Salerno due to combat damage to his aircraft and a shortage of fuel. He set his plane on fire and was soon captured by Italian soldiers who treated him well and even refused a German attempt to transfer him over to them. Curdes briefly escaped for several hours when he and 4 other Americans stole a Red cross boat in Salerno, but they were captured again by the Italians and Curdes was then sent to a prison camp near Rome.
When Curdes was shot down, he may have been the 63rd victory of Luftwaffe Franz Schieß of 8./JG 53.> Curdes' final score at the wars end would be 9 kills and 2 damaged, which made him the second-highest scoring ace of the 82nd fighter group. During that summer of 1943, Curdes flew 44 combat missions, totaling 200 hours. Curdes had not received any SERE training, but did have an escape packet with local currencies, gold coins and rubber maps. Curdes considered the maps to be worthless. He also carried an M1911A1 pistol on every combat mission he flew, although some pilots at the time were not encouraged to carry sidearms because they were of little usefulness.
Curdes was first kept in a monastery in San Valentino, Sorano, but he and a few others escaped, but were later recaptured and taken to a much higher security prison. Four days later, the Italians signed an Armistice with the Allies. In response to this, Germany invaded its former ally. Many prison guards left their positions and rifles before the Germans could take control of the POW camp. Some friendly guards even gave prisoners rifles and blankets before letting them go. The group of about twenty officers took food, rifles (likely Carcano M1891s) and ammunition and over the next eight months, travelled south through the central Apennine Mountains, making their way toward the Allied advance. One British wing commander from Curdes' group was killed sometime after leaving the POW camp. Local civilians and the communist Italian resistance aided the group by giving them handguns and supplies. The group slept during the day wherever the resistance told them to and travelled by night.
By early 1944, Curdes' family gave up believing that he could still be alive, especially after receiving letters of sympathy from Curdes' teammates and commanding officers. However, Curdes' best friend, 1st Lt. Burt Lutz, sent his parents a letter stating that he talked to another officer who had escaped with Curdes from an Italian POW camp near Rome. Lutz wrote to them that Curdes' group was sending back men two at a time and that Curdes would be one of the last to come back. This was unofficial and officially Curdes was still Missing in action.
On August 30, 1944, Major John "Gil" Bright was shot down over nearby Montalto di Castro and held prisoner until the Armistice. Bright already had confirmed Japanese, Italian and a "shared" German kill. Who got the credit for the German kill was decided by a coin toss which he lost and he was not in the Army Air Forces at the time of his Japanese kills, so it is somewhat a matter of debate if he is a triple-axis ace or not. However, after the Armistice, Bright travelled about 100 miles through enemy territory to reach Allied lines. Whether his path crossed with future triple-axis ace Louis Curdes is unknown.